But some fish available in Kathmandu cost more than the cost of some people´s entire aquarium and setup. Black Ghost Knife Fish, large Oscars, Piranhas, Elephantnose and Black Parrot are some of the popular fish in Kathmandu which cost you an arm and a leg. Most of these fish are imported from Thailand.
The small 1.5-inch Oscars can cost as low as Rs 150 a pair, the others cost Rs 1,000 and above. The larger homegrown Oscars can cost above Rs 13,000, while the recently imported larger ones may be sold at Rs 4,500 to Rs 5,000.
A pair of three-inch Elephantnose fish costs Rs 2,500. While smaller ones are not widely available here, most shops sell between five-inch, which costs Rs 4,500 a pair, to 11 or 12-inch ones, which cost as much as Rs 8,000 a pair. These fish can grow up to 24 inches.
The face of Black Ghost fish looks almost like puppies. Small Black Ghosts come at around Rs 750 a pair. The ones available in the market cost between Rs 1,800 (five inches long) to Rs 9,000 and even Rs 13,000 (14-inch long) a pair. They can grow up to 18 inches.
Both the Black Ghosts and Elephantnoses prefer dark places and tubes inside the aquarium and they should be kept in large aquariums. It is not advised to keep many adult Black Ghosts and Elephantnoses in a single tank, as they can show territorial behavior. They also emit small electric charges.
The Oscars are one of the strongest aquarium fish. According to Wikipedia, they are also reputed to be ´intelligent´ as they learn to associate their owners with food. It is said that they can also separate owners from strangers. These fish are slow swimmers and are predatory but can be kept with other varieties that are too big to be thought as food. However, pet shop owners in Kathmandu show reluctance to sell the large ones, as they have had the fish for a long time. They prefer showing the large ones and selling the smaller Oscars.
The Blood Parrot, along with the Discus Fish, rank among the post popular ones and costly fish available here. Discus Fish, however, is not easily available in Kathmandu at the moment. Small Parrot Fish (around two inches long) can cost up to Rs 1,050 a pair, while a single larger one costs Rs 2,500.
Piranhas have got a reputation for their aggressive nature, and James Bond and similar movies showing the main villains throwing henchmen into a tank full of Piranhas, make them seem more aggressive than they are. But the Piranhas available as pets are of different kind. Compared to the Piranhas in the movies, they are almost vegetarian. Young Piranhas are sold for Rs 250 a pair while full-grown ones cost between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500 a pair. Medium-sized Pirhanas are priced Rs 1,800 a pair.
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