Black and White pair

[ninersrule1]

I just found out reef tank supply got a pair of black and white pair in. They are HAND COLLECTED from AUSTRALIA, not captive raised. I hear they are rare to collect since only one guy can collect them from one location in Australia.

Anyways, they are asking $800 for them. Are these pair that rare?

I obviously wont be buying them, but just wanted to see why they are so rare, and hopefully hook a fellow reefcentral collector up if you are looking for them

I'd just be happy with an onyx pair, more affordable for me

 

[GSMguy]

not that rare
there are a few of these coming in
they are rare but not 800 bucks rare
some breeder might pay that
i think good wild onyx are more rare

 

[ninersrule1]

well if there are just a few of them coming in it sounds rare
Anyways, I guess if nobody pays that price we'll see it slashed soon

 

[illcssd]

Really gsmguy? When is that last time you know of that wild black ocellaris's came in? I highly doubt you do. Most of the stories have no proof and probably are just cr from australia or such. Onyx's coming in are alot less rare than getting wc blacks in. Considering the diver that collected the blacks for the longest time got killde by a saltwater crocodile, I highly doubt a few of these are coming in. And, the ones that do are picked off by ora or another breeding facility, trust me, i have been working on getting a pair for the last year and a half and its not easy. And i work with transhippers and wholesalers all over the us.
JMO
austin

 

[littlefish72]

Yeah, a dude got ate......i'd stop collecting there too

 

[cschweitzer]

Why not just get a couple nice B&W ocellaris that are tank raised? $800 is insane price. I MIGHT pay that for a pair of latz or breeding pair of other rare species. Maybe for oman, seychelles, McC's; maybe for a breeding pair of leuk's, theil's, etc. Never for B&W oc's.

Then there's the QT process, the hope they are not diseased/parasited, along with transport and hoping they aren't DOA. Anytime it's possible to get tank-bred, I use this option...you're lucky because they are fairly common in the trade and you can get nice lineage.

To answer your question, no, I would not pay $800 for B&W oc's, not in 100,000 years(well, maybe in that long due to inflation, rising costs, and the fact that the oceans will have been destroyed 99,900 years before this, so any wild caught fish will be worth that much). But I digress...

Just my opinion in which everyone is entitled.

 

[cschweitzer]

Another personal opinion is that onyx's color is much nicer than the black oc's. They seem a little washed out of personality, but I kind of feel that way about all oc's. I think any percula with similar patterns looks nicer(but is harder to breed, so many just stick with oc's).