How much is this Apistogramma mendezi worth?

[yorky]

Just a poll to gauge how much we feel a pair of this fish is worth. Picture from www.RVA.ne.jp



Will reveal actual price after few days..

[kray]

From Japan... not lower than $200????

[benny]

I know this fish usually sells for more than S$200, but I think the most I'm prepared to pay is less than S$200.

It's not exactly a very colorful species unless it's flaring during mating season, unlike Apistogramma cacatuoides "super red", or even Apistogramma agassizii

Cheers,

[yorky]

I know this fish usually sells for more than S$200, but I think the most I'm prepared to pay is less than S$200.

It's not exactly a very colorful species unless it's flaring during mating season, unlike Apistogramma cacatuoides "super red", or even Apistogramma agassizii

Cheers,

I see, if you judge by colour, then in your opinion, are you willing to pay more for Caca Super Red than Mendezi?

The price of Apistos unfortunately or fortunately, is not based on colour.
Like all other fish, its based on availability.

[benny]

I see, if you judge by colour, then in your opinion, are you willing to pay more for Caca Super Red than Mendezi?

The price of Apistos unfortunately or fortunately, is not based on colour.
Like all other fish, its based on availability.

Well said!!!

I am not prepared to pay S$200 plus for the "super red". But for Apistogramma agassizii "tefe", can do.

Good point about the availibility/rarity of the specimen. Most of us just lump all of the apistogramma species as a group and gawk a the extreme ends of the price spectrum without really understanding the different specimens. I am guilty too.

Ok. Still....I don't think I want to pay more than S$200 per pair and I have not seen it for less than that here. And I don't even what to say how much it was retailing at Sam Yick, which had a damn nice specimen the last time I saw it. I think S$160 to S$180 is a good price for me to pay for this fish. Doubt it's possible.

Cheers,

[ranmasatome]

personally.. i wont even pay $50 for it...the overall shape and colour displeases me..and so what if its "rare".

there technically should be no price distinction between a pair of....say.. caca and a pair of mendezi.. but there is...because of rarity...
it sad how fishes are prized for how rare they are.. not the pure fact taht they are fishes..and the love of the fish and fishkeeping

personal opinions obviously..

[benetay]

I guess there are a few points in which why some of the other fishes are more expensive then the rest of them.

firstly, lets take caca for eg: it's easier to breed and it's faster to raise the fries of caca then mendezi. According to some of the studies shown, caca female come in heat every 2 weeks if they're given good food and water. Does mendezi come in heat so often? it was said that in captivity, mendezi consume their offspring .

Secondly, caca will lay a large number of eggs compared to mendezi, so lets say caca can lay up to 120 eggs whereas i know of mendezi laying at most 70 eggs. There is a big difference in number of eggs. After which, caca fries grow much faster then mendezi fries and the water requirement are totally different. Caca can tolerate up to pH of 8 in some parts of their natural biotope but mendezi will only spawn if the pH is low like below 5.5 which may result in additional cost for raising the mendezi fries.

thirdly, with normal death rates on fries, 30% of each batch are gone due to some reasons like fungus & unfertilise. Eventually during the upkeep of fries, the numbers will decline as much as another 20-40% so what is left is very very precious if the brood is small. Lets take for eg: a brood of 50 eggs are laid , 15eggs are gone due to fungus, another 17 of them died during upkeeping. so what is left? 18 fries? so how many out of the 18 can be nice? prolly 2 max?

So i believe the tagging of price is not only due to fish is fish logic. There are a lot to be considered if we try working it all out. I for one believe that there are many other factors affecting the price. We should not just label apisto rareness just because it's rare but understanding the concept of why is it rare. If i'm selling a diplo for 150 per pc i'm sure there is a reason behind it. Why i say so, it's very simple, it takes a hell long time for a diplo fry to be an adult not saying breedable , if i'm taking 1 year just to upkeep the fries, the price will sky rocket due to many other factors that are important such as, electricity, food, water etc.

If i can sell my caca in 6mths at 20 pairs for 30dollars each i can sell 40 pairs for 30 dollars each which adds up to 1.2k which i can or might be able to sell 3 pairs of diplo for 150 each which only makes up 900dollars.

It's pain staking to raise apisto fries cos' they take a long time before they reach a sellable size, import note on breeders is that we try not to do consecutive line breeding which results in lower quality fishes . Therefore we try cross back breeding or outsource breeding. Additional cost will incur when we try getting new fresh blood into the gene pool, crossing back will take a slow pace until the fries grows up. Therefore all such unseen factors are brought into the picture without the person knowning why is this fish priced a tad high? Going back onto raising of fries, we can only cull fishes when they're big enough to be culled which is like 5months down the road? Or maybe selling the not so good ones at a more affordable price.

I don't think apisto is rare just that its difficult to breed and the fries grow very slowly. In their natural habitat i guess everyone got to contribute in saving them . If we destroy the natural habitat i think we'll only have to buy tank bred fishes afterall.

When we raise the fries, we hatch BBS everyday and give a pat on the back and say what a good husbandry we're done but in actual fact we might have not really gave them what nature can offer.

[ranmasatome]

Hi..Bene.. i agree with ALL your points and i'm NOT disagreeing here.. but i think you missed the gist of what i said..

i know why prices are different for each fish...
the point i was making was not that..prices of fish are different...whatever the cause maybe..

but that fishes on general..get different degrees of treatment due to rareness.. Every fish should be viewed as a precious addition to the collection.. and not just be forsaken or looked at on a lower class just becuase it is not "rare" or easy to get. They should be "prized" irregadless of thier pricing..or rarity. This mentality of love for the fish, is also sadly, in itself a "rarity" these days.

As said.. and since this is a little OT..let me bring it back to topic..
this Mendezi to me.. isn't worth much.. but such is relative.. to others it may be worth $500 even..and that is perfectly alright. The beauty of this is that it is relative... and all can admire and enjoy the fish on their own level together..

[benetay]

Precisely but the point is will everyone treat them equally in the first place, just recall back the craze on lou han and you get what i meant.

[yorky]

From Japan... not lower than $200????

Can't reveal now.. but I am sure you know..
Even if not from Japan, like Taiwan or HK, almost as costly.

[benny]

The beauty of this is that it is relative... and all can admire and enjoy the fish on their own level together..

I have always believed that the true value of the fish lies in the amount of enjoyment you get out of it. Despite that it's only S$0.50 a piece, I really enjoy my Corydoras aeneus, which is quite a varied species and some color variants can go for more than S$30 each.

Cheers,

[ranmasatome]

Bene..wasn't around when the luohan craze was here leh..

[benny]

Bene..wasn't around when the luohan craze was here leh..

Oh he was. But somehow he wasn't blinded by the craze.

[outspoken]

Just a poll to gauge how much we feel a pair of this fish is worth. Picture from www.RVA.ne.jp



Will reveal actual price after few days..

whoa,bro yorky...seems like ur just tempting me even more to find this species...def willing to pay $150-$200 for this species but i guess the price is def more than $200.

[ranmasatome]

Oh he was. But somehow he wasn't blinded by the craze.

Benny, i was talking about myself not being present..
Anyway..never liked those buggers..

[mervin]

whatever it is, i sure its worth every cent.

however it is just too much ! not a amount i'm ready to part with.

[Cacatuoides]

how much we wana pay for the fish is personal preference i guess, wat matters is the satisfaction and enjoyment we get from keeping our "prized" fish at the end of the day.....

cheers!

[SCOPE]

I do agree with bro Caca...
It depend on how you look at it.
I used to have 3 pairs of this last year & sold them off at $60/pair.
Even to clear at $60/pair, they are not easy,.. not many really know how to appreciate them.

[benny]

I used to have 3 pairs of this last year & sold them off at $60/pair.

Wow!! If they are anything like the picture, the new owners really got a bargain!!!!!!!! That's like 1/4 of their worth in most markets.

Cheers,

[Wackytpt]

I agree with you benny. If like those in the picture & to pay 60/pair.. i will surely buy a pair