Fish Availability

[michael_cb_125]

Good Morning LA!!

I am in the process of trying to find a few new additions for my systems. I typically only buy my fish from the DD and would love to obtain the following species from there as well.

Could you check the availability of the following species?

Bandit Angel (Apolemichthys arcuatus) Small (<3")
Gold Flake Angel (Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus) Small (<3")
Yellow Bellied Regal Angel (Pygoplites diaccanthus) Small (<3")
Tinker's Butterfly (Chaetodon tinkeri) Small (<3")
Burgess Butterfly (Chaetodon burgessi) Small (<3")
Declivis Butterfly (Chaetodon declivis) Small )<3")


I am really looking for a few "rare (deepwater, not commonly seen species)" small (Juvenile or close to it) Angels and Butterflies. Is there any way that you can check to see what will be available in the next few weeks?

Thanks

~Michael

 

[dfs/la2]

Michael,

Thank you for your post. The medium and large Goldflake Angelfish is currently available on LiveAquaria.com. However, we are also checking with our Aquaculture Coral & Marine Life Facility regarding the availability of the fish you are inquiring about. We will post back once we have that information available for you.

Chris C.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[dfs/la2]

Michael,

Thank you for your patience while we obtained this information for you. We apologize as we do not have any Bandit or Yellow Bellied Regal Angelfish or Burgess Butterflyfish at this time. However, we currently have a 4" Goldflake Angelfish, a 4" Declivis Butterflyfish and 4"- 5" Tinkerii Butterflyfish that will be priced at $399.99 each along with a pair of Tinkerii Butterflyfish priced at $899.99. These beautiful fish should be posted in the Diver's Den later this week or early next week. We also have a rare 4 ½" Blueline Angelfish priced at $399.99 that should also be posted later this week or early next week. Please contact us if we can be of any further assistance.

Chris C.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[michael_cb_125]

Thanks Chris!

Can you get some info on one other fish for me?

Nemateleotris helfrichi (Cook islands variant)

I think I saw one of these posted a while back. The Nemateleotris helfrichi with an all purple head. Are any of these in QT? What did the last one sell for?

Are these fish just a variant? Are they collected from deeper water?

Thanks for any help

~Michael

 

[dfs/la2]

Michael,

Thank you for your reply. We currently have two Marshall Island Helfrichi's Firefish available in the Diver's Den. They do not have solid purple heads however, we thought they may be of interest to you. We are also contacting our Aquaculture Coral & Marine Life Facility with your questions regarding the Cook Islands Helfrichi's Firefish. We will post the information when it is available for you.

Chris C.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[DFS]

Michael,

The Polynesian variant of Nemateleotris helfrichi does in fact have a pink/purple face (depending on the angle in which you are viewing the fish). They are an incredibly beautiful, and super rare in the aquarium trade, collected in very small numbers in the Cook Islands. The Pink/Purple faced fish was actually used as the holotype for the identification of the species N. helfrichi, and the holotype fish was collected in Tahiti- French Polynesia.

We have sold two Polynesian Helfrich's Dartfish in the past and they are very hardy fish, selling for upwards of $899.99-$999.99 each. I am hoping to receive a few in 3-4 weeks, so if all goes well please keep an eye out in the Divers Den in early October.

The Polynesian (pink/purple faced fish) differs greatly from the Micronesian variant (yellow faced variant). In the aquarium trade the bulk of these species are the Micronesian variants which are harvested in the Marshall Islands. The range of the Micronesian fish is the North Central Pacific, and Northwest Pacific Ocean from the Marshalls, west to Palau and north to Japan.

In the next edition of ReefLife Magazine (which should hit the stands very soon), I have prepared a detailed article on Nemateleotris helfrichi, which discusses in great detail the differences and history of both the Polynesian and Micronesian variants, along with detailed images of both fishes. If you subscribe to this magazine, I hope you enjoy the article.

Happy Fishkeeping,
Kevin Kohen

 

[michael_cb_125]

Thanks for the Reply Kevin!

~Michael