What are the Hottest Fish on the Market?

[Yanni]

I've noticed that currently, there doesn't really seem to be a fish that's really popular. So I was wondering what fish are people really looking for? Is it bristlenose plecos? Or maybe a really rare type of goby? I'm really interested to see what's really sought after at the moment. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I’d say rarer BNs like L183s, super red BNs especially LF, and hypancistrus species. Any of the Lazer corys and the Vulcan CW111. Rarer colors of ricefish like koi, orange, black and silver lame. I’ve been on the hunt for tangerine high fin mollies but other livebearers would be specific colors/pattern of guppy like the Vienna, German buttercups, and some of the new ones coming out of Asia like a pink cotton candy snakeskin. 

[gardenman]

The "trendy" fish these days seem to be the short-bodied fish. These are fish that twenty years ago would have been culled and destroyed as being deformed, but a market has developed for them, and people are buying them at high prices.

[GameCzar]

Shrimp!  When I was growing up, you never heard of people keeping shrimp really, but they really are super popular now!

[Fonske]

On 10/9/2021 at 8:17 PM, gardenman said:

The "trendy" fish these days seem to be the short-bodied fish.

Or long-bodied fish... rope fish and bichiers seem to be on the rise in my neck of the woods.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I agree with @gardenmanTeacup platys - my LFS can’t get enough of them! 
The market for Neocaridina has cooled a little bit. I still get some decent money for my yellow backs and blue dreams. The shrimp that sell like crazy are Caridina that can take a little bit of hardness - tangerine tigers, the raccoon tigers, aura blues. I think @Patrick_Gand I have discussed this - these are awesome because you get all the color of Caridina but the ease of keeping is much more Neocaridina like. The red and black crystals, tai bees etc there’s lots of them out there but the tigers that can take a little bit of kh are sought after.  

[sudofish]

Agreed on the shrimp. Maybe Corydoras or the endless L number Plecos. And of course Bettas. There's always people looking for Bettas.

Edited October 9, 2021 by sudofish

[Mmiller2001]

Neon Tetras.

[Patrick_G]

As a serious hobbyist I’m still a noob so they’re all sought after for me 😀! 

Based on the price I’d agree with @Beardedbillygoat1975,  the different color varieties of Medaka are a trendy fish right now. 

[Waka88]

Around here they can't keep Cory's in stock.

And no one seems to have stock of female Betta.

Honey Gourami disappear fast too.

[Kathy F]

You go down the list of weekly orders for my LFS Juli Corydoras are ordered every single week and by the time they are out of holding they are mostly sold out.   I wouldn't call them trendy just more or less in constant high demand.  

[mynameisnobody]

I just stumbled across 2 species that I would love to add to my collection. They may not be currently trendy, but time will tell. Red laser Cory’s and platinum white bristlenose plecos. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@MannyIm curious if those platinum BN are the same as the snow whites I keep hearing about coming out of Germany? Any lazer cory is a hot commodity! 

[StevesFishTanks]

"red" and "koi"

Edited October 11, 2021 by s1_

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

The first thing I thought of was I am always looking for fry in my puffer colonys, and from my L169 plecos..... I look everyday. 

Real answer

Besides new puffer species to try observing and possibly run breeding projects with  I am always looking for newly available loach species particularly the  hillstream species of loaches both flat reticulated, spotted, etc, and elongated species panda,sumo,etc.  The tri band sumo loach and the panda loach are both two of my favorite colonies I have now

[GardenStateGoldfish]

I think the trendiest things right now are rice fish, but I’m still hooked on goldfish like it’s the 1800’s 

[Helan]

Where I am Plakat  or wild bettas are really catching on 

[anewbie]

Not sure what you mean by hottest? You mean what sells the most? Probably guppies or bettas. You mean what I am looking for? right now apistogramma lineata; you mean what is most profitable? Probably some of the less common pleco like l397 or l046 though in certain markets koi go for a pretty penny.  Btw L183 and super red bn are relatively common and not really that hot; which is why their price point is pretty low. Btw there are some less common cory that sell for $50 to $100 per individual; put those laser cory to shame.

[Blake Calhoun]

I think it depends on where people are getting fish. I keep a lot of types of ricefish and have no problem selling them online and at swaps, but they don't sell in my LFS. We can always sell cories and plecos to our LFS stores. Nano fish like CPDS, clown Killis, and smaller rainbows are easy to breed and sell too. 

 

Great question. We think of it all the time since our goal is to breed fish and then sell them. Sometimes we start a breeding project of something we find to be cool, but have a smaller market. Other times we can't make enough!