Cost of a breeding pair of False Clownfish??
- Thread starter tipinover
- Start date
michellejy
New member
If you aren't in a hurry to have them breed, ocellaris will pair up pretty easily if you buy two juveniles.
I've never bought an already breeding pair, so I can't help you with that.
I've never bought an already breeding pair, so I can't help you with that.
Heterodonut
New member
Average about $300. to $600. unless you get them from a reefer that has had a pair spawn and wants to sell, then it could be $30 to $300.
phender
Active member
Huh?
Unless you get them from a private party, they probably aren't a breeding pair. Anything from an LFS or online are likely pairs that were just recently put together and have never spawned.
Ocellaris are pretty easy to pair and spawn. You can usually get a spawning pair from someone who is breaking down their tank for less than $50. If you can't, then get a large one (2.5 - 3") and a small one and put them into your tank at the same time. If you feed them well, you will likely have eggs within a year. If you buy a breeding pair that has laid eggs in someone else's tank, it may take several months for them to start spawning in your system anyway.
Heterodonut
New member
Inland Aquatics sells BREEDING PAIRS of clowns, (at least they did up to a few weeks ago). If you wanted to pick them up in person you could see the pair W/Nest. TROPICORIUM, same. There are also a couple of small time hatcheries that do the same. It may have been a once in a lifetime deal, but L.A. diver's den also was selling retired BREEDING PAIRS of O.R.A. clownfish
Heterodonut
New member
BTW, I agree with everything said above about how easy it can be to start a pair if you want to wait-BUT the Question was, what it the cost for a breeding pair. FWIW, I got a pair shipped 3,000 miles from a reefer, and it took exactly 14 days to lay their first nest in my tank.
Your experience was quite the excpeption if they started spawning within 14 days of being transported 3,000 miles. I moved a pair of my ocellaris to a tank across the same room and they didn't spawn for over 6 months. I've been to wholesaler and I know for a fact that they often just put clowns together and call them pairs just to make extra money.
Fishboy42
Premium Member
Our experiences are on-point with Heterodonut's, including purchasing many spawning pairs from the sources he mentioned. IME it is quite normal for a healthy spawning pair to resume spawning within a few weeks after shipping if they are properly cared-for before and after the move, but of course your argument that this is exceptional is a valid one
Matt
Atticus
New member
I have recieved and shipped many spawning pairs with most resuming spawning around 60 days post transfer. The key is to emulate the same water parameters and light cycle in the new tank as the old and if possible even try to match the in tank items. I always set the new tank up with the same salt, same temp, same light cycle, and if possible even placed their pot or tile in the same location. This might be a little overboard, but I have even bought new tanks if the fish was housed in a different size. The tank size did not seem to matter much, but I still believe matching water parameters and light cycle are key.
phender
Active member
My Huh? Wasn't directed at you not being able to get breeding pairs. It was directed at the price. Inland Aquatics has their Adult Pairs of ocellaris listed at $99.
Where did you get $300 - $600 for a pair of breeding ocellaris? Who would possibly want a breeding pair of ocellaris that bad that they would pay that much. Maybe a commercial breeder that had orders to fill and just lost their last ocellaris pair.
Heterodonut
New member
My bad on the direction of the Huh. However, just try to buy a breeding pair of O's from anybody but a casual reefer, and these days they are 3 hundred to 6 hundred, IF you can find a place with pairs to spare. Many reefers are learning what people will pay for spawning pairs and I've seen two (on other..cough,cough) sites for $400. and $1,000 per pair. As to what hobbyists will pay..well it always amazes me, $2,900 for a gem tang, $400 for a red haddon, hundreds for a Latz. etc. etc.
Fishboy42
Premium Member
Inland hasn't updated the main website in almost a decade. Here is a newer-version of what they are doing:
Inland Unplugged
Of course the pricing will seem high to some and low to others depending on the perspective: a hobbyist looking for a nice pair to inhabit his reef is probably not going to think it is a good deal, whereas to a breeder or commercial facility using the pair for breeding, it will be more than made-up upon the sale of the first spawn--not a bad return on investment IMO.
Heterodonut
New member
It looks like item UJ-47 is available for $550. Of course when I looked back at the original question, tipinover asked what is the cost of a pair in the subject, and the reasonable cost in the post. I always heard something is worth only what somebody is willing to pay for it, I guess there are enough people (or companies) that will pay $500 to $600 bucks. My best snag ever, the Latz I got for $12.! Best sebae clown I ever bought! Anybody know where I can get its mate for $12.?
phender
Active member
Wow! I guess my onyx x almost onyx pair of percs that lays 2" diameter nests every 10 days must be worth close to $1000.
But like you say. If you don't care whether or not you sell the pairs, if you ask for huge amounts of money, someone will eventually come along and pay that much. I think I am in the wrong business. I should just go buy individual percs and ocellaris for $10 - $20, pair them up and then after they spawn a couple times, sell them for $500 - $1000. No more raising rotifers and waiting 3-9 months for the babies to grow big enough to sell.
If I posted my pair for sale in the SoCal forum for $1000, I think people would think I was insane.
(but maybe I am just out of touch with the present reality)
But like you say. If you don't care whether or not you sell the pairs, if you ask for huge amounts of money, someone will eventually come along and pay that much. I think I am in the wrong business. I should just go buy individual percs and ocellaris for $10 - $20, pair them up and then after they spawn a couple times, sell them for $500 - $1000. No more raising rotifers and waiting 3-9 months for the babies to grow big enough to sell.
If I posted my pair for sale in the SoCal forum for $1000, I think people would think I was insane.
(but maybe I am just out of touch with the present reality)
Heterodonut
New member
It is all about supply and demand, and what somebody really wants. Very few people are willing to pay $300 or more for a pair. However there is that occasional person that will. Phil, if you want to contribute to the hobby, don't waste your time raising clowns, there are a lot of people doing that already. Put your experience to work, and figure out how the average reefer can keep ritteri, or some other nem alive for 10+ years.
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