Can i dive to get corals?

[2Wheelsonly]

Go to any LFS and you will find frags anywhere from $15 to $70. You people throwing around this $2000 frag nonsense are comical...you can have amazing SPS tanks with a small handful of $200 frags surrounded by $25-50 fillers that offer amazing color under today's lighting options. I hate when collectors get into this hobby and chase $1000+ frags just so they can say they have them.

When you refer to frags costing $2,000 you're talking about the 0.0001%. Alot of us that are in this hobby are here because we love marine life and want to experience a piece of it in our homes. You don't need a $2000 unless you're some collector that wants to brag about it on the internet.

Ferrari's cost over $300k, how can anyone afford a car to get to work!?! I better go steal one! <-- sounds kind of silly eh?

 

[Nobbygas]

I haven't read the whole thread, but as a responsible Diver the only thing you should take from the sea is photos! Don't touch anything, don't take anything. It is selfish to remove a coral for your own personal gratification and thereby deny other divers the chance to view it in it's natural environment !

 

[rosshamsandwich]

I haven't read the whole thread, but as a responsible Diver the only thing you should take from the sea is photos! Don't touch anything, don't take anything. It is selfish to remove a coral for your own personal gratification and thereby deny other divers the chance to view it in it's natural environment !

what about broken frags that would STN in the bottom otherwise? can we take little frags?

 

[Nobbygas]

what about broken frags that would STN in the bottom otherwise? can we take little frags?

No, you shouldn't take anything ! It's a small step from removing Frags on the bottom to, "oh, no frags on the bottom so I'll break a little bit off!".

 

[rosshamsandwich]

No, you shouldn't take anything ! It's a small step from removing Frags on the bottom to, "oh, no frags on the bottom so I'll break a little bit off!".

what if they regulate it so I can only take nubs? tangs break off frags all the time..if left falllen down they would die.....can we save those?

 

[Fishfinder]

Can to check your regulations. It's illegal to remove any hard coral from the water in Florida. I believe that in the entire US, I could be mistaken on that though. Don't know much about the west coast

 

[stevieduk]

Hello reefers, my name is Ali, and as some of you guys know i am new here,

I am beyond amazed how expensive some of these corals are.

I understand that it is supply and demand, so please dont tell me it is supply and demand lol

But my question is where is jason fox, Z’s or WWC are getting these corals from!?

They are getting these from some ocean or somewhere as they cant be man made, right!?

So where are they getting them from!??

Because i refuse to pay $2k for a 1in of some sps or some of these crazy prices.

So i am certified scuba diver so can i go somewhere and get these myself!?

Some people just have toooo much money so they dont mind paying ridiculous amount of money but i dont have $10k laying around for corals

So why dont all of us reefers stop buying, so the prices can go down!?

Lets be respectful and get a discussion going.

just buy cheap corals, problem solved, and rare coral stays in ocean

 

[Dawn Dababneh]

Hello,

So I may get eggs thrown at me for this, but hey some days it’s worth it. There are two sides to this, and I agree with everyone. Everyone so far has very good valid points and are worth while.

Starting with the first one, I hope they make it where we can not cut any coral from the wild anymore. I would support such as the endangered species biologist collecting samples to try and keep them from going extinct. But we have so much damage to the natural reefs now, it’s heart breaking. I would rather support causes to preserve natural reefs, and support farm grown reefs, man made to help replinish what has been lost.

On the same page, charging 2,000 for a frag that’s not even an inch is crazy. Plus, they can not even assure they will survive the fragging. Now, are people good at it, yes but still kills a part of it. I have never had super great luck with those itty bitty things. It totally could be me, just not doing it right.

We all know this hobby is expensive and we signed up for it. But sometimes, it makes me wonder. Unless you have nothing better to do with that kind of money, only a few have that luxury. I just think every one should have a chance at some of those amazing specimens.

Here comes the eggs, I almost wish someone would regulate the cost of live stock. If it’s 2,000 at least make it big enough for us to see it in he tank. Some of these take years and years to grow. This hobby doesn’t go quickly and patience is a virtues, but waiting 5 years to see my 2000 investiment grow 1/4 of an inch is just kinda heart breaking.

Everybody blames supply and demand, which I think is baloney. An example is tires, oil, there is so much of it we don’t even need assistance. But it’s about the dollars and how rich one can be. People who sell these corals at this price are in to make money. This is there job, lively hood etc and I don’t disagree. But it would be nice if they remember that possibly they were not always well off and struggled.

I am no means poor and def not rich, but I do what I can to help others. A few months ago a young couple really wanted this powder brown tang. One of the workers said one price, but it was actually 50 dollars more. They had it all ready to go etc. and short 50. It was clearly the workers fault but he didn’t budge he raised the price. The heart break they had crushed me, and so I paid it for them the whole price.

In return, it made someone happy, they were able to get something some of us covet. In addition it has come back to me, lots of people have paid it forward to me.

My only goals are to preserve the reefs as much as possible and for those who making a living on this, lol don’t forget that some of us, don’t have much money.

Cudos to you my friend. I totally agree with you We need better conservation of our reefs and oceans and more in house growing/breeding of coral and marine fish

 

[Dawn Dababneh]

Ok look..... all the people saying "expensive coral prices need to be lower because I can't afford that piece" really need to stop. You can't afford it. Ok that's fine. Sellers don't need to lower their prices because of that. I've never walked into a Lamborghini dealership and said "you need to lower the price on this car because most people can't afford it. It's not fair". Nope I can't afford it so I drive a used dodge. I can't afford $1K frags either so I buy $25-$50 frags. No complaining. Let's not start thinking that everyone deserves the same thing just because..... countries have tried that

I must say that it’s ridiculous that some of these corals are marked up 150-200 % you don’t call that price gouging? I am not poor or rich by any means IF their is something I really want I will spend days researching and looking for the best and fairest priced specimen. I refuse to give money to retailers who only care about the money and not the hobby itself

 

[Dawn Dababneh]

Okay i am back,

Sorry it took me couple days to chime back, weekend duties had be busy.


I like to thank each and everyone who chimmed in.

I know i can built a reef with zoa, i went to my lfs the only one around my area. Was selling zoa for 45$\polyp! And every frag had couple polyps. Meaning a zoa frag for $150ish.

I deff dont want xenia or common leathers.

I want to have mixed reef with sps on the top of my rocks,
And softies in the bottom,

I am talkiing to someone about a zoa pack. Lets see how it goes.


Now i just need some acros soon.

But every time i look at selling sections here i dont see any acro for $25 or $50 they are alll very pricey.

Petsmart dont carry saltwater

Petco dont carry any good collection

Only got 1 lfs.

People on here are selling for hundredsss

So what do i do?

Try Pacific East Aquaculture I have purchased coral from them many times. You can find some very nice stuff reasonably priced. Always arrives in very good condition. It’s the shipping that gets you but, if your order is large enough it’s free

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Do you happen to have their website link, when I typed it in nothing was found. I am thinking about venturing out of my little shell, and order some corals online. What’s a great place, yet won’t charge exorbitant amounts.

Thank you so much
Sarah

 

[Ahbaloch]

I am not saying i want the top shelf stuff, but there is only one LFS where i live and it is 45 mins or so,

I stopped by couple days ago and his prices are super high,


I deff dont want xenia or some frags that cost 5-10$

I am not poor but i am not rich, i am a full time student with no job. (Taking 6 class is not easy) lol

But i just want to have a colorful reef, deff want some acros, some zoas, ..

I dont want anything just so i can say ohh i have it. But if i have something really nice i would love to show all of you guys.

The cheapest acros i found here are $25 yes i get that but shipping is like $50

So that $25 becomes 75,

 

[rosshamsandwich]

ill give you some GSP

 

[KJAG]

Another livestock price thread
I’m also a diver.
Sure. Buy that plane ticket and Suit up bro! Good luck!

 

[KJAG]

Go to any LFS and you will find frags anywhere from $15 to $70. You people throwing around this $2000 frag nonsense are comical...you can have amazing SPS tanks with a small handful of $200 frags surrounded by $25-50 fillers that offer amazing color under today's lighting options. I hate when collectors get into this hobby and chase $1000+ frags just so they can say they have them.

When you refer to frags costing $2,000 you're talking about the 0.0001%. Alot of us that are in this hobby are here because we love marine life and want to experience a piece of it in our homes. You don't need a $2000 unless you're some collector that wants to brag about it on the internet.

Ferrari's cost over $300k, how can anyone afford a car to get to work!?! I better go steal one! <-- sounds kind of silly eh?

Just don’t buy frags you deem to be unworthy of the price. Like you said, there’s plenty of cheaper alternatives. Problem solved!

 

[Dawn Dababneh]

Hello,

Do you happen to have their website link, when I typed it in nothing was found. I am thinking about venturing out of my little shell, and order some corals online. What’s a great place, yet won’t charge exorbitant amounts.

Thank you so much
Sarah

Pacificeastaquaculture.com

 

[rosshamsandwich]

Dawn I have some corals for you

 

[VR28man]

I am not saying i want the top shelf stuff, but there is only one LFS where i live and it is 45 mins or so,

I stopped by couple days ago and his prices are super high,


I deff dont want xenia or some frags that cost 5-10$

I am not poor but i am not rich, i am a full time student with no job. (Taking 6 class is not easy) lol

But i just want to have a colorful reef, deff want some acros, some zoas, ..

I dont want anything just so i can say ohh i have it. But if i have something really nice i would love to show all of you guys.

The cheapest acros i found here are $25 yes i get that but shipping is like $50

So that $25 becomes 75,

One's best bet for reefing is always a good local reef club. In my local club (guess which one), I've been unable to jump on all the deals I've wanted to because I have a basic starter small tank. If my bigger tank was ready, this year I would have picked up: multiple, beautiful, 6+" monti caps; a lagoon growth style pocillopora damicornis that couldn't find in a 5 gallon bucket; multiple acroporas, and loads of beautiful zoas. As it is, I've gotten an awesome rainbow BTA for far less, and with far less risk to the animal, than I could find online. I also got a pair of small green implosion palys as a trade for some snails around thanksgiving - now the originals are like 1.5" in diameter and 2" tall, and five babies have emerged in the past month.

If you're in most of MD (save west of Hagerstown), the Washington Area Marine Aquarium Society (see my sig) and/or Chesapeake Area Marine Aquarium society are very convenient. (and if you're west of Hagerstown the PGH clubs would work for you)

Also, two excellent coral vendors are in MD: Pacific East Aquaculture (St Michaels), and Coralust (PA), both with cheap shipping to MD. There's also at least one great basement-vendor in Fredrick.

 

[Cube reefer]

Their are only a small hand full of SPS Frags in the $2k range. A very small handful.
But their are hundreds in the $25 range. Go to a Coral show or frag swap for the best selection and price. Purchasing aqua cultured is the best way to preserve our reefs. The 4 th generation frag is always hardy and color is usually consistent.

Not at the last show I went to.. I was hard pressed to get a good coral, under $50. Most were $80 and up into the hundreds.

 

[lzrlvr]

No