Zebra tang for sale on DD today!!

[Dmorty217]

If I came across one at a wholesaler I'd buy it if it looked good. But I'm sure DD would get it first.
Right now wholesale has a bandit for $450

Right so with that price point they make 1250$ on a "DD" Bandit... Seems like extreme profit margins to me. I have a LFS that marks things up 200% and I thought that was high. This is what LA/DD has been moving toward now for awhile. You can't purchase a Red Sea Regal from LA anymore, only DD so instead of the Regal costing 150$-200$ you now pay 450$ for the same fish.

 

[nuxx]

Right so with that price point they make 1250$ on a "DD" Bandit... Seems like extreme profit margins to me. I have a LFS that marks things up 200% and I thought that was high. This is what LA/DD has been moving toward now for awhile. You can't purchase a Red Sea Regal from LA anymore, only DD so instead of the Regal costing 150$-200$ you now pay 450$ for the same fish.

Honestly with what Zebras now cost, DD could charge $1600 for the fish if they were charging $800 before. Hey they're a rival, but their price is fair based on what they're paying.

They've jumped that much.

I've really done my research on this fish and know what it cost and where DD is getting theirs from.

I think it's a hype thing. I'm sure they'll come back down. When I last checked 5 were available. So it's not like there is a total lack of them.

 

[Dmorty217]

I'm with you Peter and hopefully the price will come back down after the "hype" but that remains to be seen. Cheapest Zebra I have seen since the 800$ DD one is at Reefwise for 1175$... When I say "seen" I mean searching the net.

 

[nuxx]

I'm with you Peter and hopefully the price will come back down after the "hype" but that remains to be seen. Cheapest Zebra I have seen since the 800$ DD one is at Reefwise for 1175$... When I say "seen" I mean searching the net.

I'll hook you up when it makes more sense.

Not going to overpay right now...

 

[Dmorty217]

I'll hook you up when it makes more sense.

Not going to overpay right now...

As always keep me in mind, I don't like overpaying for anything especially fish and they are overpriced right now to say the least

 

[brett559]

Dmorty217, how are the bandit and crosshatch doing?

 

[Dmorty217]

Dmorty217, how are the bandit and crosshatch doing?

They are doing great! Both are eating like pigs and the Bandit is always greeting me when I walk into the room. Most personable fish I have owned thus far. I was actually just watching them on my Dropcam Pro. Nice to be able to keep a eye on things even when I'm not there

 

[nuxx]

They are doing great! Both are eating like pigs and the Bandit is always greeting me when I walk into the room. Most personable fish I have owned thus far. I was actually just watching them on my Dropcam Pro. Nice to be able to keep a eye on things even when I'm not there

What temp are you keeping him at?

Also what are you feeding?

Will probably add one into our personal QT next. Our display runs 78-79 degrees.

 

[albano]

... DD profit margins are huge (for some fish) and will only continue to grow with Petco purchasing them...

Why do you think that?

 

[ca1ore]

I think it's a hype thing. I'm sure they'll come back down. When I last checked 5 were available. So it's not like there is a total lack of them.

Hope you are right!

 

[nuxx]

Hope you are right!

Me too!

I'll probably cave and get one even if they don't come down too much.

Just trying to get more fish in the tank fish to help reduce the chance of tang aggression. Might add a Gem at the same time as well... might as well if they're coming from the same place.

 

[Dmorty217]

Why do you think that?

Just because more and more fish that use to readily be available on LA have been out of stock for many months (some years now) and are only offered on DD. Bellus angels, Goldflakes, Regals, any shark now that isn't a bamboo ect... The list is only getting longer and buying DD fish means the price is higher. Petco is a large company that only cares about the bottom line so it will only make sense that they keep offering fish through DD and not LA. Petco.com has some of the same fish as LA but they are from a much smaller and less known wholesaler therefore their stock list is much smaller and things are usually always out of stock

 

[ca1ore]

Me too!

I'll probably cave and get one even if they don't come down too much.

Just trying to get more fish in the tank fish to help reduce the chance of tang aggression. Might add a Gem at the same time as well... might as well if they're coming from the same place.

Brings up an interesting point .....

It is my, admittedly subjective, view that the Gem is available more frequently than the Zebra, yet it is priced higher. Why is that? I don't know that appearance has much to do with price, so what is it? It's part of the reason I suspect the Zebra will go up in price, not down, as I can see no fundamental difference in underlying cost.

 

[nuxx]

Brings up an interesting point .....

It is my, admittedly subjective, view that the Gem is available more frequently than the Zebra, yet it is priced higher. Why is that? I don't know that appearance has much to do with price, so what is it? It's part of the reason I suspect the Zebra will go up in price, not down, as I can see no fundamental difference in underlying cost.

Based on price the of Gems, the Zebras should be $3000-4000. Small Zebras are the same price as medium Gems.

If you are going by the markups after the fish has been purchased from the collectors, imported, etc...

So yeah, I'm not going to knock DD for their prices on Zebras

It all stems from their price at place of origin.

 

[Dmorty217]

What temp are you keeping him at?

Also what are you feeding?

Will probably add one into our personal QT next. Our display runs 78-79 degrees.

My Qt that they are in runs between 74-76 right now (have a heater on the tank but it's not plugged in). Im feeding a mix of plankton,mysis,brine, mussels, and formula 2 cubes with selcon and vitachem added (also amino omega and angelixer) not sure the last two make a difference or not but I have them so Im using them. I feed the trigger mostly the food that I made which is heavy in white, wild caught fish and clams, mussels, smelt, squid, and nori which is also enriched with selcon and vitachem. The bandit seems to prefer the smaller pieces of food but eats everything I put in the tank. The next cup of food I make up to feed won't have any brine in it so we will see how that goes.

 

[nuxx]

My Qt that they are in runs between 74-76 right now (have a heater on the tank but it's not plugged in). Im feeding a mix of plankton,mysis,brine, mussels, and formula 2 cubes with selcon and vitachem added (also amino omega and angelixer) not sure the last two make a difference or not but I have them so Im using them. I feed the trigger mostly the food that I made which is heavy in white, wild caught fish and clams, mussels, smelt, squid, and nori which is also enriched with selcon and vitachem. The bandit seems to prefer the smaller pieces of food but eats everything I put in the tank. The next cup of food I make up to feed won't have any brine in it so we will see how that goes.

Think 78-79 would be too warm?

I'm a bit nervous... seems OK for the Crosshatches. Guess they're found at similar depths.

 

[Dmorty217]

Think 78-79 would be too warm?

I'm a bit nervous... seems OK for the Crosshatches. Guess they're found at similar depths.

No, I had the tank at 77 when I first added them. If the angel started acting weird or stopped eating for some reason you could lower the temp (not sure if that would make a difference or not, and probably wouldn't cause the angel to stop eating or cause anything negatively to happen)

 

[nuxx]

No, I had the tank at 77 when I first added them. If the angel started acting weird or stopped eating for some reason you could lower the temp (not sure if that would make a difference or not, and probably wouldn't cause the angel to stop eating or cause anything negatively to happen)

Guess I could try to raise the temp in QT first.

Also wanted to add him to the frag tank after QT to test coral friendliness... even though my DT is hating coral for some reason right now...

I'll have that temp the same as the display.

 

[Dmorty217]

Guess I could try to raise the temp in QT first.

Also wanted to add him to the frag tank after QT to test coral friendliness... even though my DT is hating coral for some reason right now...

I'll have that temp the same as the display.

No corals in the tank the angel is in so I can't speak to that. When I first got her she was picking all over the rock so not sure how that would translate as far as corals go but all individual fish are different so you never know until you try

 

[BlueMac92]

If I came across one at a wholesaler I'd buy it if it looked good. But I'm sure DD would get it first.
Right now wholesale has a bandit for $450

Lol talk about a big no no....

If were referring to the same vendor, that $450 bandit will be 4" or bigger. Not to mention wether it eats or not. They can tell you it eats all they want, but I was told by the wholesaler my conspic was eating very well, and that wasn't the case when I recieved it. Which could have been from shipping, who knows. They are a very reputable wholesaler. But every retailer runs that same risk.

What you guys aren't taking into account is how many you didn't see, that were lost, to bring that one to market that is doing very well. These named retailers aren't buying direct from diver, so the risk and supply chain grows further and less predictable. Especially with Angels. A certain amount of market respect needs to be upheld.

That being said, I'm not sure why the zebras shot up in price like they did. From what I've been told discussing with other shops, they all seem to be coming in eating well. A little skinny, but eating well. That may just be a case of supply and demand. I do know that Old Towne has had one for A month or so and the employee I spoke to said it was $8-900. It is, however, ~ 4.5" and they moved it to one of the back coral display because it wasn't doing so well with the other tangs in their 240 display.