Is anyone else frustrated with the "per polyp" game?

Dr. Dendrostein · Jan 14, 2019

NeedMoreReef said:
Should I check my attitude or are there other folks that get irritated with this?

I have a modest household income; when I go to a frag swap/show with 1k I want more than 10 corals.

My intention is not to bash any specific vendor! just curious if I'm the only one out there...

If you're wearing a new shirt, pants, shoes, and anything else new. These items only cost dollars to make. But we pay up to a thousand percent more what it cost to make. welcome to the free market.

DHill6 · Jan 14, 2019

I have the expensive designer corals let’s call them, because I chose them for the different colors. Either you buy

Blackedge · Jan 14, 2019

Per polyp can be annoying especially glued to a huge plug. I don't like it personally in a buying situation but it's the community's fault.

I sell coral and I can have a colony of let's say sunny d zoas. It might have 50 heads. I can sell the whole colony for no where near what I can get for tiny frags.

When I was stocking my tank I scanned selling posts for whole tanks that were seasoned with nice pieces. It's a great way to get nice stuff.

DHill6 · Jan 14, 2019

Excuse the iPhone X, glitching again. To finish the above post, either you buy them or you don't. Choose which way you want to go. I've downgraded the tank size and I'm being picky and moving slow. As for the Homewrecker, I purchased it from the man himself. Accidentally broke the tip off and it took off, even a nub tip seems to have survived, so I wouldn't call it picky in my tank anyways. This tank has gone through a lot since I've changed the rock out three different times in a short timespan, and that Homewrecker has survived. I have given away corals, fish to an acquaintance that used to work in a LFS. I'm not in it to make money, it's a hobby, and yes it costs.

Acrofiend · Jan 15, 2019

CMO said:
The most frustrating thing to me is to pay a high price only to find out they're in fact weed polyps that grow like crazy. For a unique slow growing zoa I can understand the high price but for most it's just silly. I have one zoa for example that has literally made 1 polyps in an entire year - now that is something I can understand a high price for.

I've paid up for some high end zoas and can honestly say they are no better than my inexpensive zoas. Also, the same zoa is going by different names at drastically different prices across vendors - the fox fairy tales come to mind lately which I've seen from $5 upwards of $80 for a few polyps.

This is especially hilarious to me seeing the same coral by different names and different prices at the same vendor....

Lol what a jip. Looks like Vivid Aquarium to me.

aquaman67 · Jan 15, 2019

People give them fancy names and fancy prices. It’s all just marketing.

Anything is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. You get new people who are over excited and have to have it and pay just about any price they ask.

I understand what you’re saying. You want the nice stuff too.

ca1ore · Jan 15, 2019

I have to say, though, that a zoo tank with large, spreading colonies is absolutely stunning - more so even than a SPS tank! I know that is sacrilegious, and I'm sorry, but it's true. Unfortunately, in my case, my choice of fish makes them a non-starter.

OriginalUserName · Jan 15, 2019

Robin Haselden said:
Not that great of a strategy. Take that Homewrecker mentioned above. Two years ago I saw three pieces for sale from the man himself for $800 $1000 and $1200 each. Now, I could find you the same size pieces for under $200. It's a depreciating item, the more people out there that have them and are cutting frags, the cheaper they get.

Me personally I don't get into the high end acros so I don't worry about their crazy prices. I have monti growing like crazy but I'll kill the toughest acro you can throw at me...

That game only works if you are the 2nd generation grower. i.e. you buy from the first guy who propagated that morph and then you sell them. If you are 3rd or later generation the market is usually way lower. I saw the same patterns in exotic reptile color morphs.

1st pie-bald ball python - 100k
2nd gen stock - 30k
3rd gen stock 5k
4th gen 500 bucks

ca1ore said:
I have to say, though, that a zoo tank with large, spreading colonies is absolutely stunning - more so even than a SPS tank! I know that is sacrilegious, and I'm sorry, but it's true. Unfortunately, in my case, my choice of fish makes them a non-starter.

nothing wrong with a zoa garden

BestMomEver · Jan 15, 2019

The reason I don’t like it is because typically the piece I want has 8-10 polyps when I may only want one or two. (Can you split that please? And please try not to kill it!) In the end, it’s still an $80 Coral it just sounds better to the buyer to say that it costs $10/polyp. It’s all in the marketing. Whether or not it’s worth $80 really depends on how bad you want it!

BestMomEver · Jan 15, 2019

saf1 said:
I've not looked local for Duncan's but online at Divers Den for example has with 5 heads for a buck twenty ($120.00) and another couple with 8 to 12 pushing $200. Granted it is DD but was just using it for a reference. Side note - is it me or do they have a poor choice for soft corals (seems mostly zoa's).

I paid $40 for a four or five head Duncan that six months later, has 30+ heads.... buy small.... grow big....

BestMomEver · Jan 15, 2019

Also of note... I’ve bought quite a few high end corals with fancy names. When they get in my tank and the lighting, flow, parameters are different, they look different. For example.... I bought the grape coral from Jason Fox that I use as my signature picture. I LOVE that coral just as it’s shown in the picture. In my tank, it’s turned a beautiful pale green/blue with light purple tips. I could easily name it something else, frag it, and make big bucks... but that’s not what I’m after.

User1 · Jan 15, 2019

BestMomEver said:
I paid $40 for a four or five head Duncan that six months later, has 30+ heads.... buy small.... grow big....

That is actually good to know. For some reason I had them now has a slow grower!

kichimark · Jan 15, 2019

BestMomEver said:
I paid $40 for a four or five head Duncan that six months later, has 30+ heads.... buy small.... grow big....

That is definitely the key in modern reefing. Many moons ago, colonies were the norm and the trick was to just keep them alive. Since the whole fragging started (good in a sense where a unique colony can be broken up and spread to many), the new trick is to keep them happy and growing under your care with frags. I became less active during these time on the forums due to people fragging frags and losing that sense of community. Luckily I came back due to meeting old and making new friends who have the same passion of reefing but that can be another story.

IMHO it becomes pricey when you raise specific corals (like blasto's that I mentioned in an earlier post) that take longer than say zoas to propagate and it is understandably reasonable to ask for a premium, especially since Indo is closed.

It just seems no matter where you go there will be some folks who sole intent is greed and thus create a bad taste for others. Hopefully the majority of folks out there find a local reefing club or other hobbyist who can either give away or sell rather cheaply corals that may be unaffordable otherwise, especially those that grow fast.

BestMomEver · Jan 15, 2019

saf1 said:
That is actually good to know. For some reason I had them now has a slow grower!

Oh heavens no! At least not in my tank.... I have a 24” deep tank with a Radion xr15 over it. My Duncan is in the front on the very bottom with a fair amount of flow...

It’s hard to tell because the photo is dreadful, but it’s about the size of a salad plate.

kichimark · Jan 15, 2019

saf1 said:
That is actually good to know. For some reason I had them now has a slow grower!

I was talking recently to a guy who could not grow common frogspawn at all but it was healthy and full. I and others can grow them very well and this coral is not known to be that fussy. Makes one wonder if maybe there can be different strains of the same coral that have different rates of growth, especially if the water parameters are the same. Would be a fun little experiment to conduct (i.e. getting a wild coral and an aquacultured version to compare).

sde1500 · Jan 15, 2019

I think some names are absolutely ridiculous, as are the prices. But there are some that stick. For every few crazy named zoas that will just be chopped and renamed and chopped again, there are a few that stick. Utter Chaos, Rasta, Sunny D, etc. Everyone knows what you're getting when you see that name. The per polyp game, it is what it is. I think it is silly to go to a frag swap, blow a G on 10 corals, then complain. I've come home with much more for much less from swaps. Don't chase the craze, don't buy into the hype, find good corals at good prices. Its not that hard at bigger swaps.

VR28man · Jan 15, 2019

ca1ore said:
I have to say, though, that a zoo tank with large, spreading colonies is absolutely stunning - more so even than a SPS tank! I know that is sacrilegious, and I'm sorry, but it's true. Unfortunately, in my case, my choice of fish makes them a non-starter.

Interesting. What fish do you have that makes it a nonstarter?