Expensive SPS frags

[Troylee]

Then they go right back up years later for no reason other than TicTok made em cool like Ephilias.

I’ll stick to the classics which are cheap! Pink lemonade, red planet, pearlberry, Oregon tort, short cake etc. take them over any new acro and I own lots of these classics..

 

[Matt L]

Then they go right back up years later for no reason other than TicTok made em cool like Ephilias.

Yeah, idk, I don't have the tic tack. But I can see it. :grinning-squinting-face:

 

[PeterErc]

I was given a frag of red planet, and another pencil tip size frag from a buddy. He got them in a trade and figured he would kill them. The guy he got them from said grow this one out (nub) and you can sell it for a lot of money. Buddy couldn’t remember the name of it. Turns out I had two large red table colonies. I reached out to the owner of the original frag who was no longer in the hobby. Sent him a pick and the reply was ATL Christmas Mirabilis.
I didn’t care back then and still don’t. I sold chunky frags for $40 and felt like I was charging too much.
As far as I know Atlantis Aquarium is no longer
I find it funny , WWC Christmas Mirabilis.

 

[jda]

There are the occasional people who you have never heard of that contact you and want to drop a large load of cash on frags. These are not common. They are usually after trendy corals, so the acans when they were $100 a head or chalices when they were hot. Then it was the trick-light tenuis and now maybe the speciosa. Speciosa might not even get to this level since they are easy to get generic without names for not too much a frag.

Most of the rest list corals for high prices and then package them up into pack or boxes for less... hobbyists and businesses both.

Most of the hobbyist who have higher end things mostly trade them. I have trades many frags listed for between $500 and $1000 and never paid a dime for them... just shipping for my side. Trading also gets you into the ears of folks who might not sell to you otherwise.

The most expensive frags are still the OG ones that are hard to keep or that die for many folks. Pearlberry, OG Purple Monster (which I do not sell anymore, so don't ask me), RR Jawbreaker have held their prices better than nearly everything else, at least for me. Even then, high dollar SPS are nothing compared to high dollar softies - maybe because they are easier to keep. I still have made more selling LEGIT Colorado Sunbursts, Poletti Jawbreakers and OG Bounces than I ever could with SPS.

I cannot say this enough... the prices that you see online are just advertisements. I am pretty certain that if you wanted to pay Adam $10k for his fairy food, he would sell it to you, so 1% of the asking price.

 

[Alexraptor]

It’s prolly colored up because you split it.. the original picture shows multiple coral boring spinoid worm that wreaks havoc on sticks and takes them pretty much out eventually.

Incorrect.

I split it into two colonies only a month ago, and that was well after it had started coloring up. The spionid worms also died out within the first few months.

 

[NoohpyT]

here's my most expensive piece I think I paid just below $200 for it, was a WD mini colony

picture is a bit old since it's grown more and has colored up a bit more with pink in the tips

 

[FernBluffReef]

Yeah, with sps, you want that frag plug to start being encrusted. Especially acros. Sellers shouldn't sell until that happens.

Returning to the hobby after ~22 years. I’m floored by the cost of corals. A simple hammer which used to be extremely inexpensive now seems to be one of the more expensive I’ve seen. I don’t get it. A $30 blue clam is now hundreds and I’m told one of the hardest to keep (I guess I didn’t know that back then)….

I am curious though - more about the comment about expecting encrusted plugs as I also see so much noise out there about folks needing to / cutting the corals off the plugs to avoid pests. Is that really all that common or most taking just dipping etc.

Of course 22 years ago I was dealing with real Fiji live rock etc. that sure I had some pests even had to trap some. I didn’t do a lot of SPS back then but pests are not constrained that way. Never heard of dipping back then and I had large vibrant corals that outgrew a 180g

 

[Uncle99]

Never spent more than $80 on a coral. But if I did…

What a beautiful specimen.
Wow!

 

[Matt L]

Returning to the hobby after ~22 years. I’m floored by the cost of corals. A simple hammer which used to be extremely inexpensive now seems to be one of the more expensive I’ve seen. I don’t get it. A $30 blue clam is now hundreds and I’m told one of the hardest to keep (I guess I didn’t know that back then)….

I am curious though - more about the comment about expecting encrusted plugs as I also see so much noise out there about folks needing to / cutting the corals off the plugs to avoid pests. Is that really all that common or most taking just dipping etc.

Of course 22 years ago I was dealing with real Fiji live rock etc. that sure I had some pests even had to trap some. I didn’t do a lot of SPS back then but pests are not constrained that way. Never heard of dipping back then and I had large vibrant corals that outgrew a 180g

The encrusting shows that the frag will more than likely survive, at least as long as the customer has the right parameters for it. A freshly cut frag can get infections, or just completely die off in a manner of days.
The part about cutting off the plug is for algae and pests that may be on the plug itself. You do have some risk of losing the frag with acros and such. But it is considered a cheaper thing to do in case pests are on it, versus treating a tank and losing coral to pests.
I will have a video out on friday detailing what to look for, and how to shop for frags. I am a vendor myself, and try to help others succeed.

 

[AlexandraDreadlocksPanda]

Don’t worry you’ll never find that coral in person sadly enough! Can’t believe people still fall for photoshop haha!

Says anyone that’s never seen true high end Acropora, kept in perfect conditions, under perfect lighting… they can be utterly outrageous.

 

[Charlie the Reefer]

Interesting thing to note... Simple economics.

If the market for a frag is such that frags are actually selling at $200+, that means if you buy a 200 and grow into a colony, you can make money back. To sabella's point.

Do I endorse paying top $ for tiny frags... No.. Definitely a caveat emptor situation.

But I also do not fault or shame those that are interested in it, because I see clear rationale.

 

[ninjamyst]

I throw about $1k a month into new acro frags. I make a lot of money so I pay extra for premium frags. I don't even shop sales. I just walk into LFS and ask for the most expensive frags and give them 2x. I love this hobby and this is my contribution.

Jk. I spent my weekends F5 on live sale for the $1 frags

 

[Matt L]

What I do on expensive coral is grow them, frag them, and sell them for half of online retail or less. It depends on how many I have. Things that grow good like zoas, I sell them at two price ranges, $10 and $20 per FRAG, just depends on plug size. But I don't pay my bills with it, and have no employees, etc. But do have to pay taxes on it.

 

[billyocean]

I don't really spend much on single frags but the amount I buy adds up for sure. In the end I have acros that can challenge the nicest ones out there. All about where you buy and if you can pull the color.and growth. If someone wants to spend a ton on a coral and they have the money..I fail to see the issue. I'll drop a couple hundred or so on a nice encrusted piece if I really I want it though.

 

[KIKe]

Don’t worry you’ll never find that coral in person sadly enough! Can’t believe people still fall for photoshop haha!

Homewreker is really shocking if u get all the colors out, Ive seen a huge stunning colony in one of my local reefers tank, true masterpiece. Its like a metalic glowing star with pink and green, his HW also has some bright orange polyps. U need to keep the prameter steady and also satisfy the trace element requirement, also no3 and po4 for a long time to have super bright and dense colors.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I'm one of those people. I have over 250 different SPS in my systems, many of which were over $100 and some of which were over $1000. The most I've paid for 1 frag is $2000 for an RRC Rainbow Splice when they first arrived in the US in May of 2019. I have since sold over $30,000 worth of Rainbow Splice Frags in 3 years. Here is what I paid 2K for:

Many of the corals in this tank started as $300+ frags:

Everyone has different feelings on what they prefer to spend their money on. Some like expensive cars, some like the RC hobby, some like ladies of the night and blow. I like corals.

 

[Matt L]

I'm one of those people. I have over 250 different SPS in my systems, many of which were over $100 and some of which were over $1000. The most I've paid for 1 frag is $2000 for an RRC Rainbow Splice when they first arrived in the US in May of 2019. I have since sold over $30,000 worth of Rainbow Splice Frags in 3 years. Here is what I paid 2K for:

Many of the corals in this tank started as $300+ frags:

Everyone has different feelings on what they prefer to spend their money on. Some like expensive cars, some like the RC hobby, some like ladies of the night and blow. I like corals.

I think they are also speaking from a general hobbyist standpoint and not that of a business. But yes, some people have money to gamble with, and sometimes it pays off.

 

[Boehmtown]

Jason Fox has very very nice stuff. I have never been less than impressed

Me too. I get mostly his corals cause they are so healthy they can normally survive me and my tank long enough for us to figure it out

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Some turds do turn into unicorns. My favorite thing to do too.

 

[LPS Bum]

I just want to know who you are... I want to know who the person is that is dropping $250 on one and $399 on another one inch frag freshly glued to a frag plug. Surely if you are doing this you are willing to show em off. Lets see em. Show yourselves. LOL

I've never bought an expensive frag, but I have purchased a few $500+ Acanthophyllias online. All came in healthy, and all are still with me (and they're my fav corals), so I consider it money well spent. But they're 5+ inches across. $400 for a 1 inch frag is nuts, IMO.