Conspicuous angelfish

So after a weekend of decision making and talking to friends I have a little conspicuous on the way. It's schedule to arrive on Thursday. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time.

I've seen a couple of videos of it at the wholesalers. Full of spuk and it appears energy. Also it was chowing down on mysis in one of the videos:)

As for size it somewhere between 4.25 inches and 4.50 inches.

This is the smallest conspicuous angel that has ever been offered to my LFS/friend.

Guess the bandit is going to have to wait.

Can't wait. I've been hooked ever since seeing one in person at Old Town.

Just love the look and personality.

Old Town in Chicago? I think I've seen that same conspic. Amazing fish. Good luck with your little one.
 
Thanks reputable wholesaler and I know they have been babying her. Said that she basically eats everything. But they have to stand away from the glass otherwise she almost wants to play or show off.

I think she is already caught the heart of one of the employees there at least that's my friend (owner of the LFS) is saying.

Also the video captures the tag that states 4.25 to 5.25. They tried to measure and got the measurement of 4.25 to 4.50.

Hurry up Thursday.
 
This is has been a number of years ago.....I think Old Town in Chicago has had a few over the years.

she is beautiful! and restlessly dying to get out of that tank...can't wait to see her in your tank...feed her Larry's Reef Frenzy and make sure it has the black worms, but any blend is superior to any other food avail...sup with a fresh clam every now and then and spir brine, plankton, and pe Mysis...
 
Do you have a lot of experience with more difficult angelfish? Both angels can be quite demanding initially. Baby fish need to eat quite frequently and can become emaciated rapidly. A conspic is also considerably more expensive than a bandit angel. (400$ vs 3K$ in my area). Baby bandits usually are around the 1K$


What part of FL are you in? I would love to be able to find a bandit for $400.
 
Congrats on the conspic! That's one bad little lady :thumbsup:

What part of FL are you in? I would love to be able to find a bandit for $400.
A bandit at that price is more than likely either huge or poorly collected. I've passed on many from a certain supplier that regularly offers them for half the price of others... for a reason. All I'm saying is know who you're purchasing a fish like that from - price means very little compared to proper collection, handling and longevity of a fish.
 
Congrats on the conspic! That's one bad little lady :thumbsup:


A bandit at that price is more than likely either huge or poorly collected. I've passed on many from a certain supplier that regularly offers them for half the price of others... for a reason. All I'm saying is know who you're purchasing a fish like that from - price means very little compared to proper collection, handling and longevity of a fish.

what Austin said...
 
Congrats on the conspic! That's one bad little lady :thumbsup:


A bandit at that price is more than likely either huge or poorly collected. I've passed on many from a certain supplier that regularly offers them for half the price of others... for a reason. All I'm saying is know who you're purchasing a fish like that from - price means very little compared to proper collection, handling and longevity of a fish.

I think most of us know exactly who your talking about...
 
Ya they will be larger for sure. (5"+).
If you buy directly from the divers in HI you will obviously pay considerably less. I know there is someone who sells them on ebay that has sold numerous deeper water fish with good feedback. I haven't had a bandit since Robert Lower collected one for me many years ago.

Personally I would rather pay more for TR or CB baby angel since it is great to watch them grow. It amazes me how quickly small angelfish develop.
 
I would agree a $400 bandit has to be on the large size and I would question how it was obtained.

From what I've gathered for a small juvenile bandit collected correctly you are looking at $1100 to $1600.

I don't know what everyone's feeling is but a bandit cost comes from how deep water they are and there are not many collectors. To me the conspic has and always will be a holy grail because of rarity that they are collected in the wild (Australia and not many areas to collect) and there hasn't been a lot of success breeding them in captivity.

Also I don't believe they have really changed in price.

What are everyone else's thoughts?
 
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Anything collected from Australia is "rarer" and commands a higher price that rarely changes and if it does it does it only increases. Large bandits are cheaper since it much more difficult to get them eating prepared foods, same holds true with most fish caught at a large size
 
Just the freight from Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia makes the conspic very expensive. (they are supposedly very uncommon as well) Bandit angelfish are not all that rare in Hawaii. I have been on many deep dives in the Hawaiian Islands and have seen my fair share of them.
 
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Thanks for the feedback.

I am not comfortable with spending $1000 on a fish yet so will have to wait on a Bandit (even though they are probably my favorite of the more expensive fish). I know most people like the Conspics, but there look doesnt really do much for me. I will go back to my original plan of getting either a goldflake or scribbled once my tank matures some more.
 
As a shout out to for either a bandit or conspic. I think the personality of these two angels dwarfs the personality of any other angel.

Goldflakes have a personality, more like a jack hammer.

But I liken the bandit and conspic to the personality to a puffer. Just my observations.

Btw....I have to wait another day. Bad weather delayed shipment till today for arrival tomorrow :( Better safe than sorry though.
 
As a shout out to for either a bandit or conspic. I think the personality of these two angels dwarfs the personality of any other angel.

Goldflakes have a personality, more like a jack hammer.

But I liken the bandit and conspic to the personality to a puffer. Just my observations.

Btw....I have to wait another day. Bad weather delayed shipment till today for arrival tomorrow :( Better safe than sorry though.

I haven't owned either of them personally but Ted has multiples of both and confirms that they are very personable fish much like large puffers can be.
 
I've only kept Bandits personally, but can concur that they're more like a puppy dog than a random fish. Wonderful species :)
 
Bandits have great personalities once established. They are very easy to approach in the wild and are very curious of divers. You can spot one very easily on the reef due to their unique coloration.
 
What's been your experience with Bandits in a reef?

I kept a Conspic in a reef when I lived in Las Vegas without any problems. The fish was more like a puppy, would follow me back and forth in front of my 450. It ate just about anything, even bubble algae.
 
Yea, I saw a few Bandits while diving in Kauai. When I told the dive master what they went for, she was shocked. She showed me the one fish she was dying to see and, go figure, it was a Flame Angel.
 
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