What is a reasonable cost for Clowns?

[eggtrain]

I bought my first tank from a place in a wealthy area. Not many aquarium stores around me. It seems they are excessive in price. It seems clownfish when paired are more expensive. The prices here seem to be anywhere from 170 to 220 for pairs. Maroons and black and white ocellaris. The B&W were 199. Is that insane? Seems it from what I see online. Seems nuts to mail order fish though. Just don't know. I have credit with them and don't want to be a dick. How badly am I being raped?

 

[joy13]

If you get 2 clowns one a little larger than the other give them a few months you will have a male and female. The larger with most likely turn female. I am not for sure where you are from but clowns run about $20 a piece here for tank bred ones. Designer clowns are another story they vary from 50 to 100 a piece.

[Angel<3Nanos]

Are you sure they are not a designer clownfish? Sounds like the price range for some of them.

 

But if they are just regular perculas, then you are getting raped big time lol

[IzzyTheFool]

I bought my first tank from a place in a wealthy area. Not many aquarium stores around me. It seems they are excessive in price. It seems clownfish when paired are more expensive. The prices here seem to be anywhere from 170 to 220 for pairs. Maroons and black and white ocellaris. The B&W were 199. Is that insane? Seems it from what I see online. Seems nuts to mail order fish though. Just don't know. I have credit with them and don't want to be a dick. How badly am I being raped?

 

Today I just paid 69.00 USD a piece for my two clowns, but they are tank raised ORA certified, special breed snowflake-onyx, blessed by the pope, etc etc.

 

It's my understanding that the tank raised fish will quite often cost more then live caught, since you are paying for the breeding, equipment and time. In my humble opinion it's worth it, and saves some poor little Nemo out in the ocean from getting netted and flown half way around the world. Other opinions may vary.

 

With that said, 200 dollars for a single clown fish? Was it chromed? I'm seen matched mated pairs go for that much on liveaquaria.com, but that's about it.

[masterbuilder]

Like was said earlier. ..Get two baby clowns and they will pair up. Expect to pay 20-30 a piece.

[Mr. Microscope]

I paid 25 a piece for my two clowns. I just got them as pups out of a batch of captive bred percs. They're nothing fancy, but I like 'em and they've been a bonded pair since the beginning. That was about three years ago and they're maturing nicely. One is getting bigger than the other and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the started laying within a year or so.

 

But, yes seems like almost correct prices for designer clowns. Maybe a little high, but LFS's have it tough.

[Tamberav]

Perhaps they were proven mated pairs? By proven.... I mean, had a nest of eggs?

 

But otherwise, huge rip off!

 

Mail order fish isn't nuts. If you buy from a good online source, they arrive healthy and generally have a two week guarantee to stay alive.

 

Normal clowns here cost around $20.

[ABC]

I paid about 60.00$ for my snowflake clowns,they are kinda expensive compared to regular clowns. But that is what I wanted, and if you were able to get what you wanted be happy !

[1.0reef]

Probably spawning pairs, or designers.

[Halo_003]

For regular percs or occy clowns you shouldn't be paying more than $75-90 for the pair at most.

[1.0reef]

For regular percs or occy clowns you shouldn't be paying more than $75-90 for the pair at most.

Spawning pairs can be a few hundred though.

[hypostatic]

anything anove $25 is unreasonable for ocellaris or percula

[Paandemonium]

Speaking as someone who has owned a $300 pair of clowns Id like to say that those prices aren't really all that crazy. If the fish are bonded + spawning they're worth it if not then just don't buy them. If you're into regular clowns don't spendpre than $15 each just put them together and they'll pair

[ABC]

I paid about 60.00$ for my snowflake clowns,they are kinda expensive compared to regular clowns. But that is what I wanted, and if you were able to get what you wanted be happy !

With that being said the first two clowns I bought costed 7.00$, but they were ordinary. They did pair up as they grew though.

[crusoe]

Bog standard pair of ocellaris, $20 CAD for me!

[{8ry}]

I bought 2 percula's out of a tank that had maybe 50. Cost me $30 for the pair. The store also had "designer" percula's as well and they went for close to $200 for a pair.

 

Mine were great until one decided to go for jump and killed himself.

[AdamNC]

Once in a while my LFS sells OC Clowns for 2 for $18.00 but normally $18.00 each. The "Designer" clowns that 10 years ago no one would pay $5.00 for now sell for about $60.00 each, mated pairs for $200.00.

[afyounie]

My B&W occy clown was 40 bucks from Petco. Kinda expensive for a clown, but I liked that it had no orange on it at all unlike its siblings. I'm sure as it matures it will get some orange. I'd like to get another clown for it to pair with some day, probably once I get a larger tank.

[Tamberav]

If you have a local forum, finding a local breeder is the best way to go imo. Normal orange clowns are about $15 and fancier things like Wyoming whites are $50 from a breeder here. Healthy too and not exposed to a bunch of wild caught pet store fish.

[Funkateer_1]

I paid about $300 wholesale for my PNG wild caught onyx clowns.

 

Most designers should be about $30-$75 a clown. ORA tends to be more expensive, SA tends to be cheaper but expect health problems.

[lkoechle]

Local breeders are cheaper. I bought a phantom for $60, my LFS had one for $140.

 

And paired are more expensive. I bought two mochas as juveniles for $15 a piece. When I moved a year later (and they had paired) the same LFS paid me $100 for them and sold them two weeks later for $160 (they were some gorgeous mochas mind you, I was very proud of their color).

 

It could also be your area, you did say you don't have many stores which would drive up the price due to lack of supply.