Why are their not more citrenellum and labiatus wild available?
Because there isn't a commercial aquarium fish exporter industry in Lake Nicaragua like there is in, for example, Iquitos, Peru.
Nor the volume of demand / willingness to pay the prices here in the US to justify one...
Matt
You're pretty much dead on, however the cost reflected at the retail level is relatively negligible. Maybe a Wild 2" Midas cost you 15.99 instead of 9.99 or a 6" is 60 vs 45? As a buyer and enthusiast I would almost pay double for a genuine wild fish. I think it justifies the price. But I would never go spend 300 dollars on a cichlids either. Where you are 150% correct is the cost bared by the the people funding the importing and catching of a wild fish. And that along with limited demand is what really prohibits more wild fish of any species getting to the shops.
My Trimac is wild caught female. I got her @ 3" for 39.99. A standard ugly trimac/fh mix-up batch is 29.99-34.99 in the NY/NJ Metro area. So as a customer a young wild fish is not a big hit in the pocket. You just need to have a relationship with who you get it from because it does become the trend for shops to label fish as wild and mark them up. But a good store uses their standard markup across the board and wouldn't jack up their price on a 'wild' fish, real or not.
You're pretty much dead on, however the cost reflected at the retail level is relatively negligible. Maybe a Wild 2" Midas cost you 15.99 instead of 9.99 or a 6" is 60 vs 45? As a buyer and enthusiast I would almost pay double for a genuine wild fish. I think it justifies the price. But I would never go spend 300 dollars on a cichlids either. Where you are 150% correct is the cost bared by the the people funding the importing and catching of a wild fish. And that along with limited demand is what really prohibits more wild fish of any species getting to the shops.
I seem to always have this argument with a certain someone. I dont see why its so wrong for someone to want a wild caught fish vs a F1 i dont see whats so wrong with that from a hobbyist stand point. Especially if your obsessed with a certain species and thats what you want why cant you have the best and purest? I understand f1 is still good stock but its not exactly the same as owning a species that was born and caught in its natural habitat. Maybe its just me. But its perfectly fine to strive for wild caught and i think the price of wild caught from a reputable distributor is justifiable. Also if people didnt own and want f0 you would never have f1 this and that that IS in demand for hobbyist. That way f1 pure non hybrid quality fish can be distributed better throughout the hobby.
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