Genicanthus takeuchii

[copps]

Of the ten species of known Genicanthus, G. takeuchii is the most recently discovered and largest. Years ago when I was going through the preserved angelfish collection at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, which includes the original holotype specimens of many of the "famous" angelfish, there was a large jar with what appeared to be a striped bass stuffed inside that stood out from the rest... this fish was far larger than any Genicanthus I'd ever seen, and very striking... Years ago I had one of these offered to me for 23k... While all ten species of Genicanthus have been collected for aquariums at one time or another, public of private, legal or illegal, four of those species stand apart from the other six that are regularly available in the hobby... including this species... any footage or photos of G. takeuchii are of interest to angelfish nuts, so check this out...

http://glassbox-design.com/2010/genicanthus-takeuchii-video/

Copps

[SDguy]

Wow, quite exciting!!

But the slight head down swimming posture and apparently skinny frame worry me :(

[Yurivd]

nice thanks

[skibum9884]

copps, any comments especially as many are saying this specimen was collected illegally?

[rachenbrazil]

wow... more expensive than personatus... well now I want to see a ballinae somewhere in HK also...

[copps]

copps, any comments especially as many are saying this specimen was collected illegally?

On my trip to Japan last year the information I got was that collection with SCUBA is prohibited. Wrought iron butterflies are collected there in the shallows with snorkel gear. Ogasawara is only reachable by a long ferry... over 24 hours from Tokyo, and has no air strip... Getting anything exported out of Japan is very expensive, even without this trip added in, so that makes C. daedalma by far the most expensive shallow water Chaetodontid regularly available... While not as deep as G. personatus, G. takeuchii are not found at snorkeling depth... much less where you could collect one... and I know for a fact that some collectors do collect with SCUBA there illegally. This fish is not protected as a species (like Chaetodontoplus ballinae for instance), and it is not rare at depth there... so the bottom line is that if these fish WERE legal they would cost much less than what they're asking and they would be more regularly available...

wow... more expensive than personatus... well now I want to see a ballinae somewhere in HK also...

Any ballinae would 100% be illegal on the market... although these may soon be displayed in a public aquarium for the first time ever... :)

[Sheol]

Whoa John,
inside ino on the C. ballinae guy? Tell us more!
Thanks for the info, BTW.

Matthew

[NCSUsalt]

like someone else posted, the video just screams swim bladder problems to me. fish just doesn't look right in it's movements and the stomach area seems to have some discoloration

[jhawkor]

Beautiful.

[JHemdal]

Just an FYI - I received an email today that one of my Japanese suppliers is taking pre-orders for Genicanthus takeuchii at 800,000 yen each - so about $8500 plus shipping. Way to rich for my blood, they anticipate collecting them in June, so we'll see if anything comes of this....

Jay

[Jacob D]

Interesting. The juvi sure is pretty. The adult coloration isn't to my taste, but then again the appeal of the fish probably isn't based on looks :)


If I had tens of thousands of dollars to blow I would put out an APB for a pair of Hawaiian personatus and call it a day :bum:

[AngelsAnonymous]

Wasn't much of a fan of it but loved the little conspic!!!

[jmaneyapanda]

Just an FYI - I received an email today that one of my Japanese suppliers is taking pre-orders for Genicanthus takeuchii at 800,000 yen each - so about $8500 plus shipping. Way to rich for my blood, they anticipate collecting them in June, so we'll see if anything comes of this....

Jay

Jay, do you know from where (exactly) and how these fish are being collected? Im kinda nervous....

[alprazo]

The fishes health concerns me. Way too skinny. Either expending too much energy fighting a swim bladder issue or not eating. Wow though - amazing to see.

[JHemdal]

The email didn't say where they would be collected, only that they would be doing the collecting themselves in June. The impression I got was that if they didn't have enough pre-sales, they wouldn't go.
This is Kogi Ishigaki's company, I've dealt with him for years, I first met him in Europe ten years ago. He has always been a stand-up guy in terms of my dealings with him - strong adherence to CITES regs., etc. Besides, his email went out to like a bazillion people, so I'm pretty certain he isn't trying to pull a fast one or anything.

Jay

[HomeSlizzice]

WOW thats awesome! John do you think your gonna get one?