Narcosis1

Kingi's can be exported from South Africa but permits are really difficult to obtain. The recent ones that were in the market were from South Africa. The Gems caught in SA are really black and they are very very big, saw one recently about 20cm. Difficult to confirm but it was about that size. Its difficult to confirm if the Gems have come from South Africa, we do not have regular collectors of them, more Mauritius and Madagascar.

Have you ever had an option to purchase the Kingi? I am not too sure on where they came from but I have caught a few in our waters recently. They go from South Africa to Mozambique. I haven't heard the price if it comes from East Africa. Gems are alot darker here in SA, and they are a lot bigger.

Old Woman Angels are not found as deep as the Kingi. The specimens I collecTed are still doing well. Do you like the Kingi, coralfriend?

Coralfriend, you have a awesome fish collection. Its sad to hear of your losses. I know who you are referring to and I know the full story behind it. Your Debelius is beautiful. Is it the only 1 in captivity? Do you mind if I ask how much you paid for him?

That is correct, Pseudanthias Connelli are known as Harlequin Goldies. Yeah Gems are really cheap and easy to find, but the ones we have are huge!!! What is the rarest fish / most expensive fish in Singapore? I saw that Crownfish had a Marley. Beautiful Debelius! Its a pity that we are not able to collect. :-( Who did you deal with for the collection? If you would be able to advise I would be grateful. Our restrictions in South Africa make it very difficult to get fish exported. I know the last 2 never made it, I know who collected it and I don't approve on his collection methods. What did they sell for in HKG?

The fish we have seem to be wanted all around the world. Rarity is there but I think that is what makes them wanted. All the fish I have seen when I've dived were Kingi Angels, Old Woman Angels, Marley Butterflies, Fourline Hogfish, Gem Tangs and Harlequin Goldies. Has anyone seen prices on all of these fish? Would be interesting to know,

Madagascar does have some lovely fish available as well. I will need to check, I am a Angelfish fanatic. Love angels, not so much wrasse and other fish. Debelius is lovely, I have heard of a few sightings for the Reunion but it is in a protected area, so no collecting,

Hi coralfriend. We have some rare fish in SA. We have tried to go and collect the Debelius but the authorities are very strict, no collecting or exporting. Would love to go though someday but until then.... Send me a PM on where you saw the video please. I will tell you if it is me or not.

I never see the Paracheilinus or Pseudanthias. I dont know why, maybe they dont excite me as much. We have some of the rarest fish in the world but not the most colourful. Madagascar has some nice fish. I know 1 or 2 people there. What fish are you referring to?

It would be an expensive meal if we were eating Old Woman and possibly risky as well. I will keep an eye out on my future dives, maybe (hopefully) I see one. We dont have many rare species in South Africa, we have the Tiger Angel, Marley Butterfly, Old Woman Angel and Fourline Hogfish. But must of them do not really appeal to me.

Now 20 cm is fairly big, but the Kingi's that I have caught are all in the region of 12 - 16cm. I do not like big fish, the care requirements are so much more. Old Woman juveniles are lovely. Not really rare but difficult to catch as they have similarities to other angels which makes it difficult to identify from a distance. I caught 3 Adult Old Woman and the sizes were 10 - 15cm. Which is a decent size. Small kingi's are available, they are either very deep or they are extremely hidden. If you have the patience and stick it out you can probably catch one but it is gonna take you a long time and alot of a stress! Lol. But its not really realistic at this moment, they are not seen a lot and if they are its very quick.

What is considered XXL in Singapore? How many cm? I have seen that Japan and Singapore like smaller angels, recently saw small Queen Angels arriving at one of the sponsors. Smaller fish are nicer, bigger fish are boisterous and just not attractive. Tiger Angels and Old Woman get really big and juveniles are hard to come by, I dont think a juvenile will see the market for a long long time. Decompression on a small kingi is too stressful and needs to be done over days from that depth. I am trying to find out now where it went, the hybrid kingi. Lol, no Old Woman are not considered food fish. We have snoek, hake, tuna and other food fish available. No need to eat beautiful reef fish.

Lol, you like rare fish? I don't know about that, I have seen a number of posts by sponsors offering rare fish and people don't seem that interested. At $8k, realistically, how many people can afford that fish and be willing to take the risk?

That is the one, I have no idea where it is. I will do some research to find out where it is now. I personally don't think that it is too appealling. They are extremely big and colours lack.

Personally I have never seen a hybrid myself. I did see a picture a while back of a hybrid but it was massive. We have some awesome fish in South Africa!

They are. Sometimes its difficult to see them... Until you look closer and then its time to snag them.

Not sure on how common they are but caught one a few weeks back. Its difficult to tell what it is at that size but definitely marley. I agree, I think they will try a few more and then give up entirely. Same with the Peppermints. Its alot of money to loose! You will see a juvenile kingi every now and then and its not for long, they are quick and always in crevices on the reef but I am trying to get one. Hopefully soon, lol. Try and go out on a rebreather for 2 hours trying to get them They are drab and it doesnt make it any easier that they get so big but they are beautiful juveniles. We caught 3 small adults also but they are not nice at all.

Not sure on how common they are but caught one a few weeks back. Its difficult to tell what it is at that size but definitely marley. I agree, I think they will try a few more and then give up entirely. Same with the Peppermints. Its alot of money to loose! You will see a juvenile kingi every now and then and its not for long, they are quick and always in crevices on the reef but I am trying to get one. Hopefully soon, lol. Try and go out on a rebreather for 2 hours trying to get them They are drab and it doesnt make it any easier that they get so big but they are beautiful juveniles. We caught 3 small adults also but they are not nice at all.

Not sure on how common they are but caught one a few weeks back. Its difficult to tell what it is at that size but definitely marley. I agree, I think they will try a few more and then give up entirely. Same with the Peppermints. Its alot of money to loose! You will see a juvenile kingi every now and then and its not for long, they are quick and always in crevices on the reef but I am trying to get one. Hopefully soon, lol. Try and go out on a rebreather for 2 hours trying to get them They are drab and it doesnt make it any easier that they get so big but they are beautiful juveniles. We caught 3 small adults also but they are not nice at all.

I agree but how long did it take them to learn how to properly collect the Bandit angels? It will happen over time but due to the strict export restrictions in South Africa, the Kingi's are collected for personal tanks, when they are collected. From what I have heard, Taiwan is still very interested in the Kingi's. Yeah there are a few that I know of that are in reefers tanks, the problem comes when you catch them, if you do not decompress them properly you gonna have any luck. It takes times to bring them up, if you use a needle, anything can happen. A lot of the time that they are brought up they don't eat and die of starvation. Not many people do have them though so its not something that I can tell you. Lol, Come to SA and we can do a dive to spot some. They are rare which makes them awesome, but I think its the same thing with the Conspic Angels, if you stay in New Caledonia you see them a lot, so the novelty is no longer there, its a common fish. Will see if I can find one of the Marley quick. Got it. Old Woman Angels get there name from the way the angels look when they are adults, Big and grey!

I agree but how long did it take them to learn how to properly collect the Bandit angels? It will happen over time but due to the strict export restrictions in South Africa, the Kingi's are collected for personal tanks, when they are collected. From what I have heard, Taiwan is still very interested in the Kingi's. Yeah there are a few that I know of that are in reefers tanks, the problem comes when you catch them, if you do not decompress them properly you gonna have any luck. It takes times to bring them up, if you use a needle, anything can happen. A lot of the time that they are brought up they don't eat and die of starvation. Not many people do have them though so its not something that I can tell you. Lol, Come to SA and we can do a dive to spot some. They are rare which makes them awesome, but I think its the same thing with the Conspic Angels, if you stay in New Caledonia you see them a lot, so the novelty is no longer there, its a common fish. Will see if I can find one of the Marley quick. Got it. Old Woman Angels get there name from the way the angels look when they are adults, Big and grey!

But they are rare, so thats why they carry that heavy price tag. Are you looking for a Kingi? Do you like the way they look or just the fact that they are so rare? No, decompression on a fish like that needs to be done over a day or 2. I dont believe in needling, there is so much that can go wrong puncture internal organs, infection, etc.

Marleys are expensive as well and I saw that there were some available years back. Marleys will probably be very expensive but who knows. That is a crazy amount and they were eating? Sad story, spend $ 8k and the fish dies. Big Kingis are 30 - 40m.

Nitrogen Narcosis just gives you a feeling of confusion and disorientation when diving deep, thats why Rich was so confused when he surfaced and saw he caught one. Lol. Crazy story. I use Nitrox now when diving so sometimes I don't get and sometimes I do. Marley must be super expensive as well. Its crazy on price.

We were planning on collecting for resale but from where we are and where the peppermints are, costs are too high to get there, collection is too risky because countries like the Cook Islands doesn't have deco chamber support so all and all it doesn't look like we can do it. Peppermints are found deep, I am not sure how Rufus collects them, whether it be slowly bringing them up over a week or if he needles them, but needling fish is always risky and sometimes the infection sets in too quick and then they die. Rufus is very near to where they are located in the South Pacific I am all the way on the other side of the world, so to go there needs to be worthwhile. I don't have one in my collection at the moment, I don't like the way that they look, they are not as attractive to me as pygmy angels but people love them I see. I can get Kingi if the water is good but they do well if they are not needled. The reason they die is that they are not decompressed properly. If that is done correctly and they are treated, less problems. Small kingis will probably never make it out of the ocean, you need to be very patient or have a whole lot of luck!