banggai cardinalfish got expensive?

I rembmer seeing them for like $11-$13 dollars, but went I went to LFS to get 2, they are $25 dollar each...did these get expensive? or do you think Im remembering a wrong price, and its always been that expensive..

 

They've been more expensive for several years. $25 is a reasonable price.

They used to be easier for collectors to nab them. They could walk out and just net them. However, for whatever reason the Banggai left the island of Banggai. LOL Now they have to be caught by divers in the Lembeh Straight or off the island of Sulawesi.

 

thats strange. where are yo located? around here they are still ~15$

 

Im from cali, and oh i see, I was wondering if this LFS got overprices..but guess not lol

 

i used to work at a shop and the cardinals we ordered from cali cost 3.75 apeice.

 

A lot of pricing is dependent on which wholesaler one uses. A lot of LFS's are lazy. They like to buy everything from one wholesaler for convenience. I, on the other hand, kept track mentally what was cheapest at which wholesaler and that's who I bought from. I made more money and the customer got much cheaper prices. (The downside of doing this is you're acclimating 4 or 5 times per week as opposed to only once).

Wholesaler's work just like your grocery store. They have loss leaders to get you into the store and then they have items that have high profit margins on the endcaps or at eye level. All of the low profit margin items are at your ankles.

Wholesalers know that LFS owners are lazy and that's how they make their money. Some of their fish are high profit-margin items and some are low-profit margin items (and every wholesaler's mix is different). They are hoping you'll get your entire shipment from them and then they'll make their money. If your LFS is buying from a wholesaler that has banggai cardinalfish expensive and a bi-color blenny as a loss-leader, your price is going to go up. Also, the distance your LFS is from either LA or Miami will also be a factor. (Air Freight is EXPENSIVE)

 

Bcause they are extremely rare now. Wild Bangaiis die and are not suited to captivity but most LFS bring in wild ones because the CB are so expensive. Small batches of fry are the main cause. I would rather spend 35 on a CB bangaii that will live and not 25 on a fish from a doomed species.

 

They are not rare at all. A couple years back, there were a bunch of articles written about how this species was doomed because the population around Banggai was down by A LOT!!!

However, there's tons of them!!! They are even causing clownfish to leave the Lembeh Straights because they are stealing their anemones. Around Sulawesi, there's even more.

I will try and find some links for you.

 

That was easy. I was going to try and find a scientific article for you. I found this video which is even easier.

 

Hmm, sorry inwall, foot in mouth. I had no idea.