First Release of Lightning Maroon Clownfish

It's official, they're being released!
 
http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?p=2461
 
http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?p=2197
 
And http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?page_id=2230

I'd also suggest reading up on these two:

http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?p=2018
 
http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?page_id=2235 
 

I like LM3 and LM6. Nice looking fish.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I really hope they go to breeders.

I hope these can go out to breeders too! And that people won't just stick them with any other clown to pair up with. 

I'm making a list of the maroons I want to bid on, you have some nice ones in there.

Hey Matt,
 
Have you mentioned what you are feeding them now? I'll be heading to the LFS (about an hour away) and want to be able to pick up any food if I don't have the right stuff on hand if I can, just for the little sliver of hope I have for getting one of these.
 
Thanks!

They eat anything you throw at 'em Kthomas.  Spectrum Pellets, 1.0 mm, are one of the main staples now.  They got a lot of TDO too.

I'd be bidding if import weren't an issue!

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

The bid is at 500 already with 4 days 20hours left...
This is just not fair... I wish I had money for a lightning clownfish

yuck... way out of my range now! lol... good luck to those who get 'em!
 

I have the winning bid right now .

HOLY CRAP-O-LA!!!! 3,750 with 4 days to go! GEEZ folks, you could build a new fish room for that! lol... 

I bet the price won't go as high for some of the later 30

I feel like this whole lightning clownfish thing is going to end up like the episode of spongebob with the soda drink hat.
"I'll give you one billion dollars!"

I think that is a fair assessment...BZLM2 is a particularly nice one out of the lot, but honestly I really did pick these first 5 fish with a pretty random swoop of the net.  I've done everything in my power to provide transparent and complete information on these fish, honestly mainly to help bidders make informed decisions soas to not have Blue Zoo, or myself, accused of manipulations etc.  No doubt, I'm sure that will still happen.  

I truly hope they go to breeders...breeders with deeper pockets and vested interest should be able to pony up for broodstock.  Heck, just two hours ago I was reading an article about breeding freshwater fish for showing and the #1 recommendation from the veteran breeder?  Don't by cheap broodstock.  
 
I ran the numbers on broodstock myself earlier this year looking at freshwater Angelfish, and it's amazing when you look at the long term implications. 

Let's say over the course of a reproductive lifetime, a breeder manages to raise 2000 offspring from the pair.  The investment of $100 for broodstock, vs. $300, works out to this.   The cheap pair's broodstock cost is $0.05 per fish sold.  The expensive pair's cost is $0.15 per fish...a $0.10 difference per fish.  All else being equal...eg. same kind of fish, same exact strain etc, the differences is $0.10 per fish.  So when it comes time to sell your offspring, even if you mark up that investment cost X2, and ask $0.20 more per fish, at most that's going to change the retail asking price of a fish anywhere from $0.50 to $1.00.  Or, let's say you eat the extra $0.10 and sell the fish for the same as the cheaper one...let me ask you this - how much BETTER are your offspring as a result of that investment, and how much of a competitive edge does that give you over your competition?  In truth, the latter is almost more important, particularly when you're in a crowded market....because having the better fish could mean the difference being the one who's selling Angelfish for $3 each vs. the person who's sitting on them and suddenly can't even sell them dropping them on sale at $2.

$4000 is potentially a very small investment on a fish that likely has a big potential for returns, and costs no more to produce than a fish that might only retail for $29.99...when you look at the big picture.  The new furnace, AC and zone system we had to install on our house cost substantially more  Heck...$4000 doesn't even pay my electrical bill for a year.

True statement, Matt.

I am a breeder in Omaha, NE.

I believe in paying top dollar for quality breeders.

However, at age 20, with not so of great income, 4,000 is out of my price range.

Homestly, if I had the money I would buy one. Maybe 2

Well, the other one is only 2K right now.

I should point out that I sold off bundles of fish to pay for the Lightning Maroon when I obtained it.  It will remain the most expensive fish I've EVER purchased...when selling 150 Black Ocellaris and 3 Latezonatus don't even cover the bill...well..you know it wasn't cheap.  Still, that's exactly how I justified the purchase.  I paid for it mainly out of stock I already had.  It was a gamble, and it paid off.  Arguably in all of this, I was the one who took the largest gamble anyone will take in terms of this variant....because for all we knew it could have died and not spawned, it could have been a one-off and not passed this trait to the offspring...and then what?  I think the breeders going into Lightning Maroons now have so much information behind them it's no longer a gamble, just a calculated risk and business investment. 

Ditto Heisenberg, I totally agree with Matt as well though... quality broodstock is worth it, but it does have to be in the right time for you.  
 
Either way, if I could I most definitely would! 

I hope everyone who is bidding is keeping in mind that in total, there are 14 Lightning Maroons slated to be released if all goes according to plan.  These are just the first two.  Here's the total inventory of all offspring.  My main worries here is that they might start to kill each other as I start thinning the herd...which means that, if this all goes well, I'll probably do a couple larger shipments to Blue Zoo and that will be the end of it.

Sorry, here's that link to the total inventory - http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?page_id=2230

yeah, we will be keeping an eye on them! If it's possible I am sure going to try!  

It is likely that they will pick one another off as the numbers in your tanks decrease. I had some percula clownfish that I got from a local breeder that would kill each other if not kept in pairs and threes in square pond baskets stuck into the ten gallon tanks on my system.  Once I let a group of three that had been peaceful in a basket have their own 10 gallon, and the next morning, one was dead of aggression by the others. 
 
Crowd them up. It forces them to get along.  Of course your results may vary. I've never kept maroons.
 

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

Guys, stop bidding I can't afford that much! Lol

More likely what will happen next is that I'll probably send a large number to Blue Zoo and split the rest up into individual homes here (I didn't go out and buy 30+ breeder nets last year without a reason )
 

 
I'll be happy to take one of the individuals split up to homes in MN. I thought they'd go for a few grand, didn't anticipate the price they are at now to come before the first 24 hours of being listed though.

 
I agree 100%.  Maybe in a few years I can justify owning $4000 broodstock, but right now I'm not sure I could sell enough offspring in my market.  I seriously looked at buying that breeding pair of McCullochs that came up last year, and I think the investment of the Maroons is the better investment.  It's just unfortunate that my pockets aren't so deep right now.  I'm a beast of feast and famine.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

 

Meant giving them individual quarters here in my basement LOL
 

I'm hoping the later auctions will go for significantly less money.  I'm going to talk to Blue Zoo to see if they will allow shipment to Canada in the small hope that I may win one of these fish.  It looks like there are 12 more chances after the first two LM. 

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Hey Matt, Blue Zoo didn't reply to my email asking about shipping to Canada.  Would you be able to help with this at all? 
 
I notice the first two Lightning colored fish went to the same buyer.  A breeder I'm hoping?  I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the "big name" breeders.  Not a big bill for one of them.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

http://www.reefs.com/blog...strikes-new-york-city/
 

Here's as much of the story about the buyer as I can publicly divulge (I obviously know more now since this was released, but respecting privacy etc...) - http://www.lightning-maroon-clownfish.com/?p=2603

I'll certainly bring up shipping to Canada, but I think it's an issue of export license and such as much as it is importing them on your end.  I know officially, the first auctions only offered shipping to US destinations.

Oh, interesting buyer info.  At least there may be light in the tunnel.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Excellent news!

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Matt, I'm having trouble reconciling the following two statements you make:
 
1)  "These fish found the perfect home in someone who “gets it”. “This is a total win for the fish – while concerns that “rare fish collectors” would snag them up and not see the light of day again, it sounds like the anonymous winning bidder totally gets it."
 
2)  "Simply putting two siblings together will, in my experience, result with only one sibling.  Much as I did with the wild fish, it seems that forced size differentiation with ongoing screened social interaction is going to be what it takes to push two similarly sized fish into being a compatible pair."

Since the buyer is putting these two fish together into a single 120 gallon display, I don't understand how he or she "gets it" at all.  Plus, if the fish do "decide to mate", how is he going to transfer the eggs to Joe and Todd -- by moving the rock (perhaps with attached anemone)?  This sounds a lot like the buyer is aware of your hopes that they would become part of a breeding program, and is simply giving lip service to that dream.

With all due respect, it reads to me more like a “rare fish collector” snagged them up and they will not see the light of day again, from a breeding perspective.  I understand your enthusiasm over this undeniably very successful first auction, and I also understand how one might want to put the best possible face on the outcome, but from where I sit, it's going to take a whole lot of polish to make this particular turd shine.
 
I'm open to reading ways that I may be misinterpreting things, or jumping to conclusions, given the scant amount of information available.
 
 

The 120 is the ultimate destination, NOT the entry point.  There's interemediate steps, starting with quarantine.  I don't think I'm breaking confidences by saying they're going into QT to start  It's a process.



I think Todd will employ one of the many viable options for getting reef-based clownfish spawns into culture, be it a tile, egg harvesting, larval snagging. If you're one of only a tiny handful of people in the world who have Lightning X Lightning paired and spawning, I think you're going to make sure it's handled appropriately



Indeed, it is very little info, but I'm sure the parties involved want it that way, and I have to respect that. All I can say is I think the above should allay some of your concerns, and I for one can't really be critical of a plan that includes housing the pair in a reef tank...after all, that's where I housed mine for years!  Only more recently have they come to live in a barren breeding type setup with a tile tepee  And part of the reason the pair is now downstairs is because my plan is to put my F1 Lightning X F1 Lightning upstairs on display!

 

Mindy,
do you know about this web auction?  They are based in Toronto so import is not an issue.
http://www.krakenauctions.om/product/closedauction
This is an example of the kind of stuff they sell
 

Hey thanks!  I didn't know about them.  I will watch and see what they have.    I don't think they have any Lightning Maroons though.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

No,  no lightnings,  but I know you have bemoaned the cross-border issue before.

 
Yes, it can definitely be a limiting factor!  Thank you for the link. 

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]