Do you really want a Gem Tang?
- Jul 18, 2020
- Anshika Mishra
- 4838 0 0
If you are the kind of person who likes to set money on fire then the Gem Tang might just be the fish for you. These fish are easy to recognize with black background adorned with white speckles, with yellowtail. Looking like that has a severe case of white spot.
How Much do Gem Tangs Cost?
The Gem Tang is a legendry fish amongst the hobby, that was extremely rare to find. With in the last few years, they have become easier to find but their price tag may prevent you from getting a tank full of them. Gem Tangs will run you anywhere between $1,000 - $1,600. This is what put this fish in the hall of legends, where it sits slightly back to its cousin, the cheaper black Tang or Purple Tang.
Why Do Gem Tangs Cost So Much?
Their prices inflated for several reasons but mainly due to the fact that they are only collected around the island of Mauritius. They are seasonal and generally considered as solitary which means they are not easy to find. And when you do find one it is usually by itself.
Due to the fact that Mauritius is an island, there are no direct flights to the biggest aquarium markets. The fish is usually bagged up, put on a plane, unpacked at holding facility, and then re-bagged to them upon another plane before they get to the final destination country. All this costs money and pushes up the shipping cost.
Something else to consider is that the person that collects these don't only sell Gem Tangs. So, a wholesaler has to buy other, more commonly available fish from the same collector. This is often more expensive from where they normally get their fish from. Just because the wholesaler has to pay more money, does not mean that they can pass that cost on the next person on the supply chain. So, they end up losing money on the common fish but their losses are then recovered when they sell the Gem Tang.
It also comes down to supply and demand and any scare recourse which also has a huge demand would always push up the price.
Gem Tang Care Requirement
Fortunately, considering their price tag, there care requirements don't differ greatly from many other Zebrasomo Tangs. They are actually pretty hardy fish. All you need to do is to provide them with clean water, a nutritious algae-based diet, suitable tank mates.
If you can tick off all those boxes you are off to a good start. It might be wise to cross any other Tang or aggressive fish, off your list of potential tankmates. Don't get it wrong they are the same as any Zebrasomo Tang, they can be little terrors who are more than capable of holding their own in the aquarium hierarchy.
Their cost just means that if something does go wrong, it hurts a lot more, and unexpected side effects of owning this fish are the anxiety that comes with it. If it dies it is unlikely that you will ever own one again. This means that its stakes are much higher.
SO, to answer the question, Do you really need a Gem Tang?
If you can afford the initial cost and happy to keep a fish which may restrict what else you would keep with it and could tolerate a permanent sense of impending doom then go for it.
Having a fish which is this prestigious fills the owner with a little bit of happiness every time you see it.
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