I want your input - Coral business

[Lil Reef$$]

Hey guys !
I really would love your ideas, input, Suggestions on coral businesses.

I plan on starting a veteran owned and operated coral business in the next year or so. I want it to be like no other business out there. All coral will be aquacultured and priced to compete with wild caught coral. The hope is that people who buy wild caught not because they agree with it but because they can’t afford aquacultured coral will switch to strictly aquacultured. Slowly over time it would help decrease the demand for wild caught coral and push coral companies to join the movement. Also, the survival rate of aquacultured coral is on average 90% while wild caught can be as low as 20% due to multiple transports when shipped. The goal of the company will be to have a business for the Reef community by the reef community, sustainability, and helping grow back depleting coral reefs. A potion of each sale will go towards coral and ocean conservations.

my question is what do you guys want.. what do you want to see less of ?
what do you want to see more of ?
What needs to change in the coral business?
If you are in the coral industry what advice or suggestions do you have ?
There is no topic off the table be as broad or specific as you’d like .

 

[blaxsun]

Less use of "ultra" and "rainbow"...

 

[ilikefish69]

Love the idea. I will help any way i can. Make the bounce mushrooms cheaper? Hehe

 

[Reefing102]

What I want is back to basics naming, pricing and white light pictures. This is blue Acropora tenius, it’s $100, here it is under whites. Also this coral is approximately “x” size

Also going on size, chunky frags/mini colonies. Not this here’s a 1/4” booger of this piece

 

[docforestal]

Would love to see corals with their science / common names (not Superman or others )and without special lighting showing crazy colors. I happen to like pale blue green browns seen on the reef, less interested in making art as a successful ecosystem.
(Not that doing otherwise is wrong - just my way)

 

[docforestal]

Reefing102 you and I almost identical at same time, yours more clearly typed

 

[fish farmer]

What I want is back to basics naming, pricing and white light pictures. This is blue Acropora tenius, it’s $100, here it is under whites. Also this coral is approximately “x” size

Also going on size, chunky frags/mini colonies. Not this here’s a 1/4” booger of this piece

Also side shot as well as top down photos.

 

[mike550]

@Lil Reef$$ good luck with the new business!

Like others I’d like pricing transparency the most. I don’t mind if you charge per head on a frag as long as you make it clear. Not sure if you’re planning on a walk in type of shop or mail order. But for walk-in one of my pet peeves is when prices aren’t posted. Half the time I feel like the salesperson is just making up prices. If it’s mail order I tend to shop at places that are helpful to me. Tidal Gardens is a great example.

 

[Reefing102]

@Lil Reef$$ good luck with the new business!

Like others I’d like pricing transparency the most. I don’t mind if you charge per head on a frag as long as you make it clear. Not sure if you’re planning on a walk in type of shop or mail order. But for walk-in one of my pet peeves is when prices aren’t posted. Half the time I feel like the salesperson is just making up prices. If it’s mail order I tend to shop at places that are helpful to me. Tidal Gardens is a great example.

Definitely agree with this too. If it’s a walk in shop, have clearly posted prices. We have a local shop who doesn’t, and they literally are making up the prices. I’ve negotiated quite a bit with them though and got what I feel was fair deals.

 

[ryanjohn1]

No more chop shops is a great goal.
no more goof ball names.
Lights and pics under more white light.
frag size non sense. “Mini colonies “. Is bs. It’s a frag bro.

 

[TrevorHenryTDH]

Well let’s be honest here, the coral we get imported and sold via wholesale to stores is not hurting the environment, The only way these corals can legally be imported is via a farm and their countries regulations. A lot of these businesses have “Farms” set up right off the beach in shallow water propagating these corals. These are not coming from the reefs and killing the reef. I don’t know where you get 20% survival rate because definitely not 20%.
It’s every small business owners dream in this industry to be fully aqua cultured in house selling nothing but home grown corals because of course it means more profit. Unless you have room for 5000’s gallons you are gonna struggle to grow enough to have enough for sale and still keep the doors open and the wife happy.
Price is set by the demand, if you’re gonna grow corals that are “expensive” and sell them for cheap you will run outta money quick just letting them grow and wait.
Am I saying it’s not possible? Nope. 100% you can do it. Should you low ball and under cut the already hard market we have to compete in? Probably not the best idea.

 

[i cant think]

Hey guys !
I really would love your ideas, input, Suggestions on coral businesses.

I plan on starting a veteran owned and operated coral business in the next year or so. I want it to be like no other business out there. All coral will be aquacultured and priced to compete with wild caught coral. The hope is that people who buy wild caught not because they agree with it but because they can’t afford aquacultured coral will switch to strictly aquacultured. Slowly over time it would help decrease the demand for wild caught coral and push coral companies to join the movement. Also, the survival rate of aquacultured coral is on average 90% while wild caught can be as low as 20% due to multiple transports when shipped. The goal of the company will be to have a business for the Reef community by the reef community, sustainability, and helping grow back depleting coral reefs. A potion of each sale will go towards coral and ocean conservations.

my question is what do you guys want.. what do you want to see less of ?
what do you want to see more of ?
What needs to change in the coral business?
If you are in the coral industry what advice or suggestions do you have ?
There is no topic off the table be as broad or specific as you’d like .

Unfortunately it’s not that easy… You have to think about the time it takes to make Aquacultured corals and how hard it actually is to ship them without having issues.
Also certain corals only do certain things under certain circumstances. For example;
A bouncing Ricordea yuma will only bounce if it’s in the genetics and nothing to do with lighting. Getting mushrooms that have the bouncing gene is hard but getting it aquacultured and not wild is harder. Your best bet is to get coral from tank break downs or people fragging them and then start growing them out into chunky, healthy colonies and selling frags of those corals. It may take a while but it’s worth it in the longrun.