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I had my first L046 16 years old and paided $46 US and then after I paided up to $75. I see on aquabid there going for $5,000-$8,000 for 6 or 9 fish. I want to get them again but I would need to take out a loan. Explain.

The reason they cost so much is because that is what people will pay. Why they want to pay it is beyond me. There is 'way too much hype about this fish which is, after all, only one of a number of similar looking fish. Personally, you couldn't give me one as I don't like the looks of Hypancistrus in general.

There is more to it than this, of course. The fish are banned from export as I understand it and this drives up the desirability and the price. My advice: don't impoverish your family over this fish.

Deb wrote:The fish are banned from export as I understand it and this drives up the desirability and the price

Just to expand on this slightly, H. zebra has always been in short supply. They live in a limited section of the Rio Xingu in pretty deep rocky channels. This makes them hard to catch.

They were quite frequent in stores during the nineties, but numbers dwindled under the demand, and they were not as common as they once had been.

As a result IBAMA, the Brazilian conservation department, recently enforced a ban on export (along with many other ornamental fishes) in order for scientists to assess the numbers, and see if a commercial fishery is sustainable long term.

They are still available as F1 or as illegally smuggled wild fishes. There are lots of threads on this subject, such as this lively debate here.

Deb wrote:My advice: don't impoverish your family over this fish

Or, you could sell the adults you already have to breeders, and buy a whole new tank or two!

Deb wrote:There is 'way too much hype about this fish

Hypeancistrus

Hypeancistrus

I am soooo stealing that from you.
-Shane

Shane wrote:

Hypeancistrus

I am soooo stealing that from you.
-Shane

Is that a wierd smiley in Marc's message or a "copyright" symbol???

Hype and citrus. Over talked and leave a sour taste in your mouth. However, I am a hyp-ocrite, as I keep some but then I kept my first one before L-numbers were invented (L046 in 1992, L066 in 1994).

Jools