Best Place to Buy Premium SPS Corals

[Try'nNotToKillStuff]

Another shout-out to AquaSD: www.aquasd.com.

 

[WetPets]

For named acros we have ordered pieces to grow out multiple times and been happy with them every time from POTO TCK ARC and TJM

 

[polyppal]

Join a local club and buy frags cheap from other hobbyists.

I’ve bought thousands of dollars of ‘name brand’ frags for pennies on the dollar from collectors who are trimming their tanks. Let them pay the crazy prices!

 

[Bobbiejoe]

I know this has been done before but the last thread I can find is 2 years old. Was hoping to get some opinions on where you all like to get your sps. Trying to fill up my aquarium with some "named" sps corals. Pictures of your purchases would be great!

Thanks

Lucky corals has the healthiest corals I’ve ever seen. Prices are really good for the size piece and I’ve never lost one. Eric, the owner has the best customer service I’ve ever seen.

 

[shadow1013]

I second @TopShelfAquatics also is my LFS so that is cool as well.

 

[jeffrey holloway]

Good Topic: Not based on any hard facts; its the value u place on others opinions. Following just in case I learn something.

 

[Big C]

TCK, frags come healthy and have some growth post cutting. Typically get a bunch during the live sales. Got a few just last week:

 

[Bmasculine]

Good Topic: Not based on any hard facts; its the value u place on others opinions. Following just in case I learn something.

 

[Bmasculine]

It is a lot of someone’s opinion but there are also factual aspects like I have ordered fro AquaSd and while the coral was healthy it did come with pests same as @ pistol Pete mentioned. Another fact is my last order of sps from TCK was 2 days late because FedEx is completely inept, and when I got my coral polyps were out and 3 out of the 4 still had great color all are alive in my tank now. If that doesn’t speak to the health and quality of a frag I don’t know what to tell you. I would consider that a premium vendor.

 

[Snuggs]

Battle corals has been good to me. Excellent stock and personalized service

 

[Reeferz123]

I would not recommend them.

Any reason why?

 

[homer1475]

I have gotten many named pieces, that were very chunky "frags"(heck some were what most vendors these days call mini colonies) for pennies on the dollar from fellow hobiests. I can no longer keep paying the ridiculous amounts some vendors want for a booger sized frag.

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

I'll throw in another recommendation for @Battlecorals. Adam is top notch over there. He personally reaches out to you after every order. I just put in another $400 from him. A vast majority of his stuff has been grown in captivity for a long time. My first order from him came in super cold (it was freezing outside when it arrived, not his fault), and yet they all were bulletproof.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Any reason why?

Long story, but tried to screw me on a $4k order and some of the worst and rudest customer service I’ve ever had in the hobby.

 

[killergoby]

I have had aptaisia anemone and other pests ordering from Aqua sd. Great coral just pain removing some of the pests.ive never had a pest arrive from wwc or Jason fox or unique corals or top shelf. So there my most trusted imsure there are tons of others but my best have been listed above.

I've received a small aiptasia on one of my SPS frags from WWC, so I would definitely still treat them as if they're pest-ridden from WWC. That being said, I have gotten 20-25 frags from them and only one tiny aiptasia so it may have been a fluke.

That being said, here's a bit of a comparison on frag size for me between WWC and Battlecorals:

Here are two monti's (Tyree Aequi & Tubs Stellata) and a JF Porites I received from WWC in August, September, and November. The small square red monti cap in the background top right of the Tubs Stellata is also from WWC. These are pretty standard sized from them in my experience.

And for comparison, here is a FF monti frag I received from Battlecorals. (The broken spot was another branch which I mounted elsewhere, the frag wasn't shipped damaged). This coral was bushy and showing new growth within a day and a week respectively, I just don't have good pictures showing the frag plug because of where it is located in the tank.

And since you're interested in Acros, here are some acros I received from Battlecorals immediately out of the bag. Nero Table, Bohemia, Blue Moon Humilis. (The bohemia has two branches they're just parallel to each other). I haven't ordered any Acropora from WWC so I can't compare there.

All in all, they've survived and grown well from both places and they're both fantastic coral vendors. But I thought I'd add a comparison of what I've received as standard from each place so you can have a better idea of what you're buying from these online vendors who aren't giving you WYSIWYG.

 

[killergoby]

Here's the BC Blue Moon Humilis which didn't upload properly

 

[ggNoRe]

Thank you so much for all the input it is definitely appreciated. Thought it was worth it to give an update. I ended up choosing Coraleuphoria. My corals arrived today and I am more than happy. Abe was very responsive and helped me to setup shipping at a perfect time for me. Everything arrived well packed and looking good, much bigger than advertised (it says 1/2" frags on website), and he even through in a Fox Flame for free. A++ experience. Keep in mind the picture is just 10-20mins in my tank so they haven't had time to color up.

 

[PatW]

I have bought from Battlecorals. If you don’t mind a potluck, Adam’s Battleboxes are a heck of a deal. I think you get about a 60% discount to his normal rates. And you can give him a description of the sort of stuff you want.

Top Shelf Aquatics has nice corals as does World Wide Corals.

 

[TexasTodd]

Well trusted R2R members. @FarmerTy is a good one.

 

[H2O Jason]

I finally have my Waterbox 130.4 set up for some sps just bought my 4th hydra today. I have a few pieces that are doing great but am also looking for a good vendor to buy from