$7,000.00 Clown

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rdnelson99

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
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Location
Atlanta GA
Took me a while to get back to this LFS but I stopped in today and got a picture of the $7,000.00 clown. That's right, I didn't stutter. I said $7,000.00

The back story as it was explained to me was that some guy found enough loop holes to allow him to get a permit to collect at a World Heritage Site. He collect a couple of these super rare Tomato Clowns and the started breeding them. How much of that is true????? I have no idea. Makes for a good story anyway. I know one thing for sure, I wouldn't pay $7K for any fish let along this one. The pictures didn't come out as good as I wanted but here are two of the bigger one. There is another in this Pico tank but he isn't in the picture.
 
I give up. LOL This one is maybe 4" long and about 2.5" tall. The other one is about the size of any normal clown you find at an LFS. They are a gourgeous color but other than that I don't see the big deal. I could see $100 maybe but.........
 
Some collector out there will be dumb enough to pay that price. To me it ranks right up there with my LFS charging $500 each for those snowflake clowns. They can keep them..I'll look at them but I would never pay that much, wouldn't even think of it, for something that is as fragile as a fish.

As for the guy that collected them, I have to wonder if he did it for the fish to help preserve or if he just did it for the cash. If he had to work as hard to find those loopholes as he did, I say he doesn't give a flip what actually happens to those fish..as long as he gets his cash.
 
Some collector out there will be dumb enough to pay that price. To me it ranks right up there with my LFS charging $500 each for those snowflake clowns. They can keep them..I'll look at them but I would never pay that much, wouldn't even think of it, for something that is as fragile as a fish.

As for the guy that collected them, I have to wonder if he did it for the fish to help preserve or if he just did it for the cash. If he had to work as hard to find those loopholes as he did, I say he doesn't give a flip what actually happens to those fish..as long as he gets his cash.

Actually, they are not for sale. That is what the lfs paid for them. $7K each!!!!! He just bought them to show off in his new store that just opened. To him, they are worth it because he can use them as a tool to sell all the other stuff in the store.

As for the guy wo collected the orginials, I would have to agree. He didn't do it out of any concern for the fish. He did it for cold hard cash. I could be wrong but I bet I am not.
 
excuse my ignorance (i keep freshwater fish), can someone please explain why this cost $7000 ?

are they rare?
 
excuse my ignorance (i keep freshwater fish), can someone please explain why this cost $7000 ?

are they rare?

Very!!! The way it was explained to me was that the only place you will find them in the wild is in one particular Word Haritage Site. Those sites are protected because they are considerred the most delicate and beutiful places on the planet. Therefore, no fish can be taken from these locations. This guy happened to find a loop hole that gave him one chance to collect a pair of these fish.
 
Very!!! The way it was explained to me was that the only place you will find them in the wild is in one particular Word Haritage Site. Those sites are protected because they are considerred the most delicate and beutiful places on the planet. Therefore, no fish can be taken from these locations. This guy happened to find a loop hole that gave him one chance to collect a pair of these fish.

Oh wow, do you know if they are endangered too?
 
The lighting clowns come from one area in Near PNG and this the only area that they are found in.
 
Japanese Koi command far more than that and they aren't rare. One of our club members who keeps Koi went to a Koi farm in Japan, and the cheapest fish they sell are $500 for 6" fish. Better quality ones of that size go for thousands.
 
Japanese Koi command far more than that and they aren't rare. One of our club members who keeps Koi went to a Koi farm in Japan, and the cheapest fish they sell are $500 for 6" fish. Better quality ones of that size go for thousands.


Holy cow!!! So I can sell the two that I have in my pond (about 14" long) and have enough to buy my 500 gal tank???? LOL My wife would shoot me.
 
Holy cow!!! So I can sell the two that I have in my pond (about 14" long) and have enough to buy my 500 gal tank???? LOL My wife would shoot me.

Wish it was that easy. It's definitely a niche thing, just like with any species, there is a premium that some people will pay for the 'rare' strains. Look at the cost of designer guppies for example.

It's a trend that I've noticed with wild caught fish that if they are really rare or only found in one difficult to reach spot then they are expensive. Look at the price of zebra plecos, as their environment and numbers dwindle, their price just goes up and up. The sad part to this is that some of these fish will eventually they'll go extinct without a real concerted effort by humans to keep them safe from environment encroachment and poachers, since humans will always develop more and more, and the black market for a species will only grow as they become less available.
 
Like any animal in the pet trade, the rarer the animal the more it cost. Fish, reptiles, birds it all the same. I've seen $50,000 cash trade hands for 1 12" baby snake. It's all about rarity :)
 
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