Dissy;5039917; said:
I expect if my LFS were breeding them in the back, I wouldn't have spent 5 months searching for one, huh.. As long as I don't feel I got ripped off, and I'm happy with my purchase, that's all that matters.
You don't live here, so you have nothing to base your statement on, as far as what's available, and what's not.
I'm thinking you're just a tad grouchy. Try sunlight, and oxygen - it does wonders for ones disposition.
Have a better day.
Bigfishpond's statement was more accurate for wisconsin folks and he/she wasn't even being grouchy, just simply stating the fact.
Just because someone doesn't live "where you live" doesn't mean that we're knowledgeable about what prices go for what in the hobby those days.
I would have not paid that much money myself though- if you can't even get your hands on one searching for 5 months for an Albino LF its painfully obvious you don't know where/who to ask for em. There are TONS upon TONS of breeders in wisconsin breeding them like rabbits. There are several fish clubs in wisconsin. AND i'm just below the border of your state, The reason its harder and harder to get them in the LFS is the LFS are not buying the BNs from the hobbyists nowadays. and The LFS will be sitting on those guys for months before someone comes along and gets them. Because they're everywhere. More likely your next door neighbor that has a fish tank is sitting on a batch of fry. Ask some fellas from Chicago, theres simply too many BNs out there and not enough demand for them.
I just sold my LF trio that threw the albino LFs I couldn't wait to get rid of the BN entirely. really dislike them in my tanks. I consider them weeds now. Too prolific. I even tried to get my catfish to snack on the surplus fry... no catfish would touch them once they were free swimming at 14 days old... I gave away my SF BNs for free and had a hardtime trying to even get people to get them for free I was advertising for 2 months giving them away by the dozens/as well as the whole tanks.... I gave away all of my breeders, adults, juvies, fry all sizes in between to the greenwater society for their kids program which worked out great thank god they took em. I keep finding one or two more in my tanks though. I'll just leave them as long as they're the same gender I'll just leave em alone and try to ingore them as the chances are high that they won't make it even to adulthood now as the tank they're in is a clown loach tank.
To be honest with you, I think you could have used that amount to buy them from aquabid from quality sellers even your local sellers as I'm not sure which portion of wisconsin you hail from, or have gone to one of the fish swap meets/auctions/meetings or asked around for who had what.
Even the blue eyed prices are so down now. As simply too many of them out there, calicos are still going down as well too many of them now.
Right now green dragon and fire red ones are the HIGH sought after and people would not hesitate to pay 30 bucks for a fire red at 30 bucks is a smoking good deal but who knows in few months they might be dime a dozen.
I would say if you got one of the two then other peoples reaction to your thread would have been different and more excited for you - I know the green dragon strain more likely came from Michigan as I never looked into it but this breeder can breed anything he has in his tanks as I saw them with him year before they started to catch on fire. and I'm not sure where the fire red strain started, as I know I see them in the markets from Wisconsin more versus other states. So I don't live there but I know what the market is like, as everyone else does, people watch the classifieds, aquabid, the ebb and flow of the vendors and so on... I don't think there is any vendors on here that would even bother trying to import /sell any BNs.
Though all of us at one point overpaid for our fish and still don't regret the purchases. I still don't regret my purchases over the years.
