$10 Acros... Do they still exist?

[Mr. Roboto]

Back in the day when I had my SPS tank up and running I used to order from Mr. Coral. I know they caught a bad rap and I guess were eventually ran out of business but I did it for fun more or less.

You never knew really what you were buying with them, everything came in brown but I would just buy 10 frags for $100, place them in my frag/grow out tank and leave them. Some made it some didnt and the ones that did always colored back up over time. I had quite a collection of odds and ends over time and you really couldnt beat it for the money.

Now days with all these $75 to $100 single frags that are not even grown out but just freshly glued on, does anyone else know of a place where you know the deal is shady but you still cant beat it for 6-10 frags for $100 bucks?

 

[ajcanale]

There is a HUGE difference between the Acro frags you are speaking of $75-100 which should be almost exclusively aquacultured, versus the mariculture chop shop product that Mr. coral (et al) sold. That said, it shouldn’t be too hard to find aquacultured frags of very common pieces in the $10-$25 range. Pieces like red dragon, blue/green tenuis’, single colored staghorns and milleporas... etc. Should be relatively easy to find some of these in large metro reef clubs, and possibly frag swaps.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

There are a few Ebay listings where you get some random frags for cheap. This one costs $230 for 9 SPS frags, or $25 a piece. This pack actually used to cost $99 for 9, which was a literal steal. I bought it back at those price and the corals all looked really good, and the seller was really responsive. The corals all started growing pretty well too, until my water quality stunted their growth. When I get my water quality under control, I will definitely buy this pack again, even at the $230 price tag.

This is a lot more expensive than it used to be, but at $25 a piece with free shipping it's not bad overall.

 

[29bonsaireef]

Unfortunately, theres not many.. LFS are you best bet for cheap acros. I used to get frags from RC most were cheap "chop shop" type frags cut off wild or mari pieces. Still to this day some of my fastest growing and prettiest acros came from them. Don't think they are in business any longer either..

 

[Mr. Roboto]

There are a few Ebay listings where you get some random frags for cheap. This one costs $230 for 9 SPS frags, or $25 a piece. This pack actually used to cost $99 for 9, which was a literal steal. I bought it back at those price and the corals all looked really good, and the seller was really responsive. The corals all started growing pretty well too, until my water quality stunted their growth. When I get my water quality under control, I will definitely buy this pack again, even at the $230 price tag.

This is a lot more expensive than it used to be, but at $25 a piece with free shipping it's not bad overall.

That was the main reason I used to just buy the 10 frags back then, 10 frags for 100 bucks was just too hard to beat, I would grow them out, color them up and decide to keep it, trade it, or give it away. $100 was free shipping and practically a steal like you said. I havent looked too hard, I know Vivid has a pack of 6 for $115 that is an assortment, I havent ever dealt with them though. I was just curious if anyone else did this or has a place that they are currently doing it because its just too hard to pass up.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Unfortunately, theres not many.. LFS are you best bet for cheap acros. I used to get frags from RC most were cheap "chop shop" type frags cut off wild or mari pieces. Still to this day some of my fastest growing and prettiest acros came from them. Don't think they are in business any longer either..

This was my experience as well. They are cheap chop shop deals but if even half survived the deal was more than worth it.

Around here we have 1 LFS... Thats it.. At least that I would buy from. They dont get much in the way of cheap frags or variety though.

 

[BoomCorals]

If you are interested in something similar but a bit more in price, you can hit me up via PM. But PM me as I don't want to turn the thread into advertising discussion.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

There is a HUGE difference between the Acro frags you are speaking of $75-100 which should be almost exclusively aquacultured, versus the mariculture chop shop product that Mr. coral (et al) sold.

What's wrong with the "chop shop" style setup? Many people seem to have a negative point of view on this type of operation, but why? If the vendor lets the frags heal and they're reasonably priced, what's the problem? Sure, the vendor is raking in the cash, but that doesn't change the fact that you're getting a good deal on a frag. Some reefers complain that maricultured corals don't grow very well in captivity, and there's some truth to that. But truthfully, I've had plenty of aquacultured acro frags that never grew at all either. They encrusted the plug, but that was it.

For many people, paying upwards of a thousand dollars for less than an inch of acro is completely normal. So why is buying a $20 frag from a "chop shop" such a bad thing?

 

[ajcanale]

Yeah I bought from him a couple times when I was first getting into SPS and while it was relatively cheap, nothing ever survived. Being new to sps could have in part been the reason. But after discovering a bad reputation I never purchased from again.

Depending on locale I think your best bet would be to keep a lookout for someone locally fragging their grown out colonies, and keep an eye on selling forums. There are individuals on a semi regular basis who are fragging acros from mature systems and selling for relatively cheap... maybe not $10, but $20 for sure. For what it’s worth, my experiences purchasing from private sellers has far succeeded that of many well known online vendors. Usually there’s just that “personal touch.”

 

[ajcanale]

Because the chop shop setup has single handedly created the negative view on “fresh cuts.”

Many of these setups bring in mariculture or wild specimens, frag them up immediately, then list to sell. The corals do not have time to acclimate to captivity and often not even given a chance to heal. There is nothing healthy about this.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

What's wrong with the "chop shop" style setup? Many people seem to have a negative point of view on this type of operation, but why? If the vendor lets the frags heal and they're reasonably priced, what's the problem? Sure, the vendor is raking in the cash, but that doesn't change the fact that you're getting a good deal on a frag. Some reefers complain that maricultured corals don't grow very well in captivity, and there's some truth to that. But truthfully, I've had plenty of aquacultured acro frags that never grew at all either. They encrusted the plug, but that was it.

For many people, paying upwards of a thousand dollars for less than an inch of acro is completely normal. So why is buying a $20 frag from a "chop shop" such a bad thing?

I have to second this... I am and will never put a coral in my tank that is $100 an inch. I dont have that kind of money to throw around. I may roll the dice with 10 for that price but for one, and it to suddenly not like my tank.. Thats just throwing money to the wind for me.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Because the chop shop setup has single handedly created the negative view on “fresh cuts.”

I'm not sure how you can make this statement with any confidence. Freshly fragged corals sometimes die, whether they're wild-collected, maricultured or aquacultured. At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, when we frag corals in our propagation system, we usually give them some time to heal a bit before we put them in the display tanks. That's not because chop shops gave us a negative view of freshly-cut corals: it's because freshly cut corals sometimes die and we don't want a bunch of dead white sticks in our displays

I personally don't want freshly cut anything, whether it's a chop-shopped wild/mariculture colony or a frag an aquaculture facility just cut from their parent colony that's been in captivity for years. Regardless of the source, cut corals sometimes just don't make it.

Many of these setups bring in mariculture or wild specimens, frag them up immediately, then list to sell. The corals do not have time to acclimate to captivity and often not even given a chance to heal. There is nothing healthy about this.

So the standard for sale is that all wild-caught and maricultured colonies must be allowed to fully acclimate to captivity before being fragged or sold? This is unrealistic. I doubt there are many, if any, vendors out there who sit on wild or maricultured corals for months on end simply to be able to say the coral is acclimated to captivity. In addition to wasting time and space, the vendor is taking on additional risk that the coral may die during that period. I'd love to see some of these vendors, as well as their prices, if they do exist.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

What's wrong with the "chop shop" style setup? Many people seem to have a negative point of view on this type of operation, but why? If the vendor lets the frags heal and they're reasonably priced, what's the problem? Sure, the vendor is raking in the cash, but that doesn't change the fact that you're getting a good deal on a frag. Some reefers complain that maricultured corals don't grow very well in captivity, and there's some truth to that. But truthfully, I've had plenty of aquacultured acro frags that never grew at all either. They encrusted the plug, but that was it.

For many people, paying upwards of a thousand dollars for less than an inch of acro is completely normal. So why is buying a $20 frag from a "chop shop" such a bad thing?

Maricultured acros grow fine in captivity. Only Americans say this kind of stuff.

 

[shred5]

right here: 9.99 frags and they have some sps.
https://aquariumdepot.com/9-99-coral-bin/?sort=bestselling&page=2

 

[29bonsaireef]

Yeah, wishing the old chop shop sites would come back around..IMO chop shops were the best way to get a nice acro tank going at a fair price. Frags never looked amazing in the photos, but you never knew what you were gonna get really and the funnest part of the hobby is watching a dull frag transition into something amazing. Many gem type corals come in through the chop shops undercover.

Vendors today and are still in many ways selling "chop shop" corals. They bring in some nice wild or mari pieces, cook them up for a month or so and put it out with a fancy name and high price tag. Foolish in a way, but everyone wants a piece of the cake. Try looking for hobbyist selling. Many time their tank is overgrown and they will be trimming regardless.. so they're not looking to really make big bucks off their frags.

 

[BoomCorals]

So the standard for sale is that all wild-caught and maricultured colonies must be allowed to fully acclimate to captivity before being fragged or sold? This is unrealistic. I doubt there are many, if any, vendors out there who sit on wild or maricultured corals for months on end simply to be able to say the coral is acclimated to captivity. In addition to wasting time and space, the vendor is taking on additional risk that the coral may die during that period. I'd love to see some of these vendors, as well as their prices, if they do exist.

I actually do this. So does Adam at BC. There are probably a few others.

Here is an example of a frag of one I've had for a year now and just recently started offering.

 

[ajcanale]

I'm not sure how you can make this statement with any confidence. Freshly fragged corals sometimes die, whether they're wild-collected, maricultured or aquacultured. At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, when we frag corals in our propagation system, we usually give them some time to heal a bit before we put them in the display tanks. That's not because chop shops gave us a negative view of freshly-cut corals: it's because freshly cut corals sometimes die and we don't want a bunch of dead white sticks in our displays

I personally don't want freshly cut anything, whether it's a chop-shopped wild/mariculture colony or a frag an aquaculture facility just cut from their parent colony that's been in captivity for years. Regardless of the source, cut corals sometimes just don't make it.



So the standard for sale is that all wild-caught and maricultured colonies must be allowed to fully acclimate to captivity before being fragged or sold? This is unrealistic. I doubt there are many, if any, vendors out there who sit on wild or maricultured corals for months on end simply to be able to say the coral is acclimated to captivity. In addition to wasting time and space, the vendor is taking on additional risk that the coral may die during that period. I'd love to see some of these vendors, as well as their prices, if they do exist.

And this is why myself and many others won’t touch mariculture.

In the end, it’s about business practices and the economy within the coral business.

If someone prefers to purchase Mari/wild or frags of these specimens, that is their choice, and if success can be found this way then that is great. There is clearly a market for this, which is why it’s pretty common. (More so the selling of mariculture colonies as opposed to frags)

Likewise can be said for those that chose to pay more for aquacultured specimens, specifically those on the more rare side. There are markets for both.

 

[shred5]

Maricultured acros grow fine in captivity. Only Americans say this kind of stuff.

I have never had issues with Maricultured acros ever.

I think allot of it is one person says they have issues and so many just parrot what they hear.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I think allot of it is one person says they have issues and so many just parrot what they hear.

I have seen both sides of this coin. Have had both Mari and Aqua acros go belly up, and have had each of them succeed in the past.

 

[BoomCorals]

Having issues with maricultures in my view comes down to your tank and even the reefer themselves sometimes. Some tanks are not suited for maricultures, running alk too high or not a mature enough system, etc. Some don't understand how to handle maricultures/wild when they arrive, etc too.