Are they that rare? (Earles wrasse)
 

So over the past year or so I've like a bunch of pages, channels, forums etc. on the FaceTube. Most are recent and national due to this forums macna exposure (which having "local" guys on site sharing photos is awesome, Derek's reef store particularly stands out)

But I digress. A forum which I liked and joined, although rarely go to, reef2reef (I'm not sure if forum sharing is ok) but they post some pretty neat things on Facebook. One recent post was of a retailer selling some pretty expensive wrasses, among other nice fish.

So I understand rarity, his quarantine process and 4 week guarantee. But are they the only factors Involved with the price here? Given that there are more beautiful wrasses out there, especially to the American market.
http://www.nicewrasse.com/fawrcfa.html

They may not necessarily be rare but found only where few fishers go.
There is nothing special about the 'American' market. If you want a fish go to your Lfs and tell them the name size and sex of the fish and they will order one in for you. If disinterested go to the next lfs

Will keep that in mind the next time I'm looking for a Doctor Seuss fish... Oh no, wait.

I have no such luck with LFS.

The Lfs get an order sheet. They check off the fish they want to order from the supplier. Tell the llfs to check off the fish you are looking for.
If they are not interested in serving you speak to the owner manager.

That's totally not the way it works if you want something rare.

Here's how it actually works:

Your store will get a list of availability from a wholesaler or transhipper.

The fish you want will either be there or it won't.

If it doesn't and your store has the resources to deal directly with the specialty collectors, they can then assess whether or not it makes financial sense to put in an order through one of them. If they want to deal with some of the super high end dealers out of HK, for example, they need to pony up a $10k+ order.

If that isn't within the means of your store, then that's the end of it. There's no stigma against rare/expensive fish. They just aren't available through the common channels and the means to acquisition may be beyond the reach of your average store.

I understand the list process and I'm pretty sure at least some kind of SPS are on there but one LFS refuses to bring it in (because they always arrive brown and nobody has good enough lighting) and the other doesn't bring them in because THEY don't have good enough lighting. I've offered to meet them on delivery day to take what's mine, brown or not. I haven't seen sps in kelowna since I started. So I get most of my livestock online. Which then has a knock on effect to my LFS which aren't getting my money and can't improve.

Your post was about rare fish, not special order corals...

Pet City is great for quality fish that have been properly quarantined, and Harold is able to order from a few different wholesalers. His business is not around reefs, so he does not get into inverts or sps. I've tried to convince him a few times to learn more about sps and the demand for inverts, but he wasn't sold. J&L was happy to take a few hundred dollars from me yesterday :)

Well a special order Is a special order be it fish, coral or inverts, no? So you're telling me he can get an earles wrasse but not a digi or monti? It's not just corals. Back in my freshwater days I couldn't get any kind of dwarf cichlids, specifically multies or similis.

But this thread isn't about what we can or can't get locally. I was just amazed and wondering why this fish was so expensive.

I'm sure if you find one it's pay up front. Your risk.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden...+3&ddid=188631