Post the rarest fish species you have personally seen!

[TheFishTeen]

I am in the 'burbs of Chicago, IL. Picked them both up from the Diver's Den section of LA.

You purchased the Centropyge deborah from LiveAquaria DD? Great find! I check out Divers Den daily and have made multiple purchases from it already. I do find it to be a little overpriced but it is WYSYWIG and they spend a lot of time and money quarantining them.

 

[TheFishTeen]

I read this one was kind of rare after I got it.....Tomini Tang. I haven't seen one anywhere else.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150089917914424&set=a.10150089917789424

Sorry to burst your bubble but there is currently a Tomini Tang for sale right now as we speak for $40 at my LFS. I guess it depends on the location, hence the entire point of this thread.

 

[TheFishTeen]

REMINDER - PLEASE READ!

The most important thing to contribute to this thread is that
1) You didn't see it in the wild, you saw it either for sale or in an aquarium
2) YOU NOTE YOUR LOCATION.

Thanks, TheFishTeen.

 

[snorvich]

Well, towards the original purpose as I understand it: Old Town Aquarium here in Chicago has all sorts of rare and unusual fish for sale. Kevin Kohen gets some incredibly rare fish at Live Aquaria.

 

[snorvich]

In the wild, I have seen so many remarkable animals, I could not begin to list them.

 

[TheFishTeen]

In the wild, I have seen so many remarkable animals, I could not begin to list them.

The ocean is gods aquarium, and god has some incredible hook ups with rare fish collectors.

 

[CDP13075]

Sorry then.....I got that fish yrs ago and haven't seen any locally.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Sorry then.....I got that fish yrs ago and haven't seen any locally.

It could have been rare when you bought it! Take purple tangs for example. 5 years ago they were thousands of dollars and breathtakingly rare. Look at them now! Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people own them and they are sold daily. If thats the case with the Tomini tang, than sure, you did score a rare fish! Good Job!

 

[ccampbell57]

In order of rarity

Centropyge abei (only one in the world captive)
Centropyge nahakyi (only one in the world captive)
Centopyge fisheri x potters hybrid (only one in the world captive)
Prognathodes basabei
Genicanthus personatus pair
Leafy Sea Dragon

Waikiki aquarium

I have a tank full of rarities.

 

[TheFishTeen]

In order of rarity

Centropyge abei (only one in the world captive)
Centropyge nahakyi (only one in the world captive)
Centopyge fisheri x potters hybrid (only one in the world captive)
Prognathodes basabei
Genicanthus personatus pair
Leafy Sea Dragon

Waikiki aquarium

I have a tank full of rarities.

Thank you for contributing. Your 600 gal. fowler is one of my favorites on RC.

 

[Grassroots]

It could have been rare when you bought it! Take purple tangs for example. 5 years ago they were thousands of dollars and breathtakingly rare. Look at them now! Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people own them and they are sold daily. If thats the case with the Tomini tang, than sure, you did score a rare fish! Good Job!

5 years ago not so much try more like 10-15 years ago.

I have seen
Conspics
Rhomboids
black tangs
crosshatchs
clarion
personifers


ive seen most rare fish in person excluding the ultra rare like peppermint angels. Never seen gem tangs either but I think I will soon.

 

[ENTMogul]

Good point! The true personifier has a stripe through its tail. I did in fact see the true personifier. The per. in your avatar is a false.

Mine is a true. That is an old picture when he was just around 4". He has a beautiful stripe in the tail now.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Mine is a true. That is an old picture when he was just around 4". He has a beautiful stripe in the tail now.

They develop the stripe when they mature? Then how do you tell them apart as juveniles?

 

[lebreef]

Well I have seen a gem tang in Dubai (LFS).

Conspic, a mature PAIR of goldflakes, Femininus Wrasse and Candy Basslet in Belgium (Jawsee's tank).

Tokyo was another story all together:
- Conspic, Clarion, Mccullochi clown, snow basslet, and much more in the same store, although a bit less rare (bandit, tinkeri, declivis, p. aya, etc).

And another store in Tokyo had this little gem:

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ry_HklNF7DY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I can only imagine what it would have been like in Osaka (blue harbor & b-box!!!).

 

[TheFishTeen]

Well I have seen a gem tang in Dubai (LFS).

Conspic, a mature PAIR of goldflakes, Femininus Wrasse and Candy Basslet in Belgium (Jawsee's tank).

Tokyo was another story all together:
- Conspic, Clarion, Mccullochi clown, snow basslet, and much more in the same store, although a bit less rare (bandit, tinkeri, declivis, p. aya, etc).

And another store in Tokyo had this little gem:

VIDEO

I can only imagine what it would have been like in Osaka (blue harbor & b-box!!!).

You are quite lucky to see jawsees tank. He has an incredible SPS/Angelfish mix. Truly sets the bar high for reefers.

 

[lebreef]

If I am to talk about this tank, it would be endless, no words can really do this tank justice, being an Angel affectionado myself, it was beyond real... conspic, goldflakes (pair), true personifer (pair), septentrionalis (pair), and much more and this is only talking about fish... corals are another story altogether! It is not just the fish, but the husbandry skills are there for all to see, and he keeps pushing, hehe! And on top of it all Luc is a great guy!

 

[TheFishTeen]

If I am to talk about this tank, it would be endless, no words can really do this tank justice, being an Angel affectionado myself, it was beyond real... conspic, goldflakes (pair), true personifer (pair), septentrionalis (pair), and much more and this is only talking about fish... corals are another story altogether! It is not just the fish, but the husbandry skills are there for all to see, and he keeps pushing, hehe! And on top of it all Luc is a great guy!

I am waiting for the day when he is recognized for what he really does. People don't understand how much time and money it takes to run a system like he does. He is truly a reef king.

 

[r-balljunkie]

In the wild, I have seen so many remarkable animals, I could not begin to list them.

+1

cant even put into words.....even start to describe

 

[danfishman]

Centropyge abei is rarest and also the Persontus pair, Waikki Aquarium

A few 1/2in Personifers
Scribbled Angels
A few Juv Lennardi Wrasses

I do come from Western Australia though

 

[Big E]

5 years ago not so much try more like 10-15 years ago

Your time frame is about right but the cost is way off mentioned by the other poster.........I bought my purple tang in 1993 for $350 and still have hime today.

On the other hand, I paid $450 for a Clarion angel back then also versus the thousands now.

My list ...........

Clarion angel
9" tall Pinnatus batfish
Muelleri butterfly
Two 8" semilarvatus Butterflies direct from a local fish store. I don't believe they come in at that size anymore.

All in my own tanks