[D-Nak]

Originally Posted by BonsaiNut

I agree with you Ron, but I come at it from a slightly different perspective.

I've been keeping marine aquariums for over 30 years. In the 80's, there were only a handful of people who had successfully bred and raised clownfish, and almost no one who sold them (probably fewer than five). The problems were rife, and one of the most prominent was nutrition and flaws associated with poor nutrition. It became apparent that poor nutrition caused poor coloration in the fry, as well misbarring and other issues. Captive raised fish sold at a discount to wild caught fish because they were poorer quality. You were lucky if you got more than $2 per fish (wholesale) even if you culled aggressively and kept only the best. Every now and then if you were lucky you could find someone to take your culls as feeders.

And then a strange thing started to happen. People started buying culls because they thought they looked "cute" or were funny or interesting. Nutrition improved to the point that you COULD raise clowns that were at quality parity to wild caught - but it is still difficult and expensive. But why bother if there is a market for misbars or culls that require half the work, cheaper food, and actually (and here is the shock) can be sold at a premium.

Now anyone with a basement or garage can raise clowns with 50% success rate or higher, give them a designer name, and sell them to someone who thinks they are getting something "special". Misbarring hides the obvious flaws associated with poor husbandry. How can you tell whether you have a good quality fish when they all look like a poor quality fish from a wild caught pair?

Interestingly, it is the exact OPPOSITE of how people buy koi. Champion koi can cost tens of thousands of dollars - but the first criteria is and always has been PERFECT health - PERFECT body - PERFECT quality. Only AFTER these things are present do people start to look at color and pattern.

So if you want to pay $250 for a fish that cost $.25 to raise, and if it makes you happy, go for it. But be honest with yourself about what you are buying. I have paid more for koi that jumped out of a pond, or got eaten by a heron, so at the end of the day you have to somewhat philosophical about it. But I am saddened by the "quick buck" breeders and the depressing effect acceptance of low quality has on the captive-raised marine industry in general.

+1000. I wish we could make this a sticky. It amazes me that people pay a high price for fish that are obviously flawed. In most cases the severe jaw deformity should be enough to turn people away.