For Cali and Gary:
I respect your opinions that were stated. I also agree about the fish being beautiful. They all are. As well as quite desired by certain people in the hobby.
But I think you misunderstood what I meant about "trendy".
It's not the "fish" that are "trendy" and I didn't state that specifically. Or at least not the way I meant it to come accross.
Moreover what I meant is:
It's a consensis of habits within people in the business that determine the "Price tag" of certain things and whether it is up or down. Or the rarity of the specimen in the hobby based on it's "availability" "at the time". A factor imposed or not by people. Not the fish. That is the "Trend" I refer to.
"Trend" because it often changes over spans of time. Which history has already proven. Even in THIS hobby.
The truth is with the amount of resources that can be pulled by those that would want to, more of these "rare" fish could be made available for much cheaper than you think. 'An apparently less rare than one would be made to believe by those that import them for sale from collection sites. It's just a matter of who wants to make a concentrated effort. Time and $$ spent on vs. what is made in return. It is not a hard thing to do, for those with the means. As with anything, it's about making money. If there is not enough "demand" for it at present, this reduces what one can really profit from vs. the cost. But of course if enough people "spend" what it takes in purchasing them within the hobby, MORE will be sought after through collection.. and eventually the cost will go down.
As you put it Cal, living vicariously through the Rich man!:spin1: I hate to say it, but it's a fact. Those are the people that can help the common hobbyist such as our selves to one day own "rare" things. LOL
Except, they will be less "rare" then.
On all the deep water basslets:
Though the last 2 years have been my first home reef, As I have said before, I have studied fish for over 20 years and people have been keeping those basslets including the one mentioned here(as well as related species) since at least the late 1960's. There was practically no real saltwater hobby then. It didn't start really kicking until the 80's for regular people. But they were kept even back then. By select advanced aquarists, home tinkerers in science and various Scientists / Ichthyologists.
These fish have been around longer than we have been looking for them. Their numbers believe it or not
Gary, although not accurately counted in anyway(impossible) are extremely high.
The Candy Basslet- "Liopropoma carmabi" was discovered by Dr. John E. Randall, in 1963. He did it not only diving but "deep water trolling". Which can be done even in a mass form of collection. As well as various other ways. (underwater bait- net / traps).
Something that IF done, does NOT stop mass collection of deep water basslets.
As I said, there is a difference in truly rare in the wild and "rare" in this hobby. Rare in the hobby is a human based factor, not a fact of reality.
'An most often a "farce".
So all I meant was, when something is truly not rare in the true sense, I'm not one to spend ridiculous amounts of money on it. Let the Rich guy be the fool! :spin2: Afterall, they probably don't care anyhow. Like pennies to 'em. But if your lucky, someday those of us with less means, will buy one for cheap. Either way, they are not rare in the wild habitat where they are located. There is enough to collect for years or several decades depending on how severe a collection habit would become or be allowed to become.
Why doesn't it happen?? Do you want to pay $899 LOL Enuff said.
Maybe we can talk David Saxby into a tank of them! I'll bet when he forks the cash over they will make it happen. :spin3: LOL
Still with NO effect on the very LARGE population that is "rare" for some reason... :strange: But.. not.
