Trying to understand prices

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youseshan

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 3, 2011
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howell
Why are flowerhorns so expensive, I mean they certainly aren't rare, I've seen several come and go at my lfs's and thousands in here and other websites. Is it because select cichlids have to be bred, or is it simply because people are still willing to pay the high prices?


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flowerhorns that are expensive are due to what goes into making them. you cant just cross two fish and hey presto flowerhorn. its a long series of interbreeding and line breeding to give you that result that takes years upon years and hard labour in the selection process.

the better the quality (ie. kok, scripting, shape, tail formation ect) the more expensive the fish
 
how many different fish it takes to make a certain flowerhorn. quality of each bloodline used. it takes alot to end up with each kind of fh. that in itself makes the numbers of quality FHs low. supply and demand drives the price up. then you have your AVERAGE home aquarist breeding on purpose or accident and ending up with still a fh but not a quality one or who knows what kind. then they sell on the net FLOWERHORN for sale and everyone wants one but you dont know what your getting but the price is still sky high. alot go to lfs and of course the lfs knows the word FLOWERHORN so there gonna put a 39.99 pricetag on a 1 inch fish and write it on the tank all in florescent puffy paint with scribbles and say rare!!!!
real flowerhorns are from real breeders that have a rep and proof and more than 3 29 gal aquariums. if you want a nice one, read the fh section for a while. there are a couple real deals that post there and the rest will point ya towards somebody that knows way more about fh than me.
hope i helped instead of just rambled.
 
or is it simply because people are still willing to pay the high prices?

^
that


It's no more difficult to breed/line breed FH, than it is any other man made hybrid species of fish. The problem with hybrid strains such as FH is that you end up with a lot of crap offspring, a lot of mediocre specimens, and very few with what some would consider show quality or masterpiece potential. Because of that the latter usually cost a lot more, but again, only because people are willing to pay those kinds of prices.
 
You nailed it...it's only worth what people are willing to pay for it.

There are certainly good deals out there. If you find the right seller like me. My frys (personally I feel are of quality compared to what I've seen sold for a lot more) I sell for $5 each & even less if sold in quantity. It's just that I'm not in this for the $$$, it's just a hobby for me.

Dealers & breeders obviously have to charge more to cover their expenses...it's what they do for a living.
 
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