Yellow Tang Prices

[icedgxe]

I was not aware until now that you could purchase directly from them. I am quoting prices in the LFS industry. Which must mean they have a very healthy hand in the upcharge

Ahhh gotcha. Yeah, I remember seeing stores driving the price way up. That’s why I got mine from them with a couple of other fish and got free shipping as well.

 

[GlassMunky]

Boy, this subject matter has REALLY blown up!! I absolutely understand this. I am just saying a price that goes up 6 to 8 fold, is certainly questionable. I am all for fish being raised rather than wild caught. It is only for the best for all of us, as all well as the oceans around the world. BUT, as I said, having previously purchased one for about $59. not that long ago, to looking at now $300. to $400. is a very tough pill to swallow. I do not pretend to know the costs involved in raising them, I am glad to see this being done, it just makes one think. At the end of the day, buy what you want. IF it is captive bred, that will always be a good choice.

Have the Biota YT gone up that much? I bought mine for $150 a couple of years ago.

Except the aren’t 300-400
They are $165

Hawaiian Yellow Tang

Zebrasoma flavescens-The yellow tang is the most iconic aquarium fish around the world. Bright yellow in coloration and endemic to the islands of Hawaii this is a fish we breed in conjunction with the Oceanographic Institute of Hawaii Pacific University. These are voracious herbivores do well...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[SpyC]

Boy, this subject matter has REALLY blown up!! I absolutely understand this. I am just saying a price that goes up 6 to 8 fold, is certainly questionable. I am all for fish being raised rather than wild caught. It is only for the best for all of us, as all well as the oceans around the world. BUT, as I said, having previously purchased one for about $59. not that long ago, to looking at now $300. to $400. is a very tough pill to swallow. I do not pretend to know the costs involved in raising them, I am glad to see this being done, it just makes one think. At the end of the day, buy what you want. IF it is captive bred, that will always be a good choice.

Where did you buy a biota captive bred yt for $59? Were they on sale?

$3-400 is a bit of an exaggeration since they are $165 from biota.

 

[Biota_Marine]

Ship to the UK ?

We ship to TMC in the UK who distribute to stores

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Where did you buy a biota captive bred yt for $59? Were they on sale?

$3-400 is a bit of an exaggeration since they are $165 from biota.

Okay, if you read ALL of my responses on here, I never said it was the price of a Biota. I was talking about when you could buy wild caught. And as for the 300 to 400, again in my many messages in here, I am talking about what you see in LFS, NOT from Biota.

 

[SpyC]

Okay, if you read ALL of my responses on here, I never said it was the price of a Biota. I was talking about when you could buy wild caught. And as for the 300 to 400, again in my many messages in here, I am talking about what you see in LFS, NOT from Biota.

I have read your responses.

You can't compare wild caught and captive bred. if you come across a reefer with a wild caught for sale, you're going to be paying way more than if you purchased a captive bred yt.

Idk where you are located, but even the lfs I have perused in a few stats sell them for only slightly more than from biota directly. Your lfs may be a ripoff.

 

[tuscani]

I just got a Biota one from LFS for $149. Color is perfect!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I have read your responses.

You can't compare wild caught and captive bred. if you come across a reefer with a wild caught for sale, you're going to be paying way more than if you purchased a captive bred yt.

Idk where you are located, but even the lfs I have perused in a few stats sell them for only slightly more than from biota directly. Your lfs may be a ripoff.

Agreed, I think this post has gotten way out of context and control. For the record, I am much more for captive bred. I am in Virginia, and every store I have gone into, when I see a yellow tang, it has always been north of $300.. That , from the sound of thing is on them, not Biota.

 

[I never finish anythi]

We ship to TMC in the UK who distribute to stores

Appreciate you getting back to me . TMC obviously gotta make some money. So they charge about 300£+ for a yellow . Unless you can get trade . Which I can't unfortunately.

 

[Biota_Marine]

Agreed, I think this post has gotten way out of context and control. For the record, I am much more for captive bred. I am in Virginia, and every store I have gone into, when I see a yellow tang, it has always been north of $300.. That , from the sound of thing is on them, not Biota.

It does depend on the location too, we're still seeing high shipping costs in many areas or there are some stores that prefer to buy our medium size range so it's not always a ton of margin there.

 

[Asagi]

So this is a Biota thread, LOL

 

[nereefpat]

So this is a Biota thread, LOL

They are the only place supplying yellow tangs.

 

[NeedAReef]

I wish I could afford one, just cannot justify it sadly. maybe one day when the kids are older

 

[AKReefing]

So I've been out of the hobby a few years and now have a Waterbox Infinia 230.6 that is cycled and only has two clowns in it that are doing just fine. It'll be FOWLR. I'm interested in mostly large and small angels, tangs, and wrasses but open to almost anything. Anyway, what should be my next add? Also when did yellow tangs become 200 to 300 bucks??? I remember getting one for 50 tops not that long ago.

Thanks!

When Hawaii stopped allowing their capture a few years ago. Environmentalists got a judge to back them.

 

[TeeJay87]

I have a Biota YT and a Biota Regal Angelfish. YT has HLLE and Regal Angel has Hole in Head. I have 10 other non-Biota fish in the tank and all are blemish-free perfectly healthy specimens. I'm committed to these Biota fish now and they seem perfectly healthy, but the HLLE was not disclosed and I would 100% not have purchased them if I had known they were coming with HLLE. Especially, the Regal Angel as, in my opinion, it is a fish you buy for its beauty.

I didn't realize this was common with Biota captive breds until doing some searching just now. It would have been nice to know earlier as I've gone over the top spending time and money on special food additives thinking it was my fault for not providing them enough nutrition (they were too tiny to notice the HLLE when they first arrived). Anyway, I did not buy directly from Biota and my guess is Biota identifies and ships out HLLE fish to 3rd party sellers. So my advice - if you do buy a captive bred - is to buy it directly from Biota as that is probably your best bet at getting an HLLE-free fish. My advice to Biota would be to identify those fish with HLLE, disclose that and sell them at a discount.

 

[areefer01]

I didn't realize this was common with Biota captive breds until doing some searching just now.

Common? I currently have over 20 fish from Biota in my display and not one of them has any sign of HLLE. I only speak for my experience but I do not see it prevalent as you described.

I currently have:

• Gold Lined Rabbit
• 4 x Pink Square Anthias
• Matted Filefish
• Radial Filefish
• Milletseed Butterflyfish
• Links Goby
• Upside Down Goby
• 11 x Lyretail Damsels
• Blue Neon Cleaner Goby

I did not buy directly from Biota and my guess is Biota identifies and ships out HLLE fish to 3rd party sellers.

This makes no sense. Stop spreading misinformation.

 

[PharmrJohn]

I have a Biota YT and a Biota Regal Angelfish. YT has HLLE and Regal Angel has Hole in Head. I have 10 other non-Biota fish in the tank and all are blemish-free perfectly healthy specimens. I'm committed to these Biota fish now and they seem perfectly healthy, but the HLLE was not disclosed and I would 100% not have purchased them if I had known they were coming with HLLE. Especially, the Regal Angel as, in my opinion, it is a fish you buy for its beauty.

I didn't realize this was common with Biota captive breds until doing some searching just now. It would have been nice to know earlier as I've gone over the top spending time and money on special food additives thinking it was my fault for not providing them enough nutrition (they were too tiny to notice the HLLE when they first arrived). Anyway, I did not buy directly from Biota and my guess is Biota identifies and ships out HLLE fish to 3rd party sellers. So my advice - if you do buy a captive bred - is to buy it directly from Biota as that is probably your best bet at getting an HLLE-free fish. My advice to Biota would be to identify those fish with HLLE, disclose that and sell them at a discount.

This is a bold statement. And research done just now is not research. Not by a long shot. And guessing is not a definitive statement. I learned decades upon decades ago that statements like these are inappropriate at best. One is of course allowed their own opinion, but there is a difference as to what is considered theory over hypothesis.

 

[TeeJay87]

Common? I currently have over 20 fish from Biota in my display and not one of them has any sign of HLLE. I only speak for my experience but I do not see it prevalent as you described.

I currently have:

• Gold Lined Rabbit
• 4 x Pink Square Anthias
• Matted Filefish
• Radial Filefish
• Milletseed Butterflyfish
• Links Goby
• Upside Down Goby
• 11 x Lyretail Damsels
• Blue Neon Cleaner Goby

This makes no sense. Stop spreading misinformation.

So you don’t have a Biota YT or a Biota Regal Angelfish, which are the fish in question here. Also I bought the Regal from Reef Beauties because it was discounted $30 lower than Biota’s price and the YT from Dr Reef because it was quarantined and discounted from Biota’s price. I’m guessing you bought straight from Biota. Some types of captive bred fish may just be more prone to HLLE, and/or Biota may be culling those fish in your list for abnormalities more aggressively because there is less demand for the fish you have vs. the extremely popular YT and Regals. I don’t have all the answers; only Biota can share their culling practices, HLLE rates, HLLE rates to 3rd party sellers, etc.

But I do know I have had only 2 fish with HLLE / genetic abnormalities, and they are my only 2 Biota captive bred fish. BTW, I say genetic abnormalities because I realized I didn’t even mention that my YT has one normal and one tiny/messed up pelvic fin that doesn’t function well. In spite of the fin and HLLE, YT seems perfectly normal and healthy from what I can tell and is growing rapidly.

 

[TeeJay87]

This is a bold statement. And research done just now is not research. Not by a long shot. And guessing is not a definitive statement. I learned decades upon decades ago that statements like these are inappropriate at best. One is of course allowed their own opinion, but there is a difference as to what is considered theory over hypothesis.

2 out of over 20 fish I’ve owned have had HLLE/Hole in Head, one of those also having a genetic abnormality of one pelvic fin. Those 2 fish are my only Biota captive bred fish. Personally, I’m glad they didn’t cull these fish because they are beautiful, seemingly healthy fish. I just wish that if they did know about HLLE/genetic deformities (I would think it is their job to examine the fish and know about this), it was properly disclosed. I’m just putting 2 and 2 together, but yes it is a hypothesis not a scientifically validated theory.

 

[SpyC]

2 out of over 20 fish I’ve owned have had HLLE/Hole in Head, one of those also having a genetic abnormality of one pelvic fin. Those 2 fish are my only Biota captive bred fish. Personally, I’m glad they didn’t cull these fish because they are beautiful, seemingly healthy fish. I just wish that if they did know about HLLE/genetic deformities (I would think it is their job to examine the fish and know about this), it was properly disclosed. I’m just putting 2 and 2 together, but yes it is a hypothesis not a scientifically validated theory.

Can you prove your assertion? stating a company is partaking in these actions without any evidence other than personal anecdotal experience doesn't make a strong case and is very bold