Inexpensive Corals...

[Matt Seiter]

I have seen various websites offering coral frags for less than $10 and auction sites for corals. As I am not a rich man I have been searching for the most economical way to get into corals.
Any suggestions on reputable sites to use to get good deals on frags?

 

[Ta2oodfreak]

Those 5 and 10 dollar frags are promotional most of the time besides the usual lower priced corals and are snagged up in seconds. I suggest buying local and saving on the shipping from other reefers and local shops or buying enough to get free shipping from one of the sponsoring vendors here.

 

[lissailor]

As another data point from a new reefer, I purchased a frag pack of brain corals. They’re pretty small and for approx $25ea, it’s going to be quite a while before they’re anything much to look at. :-(

 

[Storm Trooper Reefer]

Try Facebook groups in your area, search reef, saltwater, aquarium, your area. LFS are great, go hang out for an hour or so. Worth the trip and time to socialize.

 

[Matt Seiter]

Try Facebook groups in your area, search reef, saltwater, aquarium, your area. LFS are great, go hang out for an hour or so. Worth the trip and time to socialize.

Thank you. I have spent a lot of time at my LFS and the guys there are great. Have learned a ton from them and even fact check what I see on the internet lol

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

like stormtrooper said, local websites or local classifieds are the best option for cheap frags. Very often the prices can be negotiable, and you get to meet other reefers.

 

[Gtinnel]

There are often live sales on this forum and you can get really good prices from those, but like already mentioned things sale quickly so you have to constantly be watching the sale and quickly buy anything you want. These sales probably aren't the best for a new reefer because you have to know enough about the coral to instantly decide if it is something that would work in your tank (there is no time to think it over).
I agree with others that usually the sales forum on here and Facebook groups is the best way to get cheap corals. I've started buying most of my corals from hobbiests.

 

[Hermie]

average price for "cheap" corals is 15 dollars IMO, you have to shop around; you can find 15 dollar frags at local stores, fellow reefers through clubs/facebook groups, but online prices are all around 30 dollars a frag average the cheapest they get when you include shipping.

 

[biguebs]

I’ve had some pretty good luck with a couple lives sales recently, I’m also just getting into corals and trying not to spend a ton of money as I learn the ropes initially. My LFS aren’t great at all in terms of corals so I just decided that I was going to eat the $30 shipping and make it count by grabbing multiple items. I also have bought from corals anonymous, they seem to be priced quite fairly in general and the corals have been nice and arrived in good shape.

 

[reefinatl]

Find a local club. There's always guys that will give newbies a frag or two. Prices are better, and they can tell precisely how to make it grow and no camera tricks.

 

[sp1187]

local FB sellers
local frag shows

 

[Here we go again..]

Depends on how big your city is, but I bounced around multiple lfs until I found a good one. They have a section in the lps tank that has a couple of rows of $10 corals. There are a lot of nice pieces in there and a decent selection of different species. A lot of times I have found the cost of shipping far out weighs the cost of 5 or ten dollar corals, and unless you are going to purchase a bunch at once, to me its not worth it. Never mind the fact that delivery companies are not reliable at this time...

 

[threebuoys]

Sometimes LFS or clubs or frag shows are not viable options. In my case, the nearest "local" fish store is 120 miles away, likewise for clubs, etc. So, I've had to rely on on-line options for most of my purchases. I also am new to corals so I've focused on lower priced frags to get started.

You can find some reasonable prices, but you have to work hard at it. Concentrate on sites that sell WYSIWYG frags. Live sales from R2R sponsors can be good, but some are a real pain to sort through all of the messaging and rules imposed by the vendor. Some sales have better prices than others though and you have to be careful. For example, some vendors may sell Zoa frags with only 1 or 2 or 3 polyps for $15-$45 while other vendors sell a similar Zoa variety with 10 - 15 polyps for the same price. That's why wysiwyg is useful. Shipping costs are a factor, so I usually order 5 - 10 frags at a time to average down. Still, in my case, $30 shipping versus a whole day 240 mile round trip to shop frags in a LFS is cost effective. So far, my average cost is between $15 and $20 per frag ( no scolys or hammers at this price point however!)

Read some of the threads for vendors in the Sponsors forum and you will get an idea of how buyers feel about the sellers.