Cost of Gold Line knife fish

[electric_fish_guy]

We usually order 100 or so Gold Line knife fish (Sternopygus macrurus) for our laboratory once per year.

When I contacted our suppliers recently to place an order, both of them told me that the price for these fish had gone up in the past year - by 800% (literally).

Have others on this board seen a similar price increase? Does anyone know the reason behind it?

If this is indeed the new price, it is time to start breeding our own.

Thanks in advance for any information on the issue.

 

[midnightCK]

it be nice if u posted the price u used to get it for and the price proposed now... there mad rare here anyway.`

 

[electric_fish_guy]

Sorry - I intended to post the actual price change, but forgot to. . . .

A year ago, 12 inch fish were easily available at around $8 US (this was for purchasing quantities of 100-200 fish). Now our suppliers have changed the pricing to $60 US.

I can understand that prices are always increasing, but this is strange.

 

[midnightCK]

wow~ that is a big jump even with your order number... no need to be sorry , thanks i wanted to know~

i would pay at max 50 maybe 60 for one here. but then since your in TX. the shipping and moving/catching of those fish is pretty close to you already.

 

[benzjamin13]

Do you know their native range and how the wild population are going? Or maybe the owner of the company is just making up for a bad economy.

 

[electric_fish_guy]

These fish are quite common. They are found in freshwater rivers, streams, and swamps throughout the northern half of South America. The population isn't threatened at all -- there are plenty of fish down there.

Our suppliers are giving us all kinds of reasons for their price increases, ranging from exportation difficulties to the fact that the collectors can make more money moving cocaine than fish. Given the big range of inconsistent explanations I've been getting, I was just wondering if anyone on this forum had some insight on the matter.

 

[snyder810]

the store i work at recently had gold lines in much larger than 12" and they cost us about $20 each and we only purchased 3. seems like an extreme jump.

 

[electric_fish_guy]

the store i work at recently had gold lines in much larger than 12" and they cost us about $20 each and we only purchased 3. seems like an extreme jump.

Thanks. That is good to know.