Top 10 Most Expensive Fish In The World 2023
From the swift Yangtze River in China to the coastlines of Northern New South Wales in Australia, rare and exotic fish can be found in both freshwater and saltwater.
The most expensive fish are collected by amateur enthusiasts as well as millionaire celebrities, and their beauty and rarity make them extremely expensive.
Continue reading to learn about the most sought-after fish in the world and the high prices aquarium collectors are willing to pay for them.
The 10 Most Expensive Fish Our ranked lists are compiled from information gathered from the most reliable online sources.
Top 10 Most Expensive Fish in the World
- Wrought Iron Butterflyfish
- Australian Flathead Perch
- Golden Alligator Gar
- Platinum Alligator Gar
- Neptune Grouper
- Bladefin Basslet
- Masked Angelfish
- Peppermint Angelfish
- Polka Dot Stingray
- Platinum Arowana
10. Wrought Iron Butterflyfish – $2,700
The wrought iron butterflyfish, also known as Chaetodon daedalma, is a ray-finned fish that is native to the Pacific Ocean and typically can be found in the waters around Japan.
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This beautiful fish species is known for its wonderful metallic sheen and has colors that are mostly black, with vibrant yellow stripes on the dorsal and caudal fins, so as some beautiful cat breed.
In its natural environment, the wrought iron butterflyfish typically travels in pairs. However, when they gather to graze, they are known to occasionally form a ball of hundreds of fish.
Wrought iron butterflyfish prefer rocky reefs where they can eat both algae and invertebrates. They can only grow up to 15 centimeters in length.
A wrought iron butterflyfish can be purchased for upwards of $2,700 by fish breeders and collectors. On aquarist supplier websites, some medium-sized wrought iron butterflyfish fetch over $4,000.
Due to its inclusion on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and restrictions on distribution outside of Japan, the wrought iron butterflyfish's price is also skyrocketing.
9. Australian Flathead Perch – $5,000
The Australian flathead perch is the next most expensive fish. It is a smaller fish that lives in the Western Pacific Ocean and prefers the coral reef's crevices.
The Australian flathead perch is mostly dark orange, with yellow dorsal fins and lilac stripes on its flanks.
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Through the aquarium fish exchange, gatherers can hope to pay around $5,000 per fish, which they can buy from fish reproducers, for example, TAFE's Batavia Coast Sea Establishment in Australia.
Due to their propensity to retreat back into caves before divers are able to locate them, the Australian flathead perch can be difficult to capture in the wild. Their slim size makes it even easier to get away.
The Australian flathead perch, like the wrought iron butterflyfish, is a viable option for collectors with relatively small aquariums because it can grow to less than 15 centimeters (just a few inches) in length.
Only a few of these high-priced saltwater fish are kept in captivity, but the Batavia Coast Maritime Institute's successful captive breeding may lead to a price drop in the future.
8. Golden Alligator Gar – $7,000
The golden alligator gar is one of the most expensive fish in the world, and there are many different species of alligator gar that can be found swimming in rivers all over the world.
Golden alligator gars are typically freshwater fish that prefer large rivers and lakes, but they have been known to survive in seawater.
These fish are bright gold, as their name suggests, and their long, slender bodies enable them to effortlessly move through the water.
Golden alligator gars are not aggressive fish, despite the rows of razor-sharp teeth that give them their name. As a result, fish collectors don't have to worry about getting bitten while maintaining their tanks.
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Given that the golden alligator gar can reach 10 feet in length and weigh 350 pounds, prospective owners must ensure that their aquarium is suitable for these fish.
Only one in 10,000 alligator gars come in this color, making them even more expensive for aquarium fish collectors because of the large tank size required to keep one.
7. Platinum Alligator Gar -$7,000
The platinum alligator gar is another expensive freshwater fish that is admired for its metal-colored scales and long, slender appearance. It costs the same amount as its golden relative, which is $7,000.
The platinum alligator gar, with its sleek body and torpedo-shaped eyes, is frequently referred to as a living fossil due to its somewhat prehistoric appearance.
Platinum alligator gars have hardened white enamel-like ganoid scales instead of the usual fish scales on their short but broad snout.
The result is a stunning white body that looks amazing swimming in its natural environment or in a large enough tank, where it can live without treating other inhabitants as food.
The platinum alligator gar is a long-term investment that is best suited to serious fish collectors who have the resources to keep them safe because it can live for up to 50 years if properly cared for.
While these fish are opportunistic predators in the wild, they will happily consume a variety of frozen fish, prawns, and shrimp when bred in captivity.
6. Neptune Grouper – $7,000
In the wild, the Neptune grouper can be found in a variety of water bodies, including the oceans surrounding French Polynesia and Australia and the Western Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Japan.
The Neptune grouper is a stunning addition to any saltwater aquarium thanks to its striking orange and white stripes that are accentuated by its deep body and spiked dorsal fin.
Although it will cost collectors at least $7,000 to own one of these rare fish, these fish may have difficulty adjusting to the surface due to changes in water pressure.
This is on the grounds that the Neptune grouper normally inhabits a profundity of roughly 200 meters, which represents the way that not many of these fish have at any point been gotten alive.
Most people saw the fish for the first time at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan, where it made its debut in 2009, due to the special decompression procedures required to keep them alive.
If you'd rather eat a Neptune grouper than own one, you'll need much less than the $7,000 it costs to buy one alive; At food markets all over Japan, they typically fetch around $50.
Shaquille O'Neal, a legend in basketball, adores groupers so much that he designed an entire aquarium with an Ancient Egyptian theme so that he could keep just one of these fish in his home.
5. Bladefin Basslet – $10,000
One of the world's rarest fish is the bladefin basslet, which is related to the popular golden basslet. It costs $10,000. It is mostly found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
The bladefin basslet fish can only be retrieved from wild populations using a submarine because they gather at depths greater than 800 feet, which contributes to their high price of $10,000.
It is a small fish that typically reaches a length of just 3 centimeters, and its vibrant white and red markings make it a tropical marine fish that is highly sought after by fish collectors.
In fact, when measured by price per inch, the bladefin basslet is one of the most expensive aquarium fish in the world due to its small size and high asking price.
Other basslets can sell for a lot of money. The golden basslet sold for about $8,000, and the candy basslet cost $1,000 to add to a collection of fish.
If you are fortunate enough to have a bladefin basslet in your aquarium, you won't have to worry about it eating any of your other fish because they are docile fish.
4. Masked Angelfish – $30,000
The extremely rare masked angelfish can be found in its natural habitat around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is prized by collectors for its stunning snow-white bodies.
Masked angelfish are only available to serious collectors and cost $30,000; therefore, if you can afford one of the world's most expensive yachts, you might be able to include one of these amazing fish in your aquarium.
Masked angelfish are protected from commercial fishing and can be found all over coral reefs. The ones in aquariums are typically raised in captivity.
Masked angelfish, protogynous hermaphrodites, begin their lives as females and eventually become males, resulting in subtle color changes around their eyes.
They are relatively small fish that can reach a length of a few inches, which is made more noticeable by the long streamers that grow on their caudal fin.
Detecting a covered angelfish right at home is made more troublesome in light of the fact that it likes to reside in profound waters at the constraints of where jumpers can go.
3. Peppermint Angelfish – $30,000
The peppermint angelfish is the most expensive saltwater fish in the world because, as its name suggests, it is prized for its vibrant red and white stripes that look like candy.
The striking white margins that define the dorsal and anal fins frame its stunning stripes, which are framed by its deep oval body.
The peppermint angelfish is found in the South Pacific Ocean. It lives in caves and reefs at depths of up to 120 meters and mostly eats worms, sponges, and other debris.
Due to the special rebreather equipment needed to reach these depths and avoid the bends, only trained divers can reach their habitat.
As a result, bringing a peppermint angelfish to the surface necessitates delicate decompression in order for it to safely emerge from deep water.
Peppermint angelfish are protected similarly to clownfish, which were popularized in the Pixar animated film Finding Nemo. Commercial fishing has no effect on peppermint angelfish.
A peppermint angelfish that had been collected for research during a Smithsonian Institute research expedition was sold to Waikiki Aquarium in 2012 for $30,000.
2. Polka Dot Stingray - $100,000
These freshwater polka dot stingrays, which live in the sandbanks and slower-moving tributaries of the Xingu River basin in Brazil, South America, are among the most expensive freshwater fish.
This river stingray with white blotches is about 46 centimeters in diameter and has a smooth, dark brown body and a venomous spine in its tail.
Although collectors who are willing to pay the hefty price tag can purchase captive-bred freshwater polka dot stingrays, it can be extremely challenging to hunt a wild freshwater polka dot stingray due to the fact that these beautiful fish spend the majority of their time buried in sand.
One of the most expensive captive-bred fish, freshwater polka dot stingrays cost a cool $100,000, making them only available to the richest athletes in the world.
These elusive fish are listed as an endangered species, and potential pollutants from industries in their natural habitat further threaten their existence.
The freshwater polka dot stingray, also known as Potamotrygon leopoldi, is a very rare fish.
It takes its name from Lord Leopold III of Belgium, who supported different examinations through the imperial foundation of innate sciences.
1. Platinum Arowana-$400,000
The platinum Arowana is the most expensive fish in the world. It sold for a staggering $400,000, making it the most expensive fish.
The platinum arowana can also be found off the coasts of Australia and South America. Due to its habitat in Southeast Asia, it is sometimes referred to as the Asian arowana.
The platinum Arowana glides through the water with a metallic iridescence thanks to its long, thin body and dragon-like scales.
They are also known to jump out of the tank and eat anything, from other fish and crustaceans to birds and mice, earning them the nickname monkey fish.
The most expensive fish in the world is on the endangered species list, as you might expect, and only a few aquariums have a platinum Arowana in captivity.
The Platinum Arowana Room in Scott's restaurant features priceless artwork by Joan Miró and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The Platinum Arowana Room is named after this exceptional fish because of its reputation.
