Beware When Shopping For Barlett's Anthias

[CoralsAddiction]

I have seen at least two stores in socal that have been selling Bicolor Anthias as Barlett's. They proudly say that these "Barlett's" come from Hawaii when to the best of my knowledge there aren't any there. Bicolors, on the other hand, do come from Hawaii and look like Barlett's. So be careful. I'm sure many stores around the country are making the same mistake.

 

[eatbreakfast]

In the defense of the stores, many bartletts do come in shipments to wholesalers and LFS direct from Hawaii suppliers so the confusion on originating from there is understandable.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Beware When Shopping For Barlett's Anthias

In the defense of the stores, many bartletts do come in shipments to wholesalers and LFS direct from Hawaii suppliers so the confusion on originating from there is understandable.

Sure the confusion as to the place of origin may be understandable and forgiving but to misidentify a fish that has obvious distinct features is another story.
Edit: But the importance of origin should not be underestimated in certain cases. Someone who wants a yellow belly regal angel certainly wouldn't want to pay $170 for a regal angel that comes from Indo-Pacific bc that fish looks different and can be purchased for $50.
Other fish, like Moorish Idol, the difference in appearance is probably minimal, if non-existent. Hence the origin wouldn't matter as much.

 

[SDguy]

This has been going on for years; it was with the really small bartletts coming in. I forget the details... it's been a while, but Kevin at LADD grew some of these clearly non-bartletts, looking like bicolor, anthias out, and they turned out to be dispars of all things... I'll have to dig up the photo...

 

[eatbreakfast]

Sure the confusion as to the place of origin may be understandable and forgiving but to misidentify a fish that has obvious distinct features is another story.

Every store I walk into that has even a decent selection of saltwater livestock has at least 1 thing misidentified. Often it has been misidentified by the supplier and the wrong info just gets passed down the chain. In some cases it has to do with the employee not knowing the particular species or done in haste. In all cases of misidentification there are obvious differences because those differences are what makes them unique species. As far as the wrong id between the bicolor and the bartletts the pricing and care will be pretty close so I would classify it as "no harm, no foul"

Edit: But the importance of origin should not be underestimated in certain cases. Someone who wants a yellow belly regal angel certainly wouldn't want to pay $170 for a regal angel that comes from Indo-Pacific bc that fish looks different and can be purchased for $50.
Other fish, like Moorish Idol, the difference in appearance is probably minimal, if non-existent. Hence the origin wouldn't matter as much.

Origin matters more to me as far as how a species is handled rather than colors alone. Collection in some areas is much less sustainable than others, usually in the difference of developing nations versus developed although there certainly are exceptions to this.

 

[MIKE NY]

totally agree with all the info given, but the better shops will label them correctly and priced accordingly even though shipping labels them differently. Ive also seen many shops just label generically as Anthias or Flasher wrasse etc...

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Can everyone imagine how much better our hobby and LFS would be if LFS employees took 10-20 mins a day to read fish and other livestock description either online or books?

 

[SDguy]

I knew these pics were somewhere....

 

[Deinonych]

Can everyone imagine how much better our hobby and LFS would be if LFS employees took 10-20 mins a day to read fish and other livestock description either online or books?

So true. Recently, one of my LFS had a nice-looking C. exquisitus in one of their displays. When I asked how much the Exquisite Wrasse was, the employee looked at me like I had two heads. When I pointed out the fish, the employee said, "oh, that's a Scott's Fairy Wrasse." Even after I pointed out that C. scottorum does not have a ocellus on its caudal penduncle (which probably made no sense whatsoever to this genius), the employee insisted it was a Scott's. Sigh.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

I knew these pics were somewhere....

Thanks for sharing

 

[CoralsAddiction]

So true. Recently, one of my LFS had a nice-looking C. exquisitus in one of their displays. When I asked how much the Exquisite Wrasse was, the employee looked at me like I had two heads. When I pointed out the fish, the employee said, "oh, that's a Scott's Fairy Wrasse." Even after I pointed out that C. scottorum does not have a ocellus on its caudal penduncle (which probably made no sense whatsoever to this genius), the employee insisted it was a Scott's. Sigh.

That's messed up because price difference between Exquisite and Scott's fairy wrasses is substantial. It's one thing to overpay $5 for an anthias but another to shell out $150+ for an exquisite wrasse sold as Scott's. Many fish store employees go through so many different unproductive motions waisting time that could be used to educate and improve themselves.

 

[Deinonych]

That's messed up because price difference between Exquisite and Scott's fairy wrasses is substantial. It's one thing to overpay $5 for an anthias but another to shell out $150+ for an exquisite wrasse sold as Scott's. Many fish store employees go through so many different unproductive motions waisting time that could be used to educate and improve themselves.

Exactly. Needless to say, I didn't make a purchase.

 

[the808state]

small bartletts look similar to small dispars (almost identical in some cases - both of which come from CXI) the bartletts from Marshall Islands look similar to CXI bartletts but are much nicer IMO - and stay smaller. Bicolors, look nothing like either... lol

common misconception on origins... I've seen "hawaiian black tangs", "hawaiian flame angels- and there are hundreds...", Hawaiian goldflakes, multicolor, helfrichi, etc etc. It is the responsibility of the mainland wholesaler to distinguish between the origins. It is pretty obvious...

It is also the responsibility of the hobbyist to do their due diligence. A simple good search on "scotts fairy wrasse" the person would have seen that the exquisite is clearly not a scotts... lol

 

[CoralsAddiction]

It is also the responsibility of the hobbyist to do their due diligence. A simple good search on "scotts fairy wrasse" the person would have seen that the exquisite is clearly not a scotts... lol

"Also" should be the operative word. I think that the burden of fish ID is sometimes disproportionally and unfairly shifted onto the hobbyists. Yes we must do our due diligence. But at the end of the day we have full time jobs and reefing is our hobby. Fish stores are in the business of selling fish. It's their full time job. So they should know better than you and I what fish they are selling.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Beware When Shopping For Barlett's Anthias

But I agree that fish ID is easier nowadays bc of smartphones.

 

[Wonton Soup]

That's messed up because price difference between Exquisite and Scott's fairy wrasses is substantial. It's one thing to overpay $5 for an anthias but another to shell out $150+ for an exquisite wrasse sold as Scott's. Many fish store employees go through so many different unproductive motions waisting time that could be used to educate and improve themselves.

Exactly. Needless to say, I didn't make a purchase.

You two are clueless and have obviously never worked in a fish store. I'd be willing to bet money the employee in question listened to you ramble on about caudal peduncles, blocked all of that out on purpose, and then insisted you were seeing a Scott's wrasse out of spite so you would leave.

Fish store employees deal with the weirdest people in society, second only to reptile people. There is some basic etiquette that folks like yourselves could follow when shopping that will save both you and the lowly fish store employee from having to argue about the name of a single piece of livestock they received from in a single shipment of many that was probably labeled that way from the wholesaler. If the owner of the store bought it that way and paid for it that way, then they label it and sell it that way. End of story.

 

[SDguy]

You two are clueless and have obviously never worked in a fish store. I'd be willing to bet money the employee in question listened to you ramble on about caudal peduncles, blocked all of that out on purpose, and then insisted you were seeing a Scott's wrasse out of spite so you would leave.

Fish store employees deal with the weirdest people in society, second only to reptile people. There is some basic etiquette that folks like yourselves could follow when shopping that will save both you and the lowly fish store employee from having to argue about the name of a single piece of livestock they received from in a single shipment of many that was probably labeled that way from the wholesaler. If the owner of the store bought it that way and paid for it that way, then they label it and sell it that way. End of story.

How about we take it down a notch, please.

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[Wonton Soup]

I apologize! Perhaps I have come off a bit hot headed. If you couldn't tell, I do moon light at a fish store that sells both salt and fresh water fish and I get people in there all the time trying to tell me what we are selling and trying to "educate" me on something that I have absolutely zero control over even if it is wrong. The guy that signs my checks says this is what it is then I don't care if it morphs into a werewolf at night. That's what it's being sold as. And believe me, I've had the same argument with the owner(s). The wholesaler sends it wrong, the owner pays for it. Therfore it's sold that way and the buck passes right down the line to you, the consumer.

 

[Amoore311]

And that business model is one of the many reasons the "LFS" is going the way of the dinosaur.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

You two are clueless and have obviously never worked in a fish store. I'd be willing to bet money the employee in question listened to you ramble on about caudal peduncles, blocked all of that out on purpose, and then insisted you were seeing a Scott's wrasse out of spite so you would leave.



Fish store employees deal with the weirdest people in society, second only to reptile people. There is some basic etiquette that folks like yourselves could follow when shopping that will save both you and the lowly fish store employee from having to argue about the name of a single piece of livestock they received from in a single shipment of many that was probably labeled that way from the wholesaler. If the owner of the store bought it that way and paid for it that way, then they label it and sell it that way. End of story.

All I can say is that I am glad you are not my pharmacist. Don't want to kick the bucket buying the wrong medication. Lol