The 8 Most Expensive Fish in Marine Aquarium Hobby
- Oct 31, 2021
- Anshika Mishra
- 602 0 0
Keeping saltwater fish is a pretty expensive hobby at the best of the times, and you can easily spend $500 on a Goldflake Angelfish or even $800 on a pair of designer Clownfish. But those fishes are pound-store bargains compared to the fishes in this list.
Here, we are sharing the list of the eight most expensive fish in the hobby that you want but can't afford, along with eight cheap alternatives that you can.
8. Tigerpyge Angelfish ($1,200)
They are rare in the hobby because they are naturally hybrid of the already stunning Lemon peel Angel and the Ably Angel. It is the beauty as much as the rarety of this fish that makes this fish so expensive. But, the best thing about this fish being a hybrid is that two obvious alternatives are common as much.
The Red Strip Angelfish is the closest looking fish and will set you back around $50, while the Lemon Peel Angelfish will probably cost about $100. By reputation, Red Strip Angelfish is the marginally safer bet with corals, but you should not take any chances with either of them when it comes to corals.
7. Wrought Iron Butterflyfish ($1,800)
In this wild, this is not a rare fish. If you dive in the right place, you will see huge groups of them. But, the distribution of these fishes makes them so expensive. They are only found in Japan, and it is why they are so costly.
Raccoon Butterflyfish is the best alternative that you can get for less than $80. The Pakistani Butterfly is probably closer looking to the Wrought Iron Butterfly, but the Racoon shares the black and yellow colors of the Wrought Iron and is the prettier fish.
They are another risky bet with corals, but they have been reported to eat Aptaisia, which is something we can all get on board with.
6. Candy Basslet ($2,000)
It is a reclusive fish that like to hide in rock work, so this may be one of the worst valued fish in the world. Their shyness, along with the fact that they live in deep water, makes them both rare and expensive. On the other hand, it is peaceful, reef safe, and the bright purple-pink horizontal stripes set against to highlighter yellow body make this small fish an absolute heartbreaker like nothing else in the hobby.
The Swales Swissgaurd Basslet will set you back to the north of $100, and sure they are not as colorful and bright as the candy Basslet, but they retain the same patterns and body shape.
5. Bandit Angelfish ($2,000)
The Bandit Angelfish is endemic to Hawaii, a country that has recently banned marine fish export to the aquarium trade. So, if you manage to get a hold of one of these deepwater beauties before the ban, then you sure are a lucky reefer.
There are plenty of alternatives with the striped eye mask that makes the Bandit Angelfish so desirable. While none have such unique colorings, the Xanthurus Crea Angelfish is a great alternative similar to the Bandit.
Away from the Angelfish family, the Burjessy Butterflyfish is about as close as you will get in terms of Black adn white stripes with a black eye mask that you can get for not more than ($100).
4. Kingi Angelfish ($6,000+)
This fish is regarded as the holy grail of Angelfish. You can pay up to $12,000 for these beauties. So, why are they so expensive? Is it because they are critically endangered species on the verge of extinction? No!
The International Convention for Conservation of Nature lists them as least concern, meaning they are nowhere near endangered. But the Tiger Angels are endemic to South Africa adn have the good sense to reside in a pretty protected marine area. Unfortunately, this means they are seldom connected and are thus very expensive.
Multibar Angelfish is a great alternative and can be owned for under $200. But, it is a fussy fish and is not a fish for the faint-hearted.
3. Dr. Seuus Sopafish ($6,000)
This is the first fish on the list that are relatively cheap. They live around the Marshal islands, which is in the middle of nowhere, and they swim in cooler, deep waters. But, as will all deepwater fish, collecting them adn bringing them to the surface without killing them by decompression sickness requires skilled and experienced divers, and such people don't work cheaply.
While a good doctor requires special care and attention, the alternative does not. The Long-nose Hawkfish is the closest in shape to the Seuss and matches the long face. They are a fantastic character fish, are peaceful and reef safe, with a possible exception of small ornamental inverts. Also, they are cheap, and you can get one for less than $50.
2. Masked Angelfish ($16,000)
They are deep water fish and are sexually dimorphic, which means that the ladyfish look different from the gentlemen. They are also endemic to Hawaii, so don't put your house on the market just yet, as you, of course, cannot buy a wild-caught Hawaiian fish anymore.
The two most similar fishes are the Xanthusus Cream Angelfish which you can buy for less than $60, and the multicolor angelfish available for around $100. Unfortunately, they are both Angelfish, so there is a fair chance that they will nibble on your corals. So, if you want a reef-safe white fish with a mask, the Wyoming White Clownfish is your best bet that you can get for about $60.
1. Peppermint Angelfish ($30,000)
These stripy little wallet shrinkers are found in the middle of the Southern Pacific ocean, approximately four billion miles away from civilization. They are deepwater fish, and they are also reported to be nervous as they swim for cover whenever they see any person.
Because Peppermint is a great dwarf Angelfish, the natural alternative is the stunning Flame Angelfish. They are one of the most beautiful fish in the marine hobby regardless of price, and even though they have recently increased to almost $200, there are a few more handsome fish available.
So, if you are prepared to take the coin toss risk that they will eat your corals, you will be rewarded with a great alternative to the Peppermint for less than 0.1% of the cost.
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