Some recent catches.... Old Woman Angelfish

[yikai]

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.

There's Psedanthias connellei and Paracheilinus attenuatus! But I agree. Not as exciting as nearby countries such as Madagascar. Do you have any affiliates or contacts there? There a re a few fish species from there that the world is dying to see.

[Narcosis1]

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?

[coralfriend]

Hi Narcosis 1,

I am a hobbyist from Hong Kong. You had mentioned several rare fish species in SA. How about Centropyge debelius? Do you have any experience of seeing or catching them?

In fact, I had seen a video of a tank which is full of Old Woman angelfish. I knew that Old Woman angelfish will appear in Hong Kong aquarium market soon. Those old woman is caught by you?

[Narcosis1]

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.

[yikai]

Amphiprion fuscocadatus from Madagascar as well as paracheilinus hemitaeniatus. These two are highly intriguing especially the latter. Narcosis I forgot one more fish you have I Africa that is also v rare. Vivieanae leopard wrasse. On the topic of debelius, coralfriend do you know dr wing and have you met him? His debelius is the latest one to enter the Asian market. And while we're on topic, id like to know more on apolemichthys guezei in reunions.

[Narcosis1]

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,

[Digiman]

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.

All four are very rare and highly sought after in the reefing world.

However you are right, neither of them really appeal to me too.

Kingi is too big. Marleyi is a butterfly and i stay away from butterfly as they are ich magnet. Old woman is too drab. Fourline hog is another big fish.

[Narcosis1]

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,

[yikai]

Harlequin Goldie's are P. Connelli if I'm not wrong. Purple right? I'm not too sure with te common name there.

[Digiman]

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,

Among those listed only kingi, old woman and gems were offered to Singapore. Gems being the cheapest, slightly over $2000.

Marleyi, Fourline hog and Harlequin Goldies (Pseudanthias Connelli) were never offered here.

However Japan has gotten Marleyi before. Never heard of fourline or connelli offered in the trade.

[coralfriend]

Hi Lemon lemon,

On the topic of debelius, coralfriend do you know dr wing and have you met him? His debelius is the latest one to enter the Asian market

This is my debelius which I take the picture this morning! My debelius need to reduce the weight. She eats a lot and get very fat!

To Nacrosis 1,

I think the kingi has a large market on HK as well! Could you consider to ship kingi to HK as well? I think that 12 cm fish is acceptable to HK reefer but more than 16 cm may be too large! I know that the last pair of Kingi in HK is no more exsiting!

[Narcosis1]

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?

[coralfriend]

There are many stories floating around. Most of the story is not fact!

I don't know who is the catcher of the debelius. The story of debelius is that the catcher do not use a pin to decompress this fish. That is all I hear about this fish.

The story about the Kingi is that Taiwanese took three Kingi and juvenile old woman from SA. Two Kingi never eat and perform badly. Taiwanese keep the rather small one which they thnk that it is able to accept food. The other two which is large and perform badly is sell back internationally. There was an experience hobbyist in Hong Kong who has a very good passion towards rare reef fish. He took those two kingi and one juvenile old woman through one aquarium fish dealer of Hong Kong from Taiwanese. Taiwanese charge the Hong Kong local dealer how much is a secret. But the dealer charge this gentlement a high price. It has been said that it need more than US $26000 for three fish. This hobbyist know that those two kingi condition is not good. He still want to take the risk! Of course, only the juvenile old woman can survive finally. I know that the name of famous Taiwan reeffish importer/exporter begins with a E. Taiwanese is very rich! So I think that it is the reason why all Kingi go to their hand.

[yikai]

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Hi Lemon lemon,

This is my debelius which I take the picture this morning! My debelius need to reduce the weight. She eats a lot and get very fat!

To Nacrosis 1,

I think the kingi has a large market on HK as well! Could you consider to ship kingi to HK as well? I think that 12 cm fish is acceptable to HK reefer but more than 16 cm may be too large! I know that the last pair of Kingi in HK is no more exsiting!

So you are Dr. Wing??

That debelius is gorgeous. you keep it with Personatus pair as well as Tosanoides?

how are your personatus pair? still spawning? any updates on your basabei butterflyfish?

your debelius is one of the least secretive specimens out there!! i hope you can provide more pictures and videos.

[yikai]

My apologies. I just realized your forum avatar name is same as your YouTube channel. Welcome dr wing to SRC. Apologies for not recognizing your nickname earlier

[coralfriend]

Dear Lemon,

My name is Chung. You can just call me coralfriend! My female personatus is died about one years ago! The reason of dying is velvet attack! Tosanoides pair is also died for unknown reason! My pair of leafy seadragon is also lost about two years ago. I am also suspect of velvet attack. My technique of keeping reeffish is not really good as I lost so many valuable specimens. All others are fine. I have now one pepermint angel, male personatus, debelius, basabei,white bar boxfish, juvenile P maculosus x P chrysurus, breeding pairs of c interuptas and breeding pair of joculators, Holacanthus passer x clarion hybrid or just passer variant, dusky heraldi,...others. My photo technique is not so good. I can take some video or photos at my spare time to share with you.

[yikai]

Dear Lemon, My name is Chung. You can just call me coralfriend! My female personatus is died about one years ago! The reason of dying is velvet attack! Tosanoides pair is also died for unknown reason! My pair of leafy seadragon is also lost about two years ago. I am also suspect of velvet attack. My technique of keeping reeffish is not really good as I lost so many valuable specimens. All others are fine. I have now one pepermint angel, male personatus, debelius, basabei,white bar boxfish, juvenile P maculosus x P chrysurus, breeding pairs of c interuptas and breeding pair of joculators, Holacanthus passer x clarion hybrid or just passer variant, dusky heraldi,...others. My photo technique is not so good. I can take some video or photos at my spare time to share with you.

Such devastating news! I'm sorry for your loss. Your personatus pair was really incredible. Velvet is really a terrible disease for angels and butterflies. Are you intending to rebuild ur collection?

[Narcosis1]

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?

[Narcosis1]

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]

Hi LemonLemon,

My pair of personatus was in fact not a pair. The female get larger and larger. It has the tendency to change to a male personatus. I have record down the color pattern changes of the female. It's face dark region becoming bigger and bigger Therefore the existing male get use to give pressure on the female very often. They quarrel all day long. Sometimes, the female even win the battle between them. I think that it is one of the reason why the female can not come across the velvet attack! I have great desire to acquire a small size female personatus. Nowaday, personatus is less likely to obtain. I think that part of the reason is that Hawaii loss some deep diver. Less diver risk their life to catch such fish. As you know, Rufus's team prefer to catch more expensive and more readily available Pepermint than less expensive and less available Personatus.

Hi Nacrosis 1,

Of course, I am a reeffish lover. Kingi is one of my dream fish. I was told that some Kingi is not export from SA but east africa. It is much easily to export from the route of east africa. The Kingi come from east africa should be cheaper! I also find that the color pattern of the gem tang. There is some difference between the gem tang from east africa and SA. I like the SA gem tang more. Am I misleading by someone or is it the fact!

[yikai]

Hi LemonLemon,

My pair of personatus was in fact not a pair. The female get larger and larger. It has the tendency to change to a male personatus. I have record down the color pattern changes of the female. It's face dark region becoming bigger and bigger Therefore the existing male get use to give pressure on the female very often. They quarrel all day long. Sometimes, the female even win the battle between them. I think that it is one of the reason why the female can not come across the velvet attack! I have great desire to acquire a small size female personatus. Nowaday, personatus is less likely to obtain. I think that part of the reason is that Hawaii loss some deep diver. Less diver risk their life to catch such fish. As you know, Rufus's team prefer to catch more expensive and more readily available Pepermint than less expensive and less available Personatus.

it is sad to hear.

Genicanthus have the tendency to inter switch between genders in the tank. and sometimes the reason is unknown. personatus is very hard to obtain now. small ones are even more difficult. but they seem to be much easier to acclimate into captivity.

In 2010, a tiny very juvenile personatus was sent to blueharbor. it was sold and has now grown into a beautiful adult female.

here is the tank.

and here is the fish as a juvenile.

it is now a nice beautiful female.

[yikai]

rufus and his team can catch personatus, but peppermints and claire are more popular and worth the effort. if they can dive up to 300ft with rebreathers in southern pacific, they should have no problem in hawaii.

recently rufus did a deep dive in hawaii and caught Liopropoma aurora, Prognathodes basabei, Roa excelsa and other deepwater fish. but his dive did not yield any personatus this round. hopefully in future he will catch one.

[Narcosis1]

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.

[Digiman]

Hi Coralfriend,

I thought your personatus pair were spawning? So turn out the female decide to reign over the male.

Do you know which fish brought in the velvet? Your wrought iron butterfly?

Sorry to hear you also lost your tosanoides pair, i suppose it is due to velvet too.

I am going to get a tosanoide flavofasciatus or filamentosus in the near future. Anything advise for that fish? My tank temp is 25 degree to 26 degree.

Your debelius angel and basabei butterfly are two of my dream fishes.

Basabei i can get but i am not confident of trying a butterfly fearing it develop ich and wipe out my tank.

Debelius angel.... It's just too rare....

[Digiman]

Hi LemonLemon,

My pair of personatus was in fact not a pair. The female get larger and larger. It has the tendency to change to a male personatus. I have record down the color pattern changes of the female. It's face dark region becoming bigger and bigger Therefore the existing male get use to give pressure on the female very often. They quarrel all day long. Sometimes, the female even win the battle between them. I think that it is one of the reason why the female can not come across the velvet attack! I have great desire to acquire a small size female personatus. Nowaday, personatus is less likely to obtain. I think that part of the reason is that Hawaii loss some deep diver. Less diver risk their life to catch such fish. As you know, Rufus's team prefer to catch more expensive and more readily available Pepermint than less expensive and less available Personatus.

Hi Nacrosis 1,

Of course, I am a reeffish lover. Kingi is one of my dream fish. I was told that some Kingi is not export from SA but east africa. It is much easily to export from the route of east africa. The Kingi come from east africa should be cheaper! I also find that the color pattern of the gem tang. There is some difference between the gem tang from east africa and SA. I like the SA gem tang more. Am I misleading by someone or is it the fact!

According to Rufus the personatus are really rare, even deep down at 400ft. They do not see it in every dive trip, much less to catch one.

It needs a lot of patience to wait for another one to be caught. At least you still have your male. I would love to visit your place when i go HK again!

I don't think the kingis are allowed to ship out direct from SA? Those so called east african ones i presume were also caught in SA but shipped via east african wholesaler. Maybe Narcosis1 can clarify on that.

Also to me SA gem tang is similar to gems from other area, except that SA gems are all very big specimens. Mauritius gems are caught smaller. Since i prefer smaller gems i prefer mauritius gems.

We have gotten a few shipments of SA gems this year and they are not expensive here in Singapore.