(Aside: there are many different classifications of the ocellaris/percula clowns. $100 for a pair seems
way too high to me, unless they were of the subjective onyx, picasso, snowflake, naked, etc. color variants. I would definitely try the other BRS sponsors. You might be able to get a black and white pair for as little as $40.)
But back to the main discussion, and I address this to all:
This hobby is not something for the faint of wallet. That doesn't mean you have to be rich. I'm quite the opposite.
And I'm not saying I haven't bought livestock from online vendors. I certainly have in the past. And that decision has always come back to haunt me. And I can't tell how many horror stories I've read on the borads here over the years where somebody introduced something into their tank and now everything's dead.
I came to the conclusion that if one is cutting corners on livestock, then one might need to rethink their participation in this hobby.
Livestock is expensive regardless of where you get it. I know one can save large sums of money by purchasing from large online retailers, but I fail to see the rationale for buying a fish where you cannot see:
- Its temperment
- Whether it is eating
- If it has a disease
- If it has an injury
- If it is of the colour variant you want
That just seems like poor reefkeeping to me. Most importantly, when buying from a "blind" source, you may not have any recourse should the specimen at the very best not turn out to be exactly right for you, and at the worst, introduce a disease into your tank.
I think some of these online vendors are more than reputable companies, but what do they care if they lose your business? There's a million others buying from them. On the other hand, a local source has a serious incentive to sell a reputable product. Worse than losing your business and possibly your participation in the hobby, word of mouth gets around here pretty fast. And there are plenty of local sources selling sick fish who care not about your tank. That's well known. So this isn't a black and white issue.
In sum, I know that money is tight, especially with rising electrical costs. A MJ1200 from Dr. Fosters and Smith is the same as a MJ1200 from a LFS. But is a Flame Angel the same between the two?
Matt