GREAT article. I would go even further than saying “Aquarists have let livestock retailers … get away with poor conditioning and care.” I think we have demanded it by always seeking out lower prices. As you point out, we need to change our way of thinking and be willing to pay what it actually costs to get fish to us. If you think about it, paying a diver to go out and catch a fish, a captain to drive the boat for the diver, the cost for a boat, shipping the fish overseas safely…getting a healthy fish is not cheap. By demanding low cost fish…lower than we could reasonably expect considering all that must be done for collection and transportation (and this is before quarantine, etc.), the demand for low-cost supply puts pressure on collectors, importers, wholesalers etc. We need to do what in economics is called “internalizing the externalities.” We need to be willing to pay for what it actually costs to collect and transport a healthy fish.

Wonderful write up, Eric – much needed and I hope it hits home for some people. And great point, Mike. More often than not I see the seeking of the lowest cost, cheapest bargain possible. I think that many aquarists either aren't familiar with or don't truly value what goes in to getting these wild animals into the tank. To many, it's just a fish – it should be cheap, it must be cheap. They may not know about divers losing their lives during collection, or the practice of cyanide fishing. The pocketbook is the bottom line for some people, and that may be a perpetual problem with “being green” in this hobby, because unfortunately, it seems green ain't always <initially> cheap – LED's, responsibly collected fish, low wattage pumps, etc.

There are only two places I will purchase fish from, aside from local reefers. One is an online retailer in Wisconsin who appears to go to great lengths to provide healthy fish to its customers. The other is a local Chicago shop that 9.85/10 times has some of the healthiest fish and inverts I've seen outside of a live reef. I have no problem paying more for fish or corals from companies that are aware of the impact of the hobby and do their part to support responsible and sustainable collection and aquaculture.

Don't make your pocket book the bottom line – responsibility as a citizen of this planet is the true bottom line.

I agree with both the article and mcliffy2 absolutely and completely. For all my past rants on making the industry affordable, this is the one area that I do not believe can be “shortchanged”. The health of these creatures that we choose to bring into captive life needs to be of paramount importance. Unfortunately, due to general lack of information or education, a vast majority of those who come into the hobby do not understand these values and too many just want an attractive piece of furniture. The new people coming in make up a vast majority of dollars spent in the industry. I believe that it is these people we need to positively influence and educate. Yes, there are “old salts” that don't really care either, but I think that's probably the minority. And please don't mistake what I'm saying here…I was once one of these “newbies” as well. Once you are ensconced in the hobby though, we have a responsibility to spread the RIGHT word and guide the new hobbyists in the right direction.

I completely agree. All fish (and other livestock for that matter) are not collected and handled equally. There are many wholesalers where I will not buy ANY fish or livestock from.. and its very sad because every time I'm there for dry goods,etc.. they are full of fish for ridiculously cheap prices, only to be passed on to the consumer, often to be sold as “in bag specials” if you pick up the fish straight from the bag at the retail store the day of delivery. And still I read about hobbyist going down to try and “get a deal”

Why do I avoid certain fish and dealers like the plague? For the most part it comes down to acclimation, many of the “cheaper” dealers simply unbag the fish and add them to their system… often without even a simple temperature acclimation or prophlyactic dip. The larger wholesalers I deal with bring their fish into large acclimation tables where they are all unbagged and SLOWLY acclimated… the most important consideration when trying to acclimate a fish thats been defacating in a bag for the past 24-50 hours is to slowly bring the pH up NSW levels, usually the ammonia levels in bag are quite high which pushes the ph Down

Its so frustrating as a retailer thinking about quality and sustainabilty to try and compete on price alone for fish, often times other stores will sell certain fish for less than I pay for them. Usually those customers buy the cheaper fish anyway, only to have it die in a few days to weeks, which, as Eric stated, only results in another replacement fish, often 2-3 times over by the time all is said and done.

Its even more sad that the biggest differences in prices are often for the more “delicate fish”, like copperbands, which you can find for “cheap” all over SoCal, but trying to get them to thrive is another story. On the other hand the Copperbands I sell are sometimes 2-3 times as much as my competition, but I payed more for them in the beginning, acclimated and dipped in praziquantal, and conditioned to eat frozen mysis,

The difference I see are those just looking to flip fish Asap to minimize loss to death, these are often the same individuals selling you a panther grouper for your aquapod… I personally try not to buy (or sell) any fish that I don't feel I can maintain in the long run, which is also very frustrating when you see all these amazing fish, but sometimes they are better left in the ocean.

I've had many friends leave the business for that reason, they were doing things right and fair, but just couldn't compete with people constantly saying blank-store has it for this price

But just because something is more expensive, does not necessarliy make it better, which is why I feel its important to establish a good relationship with your LFS and understand their procedures for acclimating and dipping new fish, where they get them from, etc..

One of the benefits of supporting quality is that if the wholesalers are getting better fish and loosing less DOAs, then their prices will come down, for great fish. A perfect example is the influx of Marshall Island livestock into the trade in the past year. Transit times are much shorter, not to mention the quality of divers and their equipment. Fish like Mystery Wrasse and the Marshall Helfrichi have plummeted to half or 2 thirds of what they were goin for a few years ago. And not to say quality has declined, I haven't lost any of the last 10 mystery wrasse I've bought in the past 4 months (knock on wood)

The Australians are perfect examples of paying a premium for livestock, but your getting unsurpassed quality, as I often tell my customers when they ask why Aussie stuff costs more, for one Australia is not a third-world country, and economics alone provide for more expensive labor, and their collection, handling, and conservation practices are very admirable in the trade. Whereas many Indo collectors go out in small canoes or boats, the Aussies are on $ half million + dive boats out for a week at a time collecting all over the reef, instead of one, localized near shore collection site.

Well, I hate to sound long winded, but I hope you can see that this is an issue very near and dear to me, and my business, this discussion is already great and Im hoping more hobbyists see it and begin to question their own practices when purchasing fish, and hopefully they don't buy on price alone.

I agree with everything you guys are saying, but some of us just can't afford to pay more to feel good about ourselves. Maybe in a few years, but for now, the cheapest healthy fish in the tank is the one I am taking home. Sorry guys. I would imagine I am also speaking for a lot of people in the hobby out there.

Then I hope the reply of Adam Mullins can get other discount buyers to change their mind. You vote with your wallet, by buying from the cheapest store you're encouraging bad practices while ignoring the other good ones. Why is it so hard to wait and save up your money until you can actually buy(and support) from the store who are doing things correctly? This is a long term hobby and I don't understand why the consumers are willing to sacrifice their “vote with your wallet” option by getting things as fast as possible and consequently looking for the best buy livestock.

Having said that I can use some tips regarding buying from a store who's doing things correctly. To summarize some of the points Adam Mullins mentioned:
1) I should support a store who do quarantine or at least acclimate their fish,
2) [.....] those who train their fish eating frozen/dry
3) [.....] those who don't sell livestock that will not make it in the long run in captivity
4) [.....] Any more suggestions?

And how do I find out as a consumer, if the store got their livestock from a “good” wholesaler, or is that not important as long as the store is doing the points summed up above?

Very good point, Hendra. That's what the consumer is lacking more than anything…knowledge of which retailers, LFS's, etc are doing things right and who's not. Price base alone might not be enough. What would stop a retailer from charging higher prices just to give the illusion of better quality? Quality control is really what's missing from the pet industry in general. There is no FDA for pets-no one wants to out bad businesses, I guess for fear of retribution and this issue is hard to beat for those of us that are just unsure of which places are “the real deal” and which are cutting corners. We need that knowledge base badly.

Not to be Debbie Downer here, but the reality is that these posts are typical of the hobby. Everyone publicly states how they are so pro aquaculture or captive raised, yet their behavior is otherwise. I can not tell you how many times I've witnessed this. Both hobbyists and pet stores understand this fact as well. It is precisely this say one thing, but do the opposite that keeps the supply of aquacultured/maricultured livestock down, which in turn keeps the prices higher than the wild caught variety. These are simple examples real world economics and psychology here…

Matt, as you include the reference 'these posts' I assume you are directing this comment to me. The large majority of my personal animals are aquacultured and/or maricultured, but that is besides the point here. This piece was not about maricultured or aquacultured–in fact, the latter word is only used once as an example.

The article is to highlight the embedded value of healthy, quarantined and acclimated livestock (and supporting businesses that are able to provide them). Live animals only become commodities that can be judged on price, after humans kills them.

As a sidenote for the economics at play for aquacultured and maricultured animals–demand is not a determinant of supply. Prices for these particular items are more expensive because of the cost of production. For actual demand to increase in this area it will take a change in hobbyists perception–seeing the embedded value, and/or an increase in the price of wild animals.

Bravo Eric. Very well said.

You are not paying more to “feel good about yourself.” You are paying more because it is the right thing to do. Because you don’t want to be responsible for exploiting workers in third world countries. Because you don’t want to be responsible for cyanide and dynamite destroying the ecosystem you love. And because at the end of the day, you want a fish that lives a long healthy life in your system. Read your post, try to step away from the fact that you posted it, and ask yourself if your view is acting responsibly. I ask you on the behalf of the ocean to think about taking a larger view of the effect your purchases have.

You are not paying more to “feel good about yourself.” You are paying more because it is the right thing to do. Because you don't want to be responsible for exploiting workers in third world countries. Because you don't want to be responsible for cyanide and dynamite destroying the ecosystem you love. And because at the end of the day, you want a fish that lives a long healthy life in your system. Read your post, try to step away from the fact that you posted it, and ask yourself if your view is acting responsibly. I ask you on the behalf of the ocean to think about taking a larger view of the effect your purchases have.