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.
Odontanthias borbonius Anthias: video of a studly male shows why this fish is HOT
Jake Adams
Jake Adams has been an avid marine aquarist since the mid 90s and has worked in the retail side of the marine aquarium trade for more than ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and has been the managing editor of ReefBuilders.com since 2008. Jake is interested in every facet of the marine aquarium hobby from the concepts to the technology, rare fish to exotic corals, and his interests are well documented through a very prolific career of speaking to reef clubs and marine aquarium events, and writing articles for aquarium publications across the globe. His primary interest is in corals which Jake pursues in the aquarium hobby as well as diving the coral reefs of the world.
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