The Borbonius anthias, Odontanthias borbonius, was once the most holy grail anthias fish if ever there was one. Also known as the blotchy anthias, this species was previously only enjoyed by aquarists through books and pictures. Suddenly, a couple of years ago the species started popping up in small quantities but once the species was discovered living at a reasonable collection depth, demand for this fish was overwhelmed by huge numbers of imported specimens. The once nearly unobtainable O. borbonius went from $3000 per specimen to $80 retail in a matter of about 18 months. Unfortunately, with the huge rise in quantity came a huge drop in quality and many of the borbs you could see in many average fish stores were pale and skinny, often suffering from swim bladder issues and they looked just like what you would expect when the value for a fish had suddenly bottomed out. Thankfully, it seems that the supply and demand for the blotchy anthias has leveled out and now we are again seeing some good looking borbs at fair retail prices. The video of this studly male reminds us why the borbonius anthias is still a fish worthy of our admiration. This pair of O. borbonius are living in a 1500 gallon reef tank installed and maintained by AquaticArt inc. Thanks Cris.
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