I wasnt blown away, is it just me ?

Eddie7144

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
977
Reaction score
587
Location
nyc
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is it just me , or is this whole exotic torch corL craze blown out of proportion? The other day a LFS had a holy grail torch for 1300 per head. This is the first time seeing one in person. I've seen them on line a thought it was cool but seeing it in person I wasnt knocked over with a feather. Dont get me wrong if you like it and must have it, go for it, but it was just a lime-ish green with colored tips. I was like ehh, for some reason I was expecting more. Idk , like I said maybe it's just me and I love torch coras btw.
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,848
Reaction score
200,117
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Not my money. For the cost of two heads, i can practically fill my 660g with coral!!
 

Reeferdood

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 29, 2009
Messages
2,546
Reaction score
3,577
Location
Merritt Island, Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder my friend. Overinflated prices on corals has always been an issue for a lot of people. Patience is key to landing nice corals at a cheaper price. Once the hype is gone the price will come down. I remember the Mummy eye was what put a big name vendor on the market, now people practically give it away....
 

SneakyTortuga

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 14, 2018
Messages
1,332
Reaction score
2,524
Location
fort lauderdale
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
$1300?? I just saw one go for sale this week on reef2reef for $2k + shipping. The + shipping part made me lol more than anything. Imagine the thought going through someone’s head where they think getting $2k for a single head of torch is not enough that they have to add shipping charges.
 

Hitman

Reefing One Day @ A Time!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
3,712
Reaction score
13,414
Location
NW Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Euphyllia in general seem to have adopted some new fancy names and the price has gone way past nuts. I have some that I paid like $10 for several heads that I see now going for hundreds per head. I guess it’s like clothing, it’s all about a fad.
 

ScottR

Surfing....
View Badges
Joined
Feb 12, 2019
Messages
8,365
Reaction score
28,233
Location
Hong Kong
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You can take a picture perfect photo and put it online and sell for thousands. Or you can get a bigger colony of the same thing at a frag swap for pennies to the dollar. Mail order bride vs girl down the street...
 
Last edited:

ZoWhat

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
9,897
Reaction score
17,531
Location
Cincinnati Ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is it just me , or is this whole exotic torch corL craze blown out of proportion? The other day a LFS had a holy grail torch for 1300 per head. This is the first time seeing one in person. I've seen them on line a thought it was cool but seeing it in person I wasnt knocked over with a feather. Dont get me wrong if you like it and must have it, go for it, but it was just a lime-ish green with colored tips. I was like ehh, for some reason I was expecting more. Idk , like I said maybe it's just me and I love torch coras btw.
Here's the deal with wildly expensive corals:

* In a financial society there are the HAVEs and the HAVENOTs. Meaning the HAVEs ppl have more money than they know what to do with. Old money, new money...there are ppl out there running up $30,000 credit card bill a month buying stuff that CAN afford it. Yes they CAN and do afford a big living lifestyle. THESE ARE THE PPL PAYING $2,000 FOR A CORAL

(I personally know a hobbyist that also collects and restores old muscle cars as a serious 2nd hobby. He has a warehouse full of cars probably valued at 3 million dollars. He's got soooo much big-money he's just entertaining himself at this point with his reefing hobby)

* Hype, hype, hype. If there is enough BUZZ about a coral then the HAVEs ppl will drop the coin to buy it so they can say they have it.

* Not sure if I believe in the ole Supply and Demand pricing game on these corals. Meaning the less supply, the higher the demand, the higher the cost. I just think retailers, wholesalers know there are the HAVEs ppl out there that will pay jacked up prices. Look at chalices from the late 2000s. Jason Fox built an empire selling 1-2eye chalices for $1,000. Many of those same chalices are now down under a $100 for 5-10 eyes bc the HYPE about them is over....the HAVEs ppl became bored with them. No longer cool to have a coral that BlueCollar Joe also has in his tank



.
 
Last edited:

Joedubyk

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 19, 2019
Messages
795
Reaction score
1,040
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yeah, I agree. I always thought torches were cool, but even the fancy ones were not THAT cool....But to each their own. I think it's cool either way. The endless debates of cheap coral vs name corals is tiresome
 

hart24601

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
6,576
Reaction score
6,630
Location
Iowa
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The torch thing has been interesting to watch. I think it started with the indo ban and indo gold torch prices went crazy which is funny as like 5 years ago indo gold torches were poo-poo’ed compared to aussie ones. So the price jacked on those, then looks like aussie golds followed and now all torches seem to be going nuts with some others following like some hammers.





What I am curious to see is this. Not many people have great results growing torches, especially golds. I have only heard of a few people getting new heads regularly, and it’s sure nothing like how fast you can grow and frag SPS which seems to be the reason acros are crazy priced (aka people buy them as investments planning on selling frags in a couple months so the price builds and builds until the variety crashes in price). I am guessing most of the ‘named’ euphyllia are wilds that either look the same, or some importer got in like 1000 heads of and are slowly releasing. Not that I care much about the coral name game, but it’s been interesting to watch these since the path is a bit different then something like an ORA coral or a JF where the buyer asks for the owner lineage back to JF or whomever.
 

BlueDamselReef

Just keep swimming!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
2,742
Reaction score
3,235
Location
Salty, Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hype... name play a factor, but it's also commonality and availability. When something first appears or is not as easily found or available, the price is high. I've seen some UGLY corals AND fish go for very expensive prices because they are the only one or very hard to find. As they are reproduced and become more common, the prices go down. So it's not about looks, really, but supply. And to each his own. If someone wants to spend THOUSANDS on rare items, GREAT! If someone only wants to spend HUNDREDS, then GREAT! As long as everyone is enjoying the hobby.
 

BlueDamselReef

Just keep swimming!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
2,742
Reaction score
3,235
Location
Salty, Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hype... name play a factor, but it's also commonality and availability. When something first appears or is not as easily found or available, the price is high. I've seen some ***** corals AND fish go for very expensive prices because they are the only one or very hard to find. As they are reproduced and become more common, the prices go down. So it's not about looks, really, but supply. And to each his own. If someone wants to spend THOUSANDS on rare items, GREAT! If someone only wants to spend HUNDREDS, then GREAT! As long as everyone is enjoying the hobby.

I said "ugly" with an F at the beginning...I guess that's not allowed. :D
 

lion king

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 3, 2016
Messages
6,797
Reaction score
8,649
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Online its lighting, filtering, and photoshop; its so obvious. They just dont look like that in person. You can light your tank in total blue actinic and get the flourescence to pop, lfs are even trying to pull that. They do it with everything from zoas to acans and I guess now its the euphyllias. As they say "there's a sucker born every day", happy reefing hahaha.
 

Reeferdood

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 29, 2009
Messages
2,546
Reaction score
3,577
Location
Merritt Island, Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys! ;)
I'm thinking you might get beat up over that comment.. A lot of reefers don't have a lot of money to give to people for corals. Some certain shops and certain named people are getting rich because some folks are willing to take seconds out on their homes to feed their addictions. I have been in this hobby for years and if one has any patience at all they can get the corals they want without breaking the bank.
 

jsvand5

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 16, 2010
Messages
1,393
Reaction score
1,553
Location
fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It’s ridiculous. Same thing with the bounce mushrooms and all the fancy named Tenuis acros. They look amazing online. Then they show up at your door and they look like any other coral that was $30 before the naming fad started. I guess these expensive named corals do look nice though if you like your tank to be lit so that it looks like the corals are floating in windex though.

My best advice for anyone looking to get into the high end coral game is to go see the corals in person under lighting that is a similar spectrum to your lighting if at all possible.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top