Neptune Grouper

Neptune Grouper (Cephalopholis igarashiensis) is also known as the gaudy hind, gold bar grouper, and Japanese cod. Aside from its rarity, one reason for this grouper's $6000 price tag is its distinctive color of pinkish-orange and yellow with white stripes and black patches. Another reason is that they are difficult to capture alive because of their vulnerability to mortality from rapid decompression. These groupers may grow to be up to 17 inches long and survive for up to 30 years!

The depth of the body is bigger than the length of the head in Neptune Grouper; the normal length is 2.0 to 2.4 times the depth of the body. The head's dorsal profile is straight or mildly concave to beyond the eye, however, the nape is clearly convex. The preopercle is spherical, and the edges contain fine serrations; however, the serrations on the ventral margin are slightly less fine, giving it a more uneven look, but the serrations stay enclosed inside the skin. The dorsal fin has nine spines and fourteen soft rays, whereas the anal fin has three spines and nine soft rays. The caudal fin became rounded.

This species' general color is reddish-orange, with seven wide, lemon-yellow bars on the upper flanks that stretch to the dorsal fin and three large yellow irregular oblique stripes on the head. Juveniles are yellower and darker on the lower body, with multiple white bars and a huge black eyespot on the soft rayed region of the dorsal fin. In addition, they have blackish pelvic fins and a black patch at the base of the anal fin. This species can grow to a maximum standard length of 43 centimeters (17 in), however, the average length is 25 cm (10 in).

Neptune Grouper, sometimes known as the gaudy hind, gold bar grouper, or Japanese cod, is a deepwater species of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, which also contains anthias and sea basses. It can be found in the Indo-Pacific at depths of 80 to 250 m (260 to 820 feet) on coral reefs.

Price: $6,000