OMG! Look at these hybrids and rare fishes!

[BFG]

You must understand, in some places it is considered as food. If they know the price of this fish whilst it is still alive, they would sell it that way. Knowledge is power, without it..........

[yikai]

same as borbonius anthias.

anyway the auripes butterfly has a very limited distribution in the world. only found in Japan and taiwan. both of these countries sell these fishes in their LFS and very rarely are they found anywhere else in the world.

so quite surprised to see them being sold for food. maybe it's really very delicious lol..

[yikai]

john coppolino in the waikiki aquarium. you can see the background there's the super rare ultra beautiful smith butterflyfish!! the only place in the world that has the Smith butterfly on display.

my dream fish.

photo by john. c

[Digiman]

same as borbonius anthias.

anyway the auripes butterfly has a very limited distribution in the world. only found in Japan and taiwan. both of these countries sell these fishes in their LFS and very rarely are they found anywhere else in the world.

so quite surprised to see them being sold for food. maybe it's really very delicious lol..

Auripes is actually a v unpopular fish in Japan and HK. Auripes is abundant in HK and Taiwan waters so no surprise it becomes the fishermen's catch. It's not a fish considered rare but is definitely beautiful if u ask me.

Anyway, v mad at a thread in RC talking about G.Personatus cos looks like they (the americans) are seriously gg to get many of this extremely rare angels because one of their hawaii diver who dives really deep has discovered a secret location where a group of these angels are found! I'm so jealous tat they're gg to get the fish and we're not! But even if we get the fish i dun think we can keep it becos of the low temp requirement long term!

[yikai]

Auripes is actually a v unpopular fish in Japan and HK. Auripes is abundant in HK and Taiwan waters so no surprise it becomes the fishermen's catch. It's not a fish considered rare but is definitely beautiful if u ask me.

Anyway, v mad at a thread in RC talking about G.Personatus cos looks like they (the americans) are seriously gg to get many of this extremely rare angels because one of their hawaii diver who dives really deep has discovered a secret location where a group of these angels are found! I'm so jealous tat they're gg to get the fish and we're not! But even if we get the fish i dun think we can keep it becos of the low temp requirement long term!

auripes very abundant in their country but super rare to us. and i would love to own one if not for their extreme non-reef safe qualities.

LOL. the americans are so lucky. yes i saw that thread too re the G. personatus.

[yikai]

ok digi i take back everything i said about personatus. it's gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS!

[Digiman]

ok digi i take back everything i said about personatus. it's gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS!

Never mind i forgive u, u're jux lost for a moment. Persontus is the most unique and distinctive genicanthus species imo. It's pure white body and orange outline is wat makes it so different from all the other genicanthus species which are normally striped patterns and greyish blue. Sentosa underwater world should acquire a pair for display, then every few months i'll head down to admire the fish.

[yikai]

Never mind i forgive u, u're jux lost for a moment. Persontus is the most unique and distinctive genicanthus species imo. It's pure white body and orange outline is wat makes it so different from all the other genicanthus species which are normally striped patterns and greyish blue. Sentosa underwater world should acquire a pair for display, then every few months i'll head down to admire the fish.

personatus is also quite deep bodies compared to the rest. gives it a more musculine appearance compared to the other streamlined genicanthus.

the colours are phenomenal especially the male.

i would love for sentosa to acquire a pair of personatus and group of smithi.

btw do you know anything about cirrhilabrus claire?

from what i know, C. claire is endemic to rarotonga @ cook islands. there's only 1 holotype photo of it and even my big book of wrasses by kuiter does not have any photo, let alone info on it. it just states .. Cirrhilabrus claire -- (N/A).

[Digiman]

personatus is also quite deep bodies compared to the rest. gives it a more musculine appearance compared to the other streamlined genicanthus.

the colours are phenomenal especially the male.

i would love for sentosa to acquire a pair of personatus and group of smithi.

btw do you know anything about cirrhilabrus claire?

from what i know, C. claire is endemic to rarotonga @ cook islands. there's only 1 holotype photo of it and even my big book of wrasses by kuiter does not have any photo, let alone info on it. it just states .. Cirrhilabrus claire -- (N/A).

C.Claire is endemic to cook island, it's one of the only two cirrhilabrus species found in cook island if i'm not wrong, the other being scotts fairy. There's no collection for the trade recorded. However i remember reading somewhere some website which listed all the animals found in cook island (birds and mammals included) and C.Claire is somewhere in the middle of the list, but sadly no pic was shown. So wat remains is still the holotype pic and no other discussions on the net on this fish either. Even your wrasse book has no info, so i guess that should conclude that the fish is v v rare!

[yikai]

C.Claire is endemic to cook island, it's one of the only two cirrhilabrus species found in cook island if i'm not wrong, the other being scotts fairy. There's no collection for the trade recorded. However i remember reading somewhere some website which listed all the animals found in cook island (birds and mammals included) and C.Claire is somewhere in the middle of the list, but sadly no pic was shown. So wat remains is still the holotype pic and no other discussions on the net on this fish either. Even your wrasse book has no info, so i guess that should conclude that the fish is v v rare!

very curious to know wat c. claire looks like. the holotype is so ugly.

[Digiman]

very curious to know wat c. claire looks like. the holotype is so ugly.

This is a fish that one day may jux appear suddenly as there's regular collection at cook. And if it does appear one day, it'll definitely cause a stir in this hobby worldwide before the fish is then sent to Japan!

[yikai]

This is a fish that one day may jux appear suddenly as there's regular collection at cook. And if it does appear one day, it'll definitely cause a stir in this hobby worldwide before the fish is then sent to Japan!

very typical.

wah wah wah!!! XXX fish appeared! omg oomg omgo mg. then go japan

another deepwater wrasse i hope to see one day in the trade is blatteus.

[Terryz_]

ok digi i take back everything i said about personatus. it's gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS!

Told you but it is super expensive and rare to keep...

[Terryz_]

Never mind i forgive u, u're jux lost for a moment. Persontus is the most unique and distinctive genicanthus species imo. It's pure white body and orange outline is wat makes it so different from all the other genicanthus species which are normally striped patterns and greyish blue. Sentosa underwater world should acquire a pair for display, then every few months i'll head down to admire the fish.

He is just lost for a moment.. I am lost for a long time.. LOL..

[yikai]

two G. personatus from GBD.

the first one is a female turning male as can be seen by the bright orange pelvic fins...

2nd one is either a male changing to female or vice versa. black mask is indivative of female while orange fins are male.

either way, this is a very mismatched pair..

[Digiman]

two G. personatus from GBD.

the first one is a female turning male as can be seen by the bright orange pelvic fins...

2nd one is either a male changing to female or vice versa. black mask is indivative of female while orange fins are male.

either way, this is a very mismatched pair..

The first piece is a female, not a changing male. Female personatus has yellow pelvic fins btw. This piece i remember is caught a female and sold v quickly at an undisclosed price in Japan.

The second piece is caught a male and is morphing back to female. This piece is v well known as it's the same super stud male the one tat Copps is holding when it's caught, but after a few months in captivity it's slowly morphing back to female but interestingly it remains half male half female as shown in the pic for long time up till now. Copps mentioned the fish was sold at USD8000 in Japan.

There is also another pair caught and sold to Japan BBox where it is later sold to HK Dr Wing. Everyone can see the youtube video of his pair posted before.

Summing up these are the only three occurrences of personatus in Japan for the recent few years. There are more but was ancient history so not worth mentioning. With the hawaii divers diving deeper and deeper, these fishes will now appear with more regularity albeit still rare. Thanks to technology advancement tat we are being offered one now, though at a price unreachable by most. Let's hope someone (an angelfish freak of course) will be brave enough to pull the trigger so we can all admire the beauty of this fish in person at LCK!

[yikai]

The first piece is a female, not a changing male. Female personatus has yellow pelvic fins btw. This piece i remember is caught a female and sold v quickly at an undisclosed price in Japan.

The second piece is caught a male and is morphing back to female. This piece is v well known as it's the same super stud male the one tat Copps is holding when it's caught, but after a few months in captivity it's slowly morphing back to female but interestingly it remains half male half female as shown in the pic for long time up till now. Copps mentioned the fish was sold at USD8000 in Japan.

There is also another pair caught and sold to Japan BBox where it is later sold to HK Dr Wing. Everyone can see the youtube video of his pair posted before.

Summing up these are the only three occurrences of personatus in Japan for the recent few years. There are more but was ancient history so not worth mentioning. With the hawaii divers diving deeper and deeper, these fishes will now appear with more regularity albeit still rare. Thanks to technology advancement tat we are being offered one now, though at a price unreachable by most. Let's hope someone (an angelfish freak of course) will be brave enough to pull the trigger so we can all admire the beauty of this fish in person at LCK!

oh female personatus have orange pelvic fins?? some photos online show white so i assumed they are changing.

i was a fool to think they were ugly before but now i love them so much.

personatus occur in shallow water at midway atoll. maybe next time if you visit hawaii u can tour around the island and sail there to catch a glimpse of personatus in the wild without having to use rebreathers.

another gorgeous and ultra rare fish i would like to own is smithi like i've mentioned a million times already...

to date 8 specimens have been caught. 1 to waikiki, the other 7 to japan, of which, if i'm not wrong, tanaka has one. the fate of the other 6 are unknown.

[Digiman]

oh female personatus have orange pelvic fins?? some photos online show white so i assumed they are changing.

i was a fool to think they were ugly before but now i love them so much.

personatus occur in shallow water at midway atoll. maybe next time if you visit hawaii u can tour around the island and sail there to catch a glimpse of personatus in the wild without having to use rebreathers.

another gorgeous and ultra rare fish i would like to own is smithi like i've mentioned a million times already...

to date 8 specimens have been caught. 1 to waikiki, the other 7 to japan, of which, if i'm not wrong, tanaka has one. the fate of the other 6 are unknown.

Dr Tanaka has a smithi now? Tat's pretty cool, tot he's a wrasse only kind of guy..

[yikai]

Dr Tanaka has a smithi now? Tat's pretty cool, tot he's a wrasse only kind of guy..

i'm checking to him if he has a smithi or not.

there's a picture of C. smithi online with his signature on it and the photo belongs to him. not sure if he owns it or just photographed is.

his major is in cirrhilabrus but he often mentions and discuss butterflies and angels. especially juvenile seasonal butterflies found in miyazaki waters where he lives.

[Terryz_]

i'm checking to him if he has a smithi or not.

there's a picture of C. smithi online with his signature on it and the photo belongs to him. not sure if he owns it or just photographed is.

his major is in cirrhilabrus but he often mentions and discuss butterflies and angels. especially juvenile seasonal butterflies found in miyazaki waters where he lives.

They really look very nice close up...

[yikai]

They really look very nice close up...

really? i think they look gorgeous! close up and far away.

it's clearly one of the MOST striking of all butterflies. not to mention it's probably 100% reef safe like pyramid butterflies since it's an open water planktonic feeder just like pyramid. besides, the place where it lives in do not have much corals anyway. it was originally placed in the same genus as pyramid but was later re-shuffled to chaetodon.

Smithi is such a heartbreaker. a gorgeous, locally ABUDANT, reef safe butterflyfish but sadly unobtainable because it lives at such remote places like pitcairn.

i really really want a smithi butterflyfish and i think this is something i am willing to fork out money for. i hope to see it being collected one day before i die.

smithi is on the 20cent postage stamp for pitcairn island. clearly one of the signature fishes there.

[yikai]

this website apprently lists smithi as available and cost $350-0600 HKD.

i don't know if it's true but i highly doubt it.. considering when converted the max is only $100 for a smithi! which is just ridiculously cheap! FAKE!

http://www.reef.hk/j/zh/aquadatabase/fishdb/butterflyfish/4-butterfly_db/detail/493-chaetodon_smithi?tmpl=component

[Terryz_]

this website apprently lists smithi as available and cost $350-0600 HKD.

i don't know if it's true but i highly doubt it.. considering when converted the max is only $100 for a smithi! which is just ridiculously cheap! FAKE!

http://www.reef.hk/j/zh/aquadatabase/fishdb/butterflyfish/4-butterfly_db/detail/493-chaetodon_smithi?tmpl=component

Highly doubtful...

[yikai]

tanaka does not own the smithi. apparently it was for sale in japan and he took a photo of it.

but these guys grow very big. to aboit 16-17cm.

[yikai]

Lotilia graciliosa spotted on LA's DD!

This specimen came out from Cebu and the price is $899.99 USD.