I did not Q the 9 altums I got. At this time O cannot Q- no space. But with the clowns I would need a big Q. 10 inch clowns need space. I know the breeder of the Altums and I put those 9 little guys into the tank with the last surviving adult and lone rummynose.
The 4 new ones coming in trade are from a gent who already has 5 of my L173 and is buying more. He also keeps zebras. I realize this is not risk a risk free thing to do, but if i must skip Q, I will only do so when I am a sure as I can be that is will be safe. Nothing is perfect and I know this too.
The reason I said no is that I am trying to downsize not the reverse. I have 26 tanks going and 6 are full of fish for sale and outdoors. They have to be empty in the near future. I am going as fast as i can to make that happen. But I chose to work with pricey fish and that means the universe of potential buyers is fairly limited.
One of the best quality breeding operations for rare Hypancistrus is in Indonesia. They breed the 173 among other fish. For their top quality 173 at a smaller size (3 - 3,3 cm or about 1.5 inch) the price is $500/fish and you must buy 50. You will pay about another $1,200 to get them into the country . Even the smaller size lesser quality ones at that size were on sale (30% off) for $210 for a box of 50. A 3.35 inch fish they sell for $320 (not top grade).
I am selling my fish for less than the above numbers. So you can import 50 top grade fish for for about $26k or if you just want 5 I had listed 5 of these at 2.25 - 2.75 inch TL on Planetcatfish for $1,200. For that you also get a bonus 6th fish at about 1.5 - 1.75 and I will also donate $120 of the proceeds to PC. They sold pretty fast. Plus I post pics of the exact fish one will receive, it is not a box filled with fish one has never seen until they arrive. So you tell me, am I greedy?
I sell quality hard to find fish for less than they can be bought wholesale. I donate some of the proceeds to help support a site or org. which has been an asset to hobbyists for decades. Here is a clue as to what it takes me to be able to do this. I spent years learning about keeping fish. I spent money for tanks, filters etc etc. to house the fish. This doesn't include the time involved. But the real cost is the fish themselves. These can cost anywhere from $400 - $1,000 each depending on rarity and size.
Bear in mind that if you buy such fish there is no guarantee none will die or that they will spawn for you. So, imo, if one puts out thousands of dollars for fish, you are entitled to get a fair price for the offspring should you get them.
This is not meant as an advert for what I do or a solicitation to buy my fish. I would post some on AC but they are not the sort of fish most of the members here keep. I posted on this site asking if anybody wanted me to list my fish for sale here and got 0 requests. So I am not listing them on AC.
I am a sucker for the black and white Hypans. It is my weakness. I keep all sorts of fish. I have plenty of fish for which I spent under a dollar wholesale or imported. I happened to be lucky in whom I know and have been able to piggy back orders and get the whole box price for just a part of the of the total fish in the box. I have bought fish retail as well.
IMO, two of the cutest things one might see in a fresh water tank are newly free swimming corys or plecos.