How come frontosa are so expensive?

[Lukee]

i saw them on craigslist, they were like 300 bux for a 20cm?

are they like clown loaches and grow extreamly sloww

 

[repair]

Yes and it depends on the type...... I have 3 wild that were $200 each at 6"

 

[K A M I K A Z E]

i saw them on craigslist, they were like 300 bux for a 20cm?

are they like clown loaches and grow extreamly sloww

I read this somewhere a couple of years ago.. According to the article that I have read, the reason they're expensive is because they're found in deep water, so collecting them would be more difficult than fish found in shallow water. Also some parts of Africa are not accessible to most collectors due to the political situation there. A wild caught Frontosa would fetch top dollar whereas an F1 or F2 will probably be less.

 

[rallysman]

Captive bred fronts are still expensive because they generally don't produce a lot of offspring at once.

 

[K A M I K A Z E]

I think it depends on the breeder of the fish and the quality of the Frontosas being offered. I recently acquired 5 inch burundis from a local fish store for around 4 US Dollars each. The quality of the fish seem ok, I dunno if it's show quality, all I know is that theyre burundis.

There was an aquarist here in the Philippines who sold his 8"-12" Mpimbwes (around 4 pieces) for around 2000 pesos each (Thats roughly 40 us dollars).
Then he decided to sell his entire 90 gallon setup with all his mpimbwe's for roughly US$100
Heres the pics of the fish hes selling:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Karlo.Magpayo/FrontosaMpimbwe
http://www.philippinepetfinder.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40315

So it really depends on the seller. Sometimes you get a good deal, sometimes you dont. Normally, the prices really depend on the generation of the fish. If its wild caught, its really expensive. If its f5 to f7, its way cheaper

 

[Demonfish]

Are these guys hard to breed? Maybe I should start a new side business?

 

[aquatic_wonders]

I got 1 front for 3yrs already and he really does grow slow.

 

[reptech]

ive never seen for that much wow that crazy

 

[deangelo]

I read this somewhere a couple of years ago.. According to the article that I have read, the reason they're expensive is because they're found in deep water, so collecting them would be more difficult than fish found in shallow water. Also some parts of Africa are not accessible to most collectors due to the political situation there. A wild caught Frontosa would fetch top dollar whereas an F1 or F2 will probably be less.

you are correct that is why WILD caught front's are expensive...i've heard they go through a decompression stage in which they are caught and caged at the deep part of the lake and slowly raised up, it takes them days before they can take them out the lake..plus the size is a factor most if not all wild caughts are of adult or semi adult size..

 

[Sonny503]

Frontosa are my new craze.

I've purchased (2 (7 stripes) ) 2-3 inches Burundis for 16.99 each.
I believe they are F1s.
Rescued a male Frontosa @ 5 inches for $20.00.
He's very stressed and discolored, not a show quality fish.
For some odd reason I feel for the Frontosa so he'll be taken care of very well.

I am thinking of buying ( 4 ) 2-3 inches mimpbwe for $100.
Very beautiful but I hear they have "float" issues with this specie.
btw, I am in Oregon.

Most of the Fronts we get are captive bred from New York City!
We get some F1s from San Fransico.
Wild adults are unheard of! I've seen 2 in the NW and they fetched $80.00 each.