Methodology

Last data update: 2026-07-13

Where prices come from

Every day we read the complete public product catalogs of the online reef vendors we track — the same listings you'd see browsing their stores. We record each listing's price, stock status, and product details. We collect politely: identified crawler, robots.txt respected, throttled requests.

How species are matched

Listings are classified to species (fish and inverts) or genus/group level (corals) using a curated ruleset we improve continuously. Designer coral strain names (there are thousands) map to their genus — so a named torch strain counts as a torch coral. Equipment and dry goods are excluded from livestock statistics.

What the numbers mean

• Low / Median / High — computed from in-stock listings on the latest collection date. If nothing is in stock, listed prices are used and the in-stock count shows 0.
• Price history — the median in-stock price on each collection day. History accumulates from the day we began tracking a species; the index launched in July 2026 and grows daily.
• Captive-bred premium — where a fish has both captive-bred/aquacultured and wild-caught listings, we compare medians.

What the numbers don't include

Shipping. Vendors differ on free-shipping thresholds and flat rates, which can change the true delivered price — check the vendor's shipping policy. Prices can also change between our daily collection and your visit; the vendor's live page is always authoritative.

Independence

We are not owned by or affiliated with any vendor. Vendors cannot pay to alter their prices or placement in the index.