Gem Tang

They really aren't are at all. As of last year there was only one person shipping them out of Mauratius. It's a woman in charge and she won't ship just gem tangs unless you order 10 at time. She pretty much says you want 5 gem tangs then you also need to order 10 other fish. Those 10 other fish can be found elsewhere. The shipping is outrageous as well and that drives up the price of the other 10 assorted fish past what they would normally cost. The gem tangs are everywhere off the coast of South Africa, but it is illegal to export them from that area. I have only seen the 3500 mark on DD and from a few places online. They do pop up here in NJ, maybe 10 a year. They normally go for 2000-2500, although one sold for 1300 a few months ago.

I think you are wrong.
I doubt they will ever ship 5 Gem Tangs in one shipment , even last season which was a very good season for this fish which was caught in a good size for extended period of time, I'm not aware of them sending 5pcs/shipment.
And you're not talking 10 fish, maybe more like 10 boxes of fish or more.

In any case, this year the season is dull.
 
No I'm pretty sure of the numbers, I have been trying to get this fish shipped directly to me and I have been in touch with the lady who runs the operation. This is also what two very well known Lfs around me were told as well. The two shops are Elos aqua studio and absolutely fish. I'm not sure if you have ever heard of either of these shops but they carry high end fish and are well known for their rarities. I got 5 people near me that were interested in doing a group buy for the gem tangs, I was told to come back when there are 10 orders for the gem tang. She will ship 6 but I need to buy other fish to make it worth her time. I'm not paying 200 for an exquisite fairy wrasse.
 
Also depends where they are coming from. Christmas islands are collected once a year and only a specific amount of fish can be collected.
 
They really aren't are at all. As of last year there was only one person shipping them out of Mauratius. It's a woman in charge and she won't ship just gem tangs unless you order 10 at time. She pretty much says you want 5 gem tangs then you also need to order 10 other fish. Those 10 other fish can be found elsewhere. The shipping is outrageous as well and that drives up the price of the other 10 assorted fish past what they would normally cost. The gem tangs are everywhere off the coast of South Africa, but it is illegal to export them from that area. I have only seen the 3500 mark on DD and from a few places online. They do pop up here in NJ, maybe 10 a year. They normally go for 2000-2500, although one sold for 1300 a few months ago.

That is not corect !
Every now and then we see big 30cm gems the small nice once are scears
I have only heard of 6 small gems in last years season mauritius has more than SA . Even my gem is a mauritius one . The season starts in March . If you collect fish for our tank in SA you neen a aquarium permit to collect fish

Now I have met Meneeka personally ( and the family thy are realy nice ) and how it works is the amount of gems thy curently have is what thy will ship . It must of been reel good luck for them to have 10 at the same time ! The most i heard of was 4
 
I didn't say they had 10, she told me if I wanted only gems the order would need to be for 10. If I wanted 5 gems I needed to order other fish as well. Also I'm not referring to gems being illegal to collect in South Africa but rather for export.
 
No I'm pretty sure of the numbers, I have been trying to get this fish shipped directly to me and I have been in touch with the lady who runs the operation. This is also what two very well known Lfs around me were told as well. The two shops are Elos aqua studio and absolutely fish. I'm not sure if you have ever heard of either of these shops but they carry high end fish and are well known for their rarities. I got 5 people near me that were interested in doing a group buy for the gem tangs, I was told to come back when there are 10 orders for the gem tang. She will ship 6 but I need to buy other fish to make it worth her time. I'm not paying 200 for an exquisite fairy wrasse.
hmm... I think you are dreaming... :lmao:
10 gem tang in one order?? :P :P :P
 
Not as much as you might think; ultimately it depends on the order size.

Freight/import from the Mauritius is very expensive.
Pretty much says all hunter.........
And to add .. Gem tang is a seasonal fish.... u get them mainly from February to July/June and then becomes scarcer after. And to make thing worst.. Mauritius is a tropical island frequently visited by cyclones during those month.. (specially January-March). During which we start to see millions of fish in post larval stage... Imagine a small cyclone passing nearby.. and millions babies become a few hundred and to complicate things for the few babies, most of their food are also gone during those bad weathers.

Freight is fixed by IATA, and I don't know for what reasons, freight cost are in some cases 4-5 times more than from other exporting countries. One possible concrete reason could be that we are furthest from many importing countries, Europe and USA/Canada.
 
I've only seen two available. One locally for $1400 for a larger specimen and another for $950 wholesale. Im still ****ed I passed on those. O well.
 
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