How To Survive At Fish Auctions By Andrew Boyd

If lucky enough to get to one of the big interstate auctions, you can have a wonderful time. You will certainly see some fishes that are never available in Canberra, and pick up some terrific bargains. Conversely, you may also pay more than the retail price or buy diseased or deformed fish. You may even be lumbered with hybrids.

 

How can this be avoided? First, decide what fish you wish to buy before getting to the auction hall. Make a list but be prepared to be flexible. Do you want juveniles (the most common stock at auction)? Or are you after an adult female, perhaps of a species, such as the Red Devil Cichlid, whose males can be very aggressive towards them? Youngsters will of course be cheaper and if the price is right, buy a dozen or more of them (provided you can house them properly). After bringing them home, keep the best pair for yourself and sell the rest to pay for the original purchase. Be sure to have adequate spare tanks free for each type of fish: hard-water nasty (such as African cichlids), soft-water nasty (such as Cichlasoma dovii, etc.), soft-water peaceful (Tetras etc.) and so on.

 

The two auctions I have attended those of the N.S.W. Aquarium-Society and the N.S.W. Cichlid Society, allow prior viewing of lots, before the auction starts. Each lot is numbered, so bring your pen and notebook and cross-reference your wish-list against the available lots irrespective of quality.

 

So under 'Gold Severum' you might have 'lots 62-65 OK, 66 has one dead fish in bag'. Do not immediately write off lots that include dead or diseased fish but do take this into consideration. If you cannot secure the one healthy fish in a mixed bag at a fraction of the retail price, forget it. Bear in mind that some diseases are easier to treat than others. A bag of baby Frontosas with white spot or ragged fins is still a bargain at $10. Be cautious of 'Adult Breeding Pairs', as I have bought such that were neither adult nor breeding and in one case, paid a lot of money for 2 males. Know your fish and if you are after African cichlids, STUDY KONING'S BOOKS! There are many people who do not realise they have hybrid cichlids, especially African cichlids, and so bring them to auctions in good faith. Ad Koning's "Tanganyikan Cichlids" and "Malawi Cichlids" provide a means for recognising such hybrids and passing them by, and these two excellent books are available through the club library. If a fish doesn't look anything like the from-the-wild pictures in these books, give it the miss.

 

Ask people with experience from similar auctions about any peculiarities that their rules may allow. For instance, the N.S.W. Aquarium Society has a clause whereby a successful bidder for a first bag may take any or all of the other equivalents at the same price. Thus, if you are the highest bidder at $10 for a first bag of 3 Lionhead Cichlids, you have the option to take any others that may be on offer for $10 also.

 

Also at this Society's auctions, there is a tendency among the auctioneers to start the bidding at the price a similar lot achieved earlier in the evening. E.g., one bag of 6 Bronze Catfish fetched $5 earlier on, so we'll start the bidding at $5 for the next, similar, lot and go backwards in price until someone 'bites', then forwards again until a high is reached. This can take, a long time, so be patient.

 

At N.S.W. Cichlid Society auctions, the bidding is much faster, so you must have your act together, in terms of noting numbers of desirable/undesirable lots. Mr Norm Halliwell, who usually performs as auctioneer, whilst being a perfect gentleman, is not above spotting a desirable lot and bidding for it himself. It is also possible to obtain credit at these auctions, though I am not sure exactly how to go about it.

 

There are certain considerations about pricing to bear in mind when going to buy fishes from Sydney. There they have 'blooms' of particular fishes at times, including many that we haven't seen in Canberra. An example was the Green Terror, Aequidens tivulatus. A couple of years ago these fish were relatively rare and priced accordingly. Then people learnt to breed them and the fish were as common as dirt in Sydney, around September 1989. Breeding-sized adults could be had for as little as $15 each but now the local aquarists seem to have killed some off, prices are back to normal.

 

Mention Bristlenose Catfish in Sydney and our New South Welsh cousins seem to lose all their composure. Maybe it's something to do with their water, but they just can't breed the species in numbers to meet demand. I have seen 5 little bristles in a bag fetch as much as $18. Other species that are relatively common in Canberra, such as Texas Cichlids, excite similar interest. On the other hand, such things as Sailfin Plecos, which make us foam at the mouth, are common in Sydney, if not over cheap.

 

If you are at a big auction for the first time, be prepared for a king-size shellshock, as your mind becomes overloaded with information. You will see fishes them that you have only imagined in your wildest dreams, at prices that will make your mouth water. But just remember that you won't be able to afford to buy them all and you wouldn't be able to house them if you could. But you are guaranteed an interesting and enjoyable time, in the company of fellow 'lost souls', or aquarists, at they are known.