The most overrated & underrated coral in the hobby?

[BighohoReef]

Overrated: Designer named corals, bounce mushrooms especially when private hobbyist charge $$$ for them. $600 for nickel size piece is just stupid. SPS sticks that are less than an inch for $70 come on! I won't even start on the onesie twosies zoas and palys with names we could write a whole article on the ridiculousness.

Underrated: leptos, blastos, duncans, elegance (unless you're a snail)

 

[KimG]

1. What do you think the most OVERRATED coral is?
Bounce mushrooms and anything with a fancy designer name selling for the price of a kidney

2. What do you think the most UNDERRATED coral is?
Seriatopora Caliendrum - probably one of the few sps that would look right at home in a full acro tank. Great color and growth. Also a few nice varieties. Can be super rewarding for new reefers as well. Bonus, its cheap

 

[glb]

Overrated: super expensive corals no matter how cool they are
Underrated: inexpensive zoas. Some of them are just as good looking as the pricier ones.

 

[Blknovass]

For me I know what I like and I don’t really care what the new hot coral is.

 

[jack_aubry]

Overrated-rainbow almost anything from more than a foot away the colors blend together. Just an opinion

underrated- gorgonians great movement and good growth and I will say it pocillopora unique dense growth pattern that scales well to small tanks, fast growth, and the polyp bail out happens sure but imo is not that big a problem.

 

[Ferrell]

OverratedFor me are jawbreakers and bounce and do nothing for me.
Underrated: toadstool, Pavona, psammacora.

 

[PeaBrain]

Overrated: Chalice

Underrated: Plating Monitipora
Can I give a shout out to Maxima Clams too?

 

[PurpleMonsterSlayer]

I think the biggest underrated corals are Stylocoeniella. They come in all sorts of colors and have great polyp extension that flows in the breeze. Here’s a few pics of some of mine

 

[Vakko]

The most overrated & underrated coral in the hobby?

Today let's talk about coral. But not just any coral. Let's talk about the most OVERRATED and UNDERRATED corals in the saltwater reefing hobby!

Sometimes we buy coral because other people tell us that in order to have an awesome reef you have to have it. Sometimes we don't buy coral because someone tells us that it's a weed or it's a coral that no one wants. Sometimes both are true and sometimes both are false! HA! Really the decision is up to you and should really be based on what you like, what your vision for your reef is, and what can be healthy in your tank. So with that being said let's talk about these overrated and underrated corals.

1. What do you think the most OVERRATED coral is?

2. What do you think the most UNDERRATED coral is?

Overrated?
Anything under an inch that is over $100.

Underrated?
Alveopora.

 

[David_Carrera]

Overrated: anything I can't grow.

Underrated: everything I can grow.

This is the only answer that is acceptable

 

[johntdaballa]

overrated = crazy named corals

underrated = Rasta zoa

 

[monti mike]

1. Overrated = bounce and jawbreaker mushrooms. They’re still just mushrooms. Mushrooms = pest. You can fight me on this.

2. Underrated= Yellow branching porites. It’s just yellow but it has some great polyp extension and unique growth. It’s overshadowed by its flashier sps cousins.

Don’t be sad @rtn ! I’m still happy for all the happy mushroom lovers out there. They just don’t do it for me

 

[MoreReefPlease]

Overrated - overpriced SPS

underrated - Duncan corals ... they can almost look like an elegance when taken care of ... and easy to grow

I'm trying to get my Giant Duncan's back from a tank crash I had last year in a smaller tank. I have three heads that survived but the tissue is receding. I hope they make it

I think the biggest underrated corals are Stylocoeniella. They come in all sorts of colors and have great polyp extension that flows in the breeze. Here’s a few pics of some of mine

These look very similar to my Sanjay's Galaxy that I am trying to recover from a tank crash. (From moving half way across the state.)

 

[Waynerock]

pipe organ's are some of the coolest corals and very underrated
Crazy expensive zoa are so overrated...pretty but overrated

 

[NanJ]

Great thread to learn about those “under-rated” corals! Will have to do more research on Psammies, Porites.

I just can’t get into the SPS forest look. Maybe SPS provide a challenge as the next step up in skills.

 

[Waynerock]

Overrated?
Anything under an inch that is over $100.

Underrated?
Alveopora.

Got to agree I love my alve. Can’t wait to score a branching one since Indo in open again, I have not seen those since early mid 2000’s. They where the cream of the crop. I just got my little aquaman

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

Overrated: those colorful nubs that are $99+
Underrated: sad little frags you find in the back of the dealer's tank. The employees usually sell em for cheap, and they often turn into gorgeous pieces with a little TLC.

 

[jgvergo]

Overrated - overpriced SPS

underrated - Duncan corals ... they can almost look like an elegance when taken care of ... and easy to grow

+1 on the Duncan vote. I love mine!

 

[vetteguy53081]

1. What do you think the most OVERRATED coral is?

Most torch coral and acro such as homewrecker and walt disney

2. What do you think the most UNDERRATED coral is?

Mushrooms, palys (due to toxin fear) and monti corals

 

[Alex Polk]

Most overrated in my opinion is the crazy high end mushrooms and zoas. Seeing mushrooms go for thousands of dollars because if the color pattern is just bizarre to me. I’ve always been more into naturalistic looking tanks that are more habitat specific, so these crazy named corals with wild colors aren’t really for me in general.

the most underrated corals to me are softies like gorgonians, toadstools, and GSP. Not only are most impossible to kill, but some of the most impressive tanks I’ve seen in my opinion have been softie dominated.