With respect to the differences in prices among stores, it is hard to be fair when comparing their prices unless you ask were the fish or coral came from.
I can tell you that there are significant differences in the price stores pay for fish and because most of them use a simple formula to calculate their selling price these differences in cost will reflect on the price they sell them.
These price variations between what appears to be the same species are due to several factors like were they originate from, distance, accessibility, collecting practices etc.
These differences, usually, but not always, go along with the quality of the specimens, for example most countries banned the use of cyanide for collecting fish, however, not all countries have the resources or the funds to control this bad practice and some countries continue to close their eyes to this problem, the countries that do regulate it will have a higher cost on their livestock but their livestock is likely to be healthier than the ones who don’t, this is a trade that you need to consider when you shop for fish or corals.
This is explain why a skunk clown could be $15 here and $30 there, usually because one store paid $2 for the one coming from Indonesia and the other paid $7 for the one coming from Australia.
This doesn’t mean that you should go find the most expensive fish when you are shopping for one, but make sure to inform your self were are their live stocks coming from.
