It’s been more than 12 years since we stated that Tosanoides flavofasciatus was one of the most beautiful of all the rare and deepwater marine fish and in all that time, we’ve still never personally laid eyes on this illustrious species. The reason for this species’ incredible rarity is that it not only comes from veery deep water at 200 feet or below like other Tosanoides species, but it seems to only be reliably spotted from deep Japanese reefs.
Japanese saltwater aquarists are some of the most avid collectors of rare and exotic fish so the yellow lined anthias is well known to enthusiasts in the country and they will usually purchase all available specimens of the very few individuals that are actually collected by deep reef diving specialists. All these factors together make the import of a showy male specimen by Marine Collectors into the United States a very improbable occurrence and might not only represent the first live T. flavofasciatus in the United States, but one of the first ever to be exported from Japan.
With a five figure price tag that is certainly deserving of the yellow lined anthias’s bombastic pink and yellow color pattern, Marine Collectors has certainly gone above and beyond simply posting a few photos and a price for this concierge style holy grail reef fish:
At $10,000 America’s first ever T. flavofasciatus is certainly the epitome of a status symbol saltwater aquarium fish but thankfully it isn’t just an overpriced oddball since it has that ventralis-anthias-on-steroids look that is about as colorful as any marine fish. Certainly the necessity to keep this fish in cooler water is the only that has prevented this yellow lined anthias stud from being snapped up already because after nearly a year since its initial collection it’s already about the most well-acclimated and conditioned fish you could hope for. [Marine Collectors]
