What are Some of The Rarest and Most High Priced Corals on the Market From Indonesia?

[livinlifeinBKK]

Trying to help a friend of a friend out who is an exporter in Bali who wants to start specializing in exporting very rare and expensive corals. I had the idea of Acanthophyllia but apparently he already regularly collects some pretty cool color morphs of these. What do you guys think? Keep in mind that aquaculture dominated corals like acros don't go for nearly the same price or are in as much demand as their aquacultured counterparts.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Bump

 

[shakacuz]

i'd say any of the more popular LPS could work. SPS/Softies are generally soooooo sought for that there is barely any diversity in color morphs anymore.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Acanthophyllia, Cynarina, and Indophyllia, along with various oddball Blastomussa and deepwater acros. All of those are rarer to see in import lists, and all of them are things I seek out. Not sure if these are in Indo, but snake polyps are another rare export.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Acanthophyllia, Cynarina, and Indophyllia, along with various oddball Blastomussa and deepwater acros. All of those are rarer to see in import lists, and all of them are things I seek out. Not sure if these are in Indo, but snake polyps are another rare export.

Thanks for the ideas! I was thinking about some Scolys as well. I'm unsure if the big Christmas Tree Worms are native to Indonesia (although I'd assume they would be because we have them everywhere in southern Thailand).

 

[rogersb]

Large polyp bowerbanki seem to cost a lot. I saw some at RAP and was floored by the price. The vendor said scoly may be getting harder to come by and these would be like gold mines. Of course, he could have been trying to create his own hype.

 

[amoore311]

there is nothing "rare". That is literally a made up term to justify the cost of the corals imported.

There are literal fields of these things these collectors have to choose from, if there weren't.... they wouldn't be permitted to collect and ship them under cites.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

there is nothing "rare". That is literally a made up term to justify the cost of the corals imported.

There are literal fields of these things these collectors have to choose from, if there weren't.... they wouldn't be permitted to collect and ship them under cites.

You're correct that "rare" is a subjective word but I think you're giving the post a meaning it was never intended to have. I'm not advocating for species of which there are very few living individuals left, generally in any hobby rare refers to something that isn't widely sold or available for any of a number of reasons. Also, every population of every species isn't the same size. Therefore, some species would be considered rarer than other if that's the definition you apply.

 

[Reefing102]

I don’t know rare, but harder to come by on the cheap end here in the states (not sure if Indo or not):

Christmas Tree Rocks
Anything “bounce”
Brightly Colored Blastos (especially Wellsi)
Scolys
Acanthos
Indophyllia
Nice colored and sized Trachyphyllia (larger than 2 inches)
Anything that is truly rainbow colored
Anything that is truely yellow under Blue LEDs
Stratosphere Zoa

 

[Kasrift]

Most of the meat corals. I think people should try and bring weird things in when they can, like the aforementioned snake corals, madracis, Acan Maxima, scolymia vitensis and parascolymia.

Mushrooms seem to be ever popular and have to have less of an impact on the reefs since they multiply easily.

 

[Kmst80]

Add ricordea with 2 or more colours. Very pricey in Down under

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Most of the meat corals. I think people should try and bring weird things in when they can, like the aforementioned snake corals, madracis, Acan Maxima, scolymia vitensis and parascolymia.

Mushrooms seem to be ever popular and have to have less of an impact on the reefs since they multiply easily.

Awesome ideas! I've suggested specifically for him to focus on Acanthophyllia, Scolymia, clams with the most vibrant and outlandish Cor combinations, and if the big Spirobranchus giganteus Christmas Tree Worms are native there then certainly them as well even though I really hate that a portion of the coral host has to be cut off to collect the worms. I told him that coloration is highly valued in the corals I mentioned. He and his crew are willing to search for anything requested specifically...he just needs to know what it looks like.

 

[encrustingacro]

Thanks for the ideas! I was thinking about some Scolys as well. I'm unsure if the big Christmas Tree Worms are native to Indonesia (although I'd assume they would be because we have them everywhere in southern Thailand).

Large polyp bowerbanki seem to cost a lot. I saw some at RAP and was floored by the price. The vendor said scoly may be getting harder to come by and these would be like gold mines. Of course, he could have been trying to create his own hype.

Scolies and bowerbankis wouldn't really be found in Indonesia. Those are more endemic to southern GBR/subtropical Australia.

Most of the meat corals. I think people should try and bring weird things in when they can, like the aforementioned snake corals, madracis, Acan Maxima, scolymia vitensis and parascolymia.

Mushrooms seem to be ever popular and have to have less of an impact on the reefs since they multiply easily.

Acanthastrea (now Sclerophyllia) maxima won't be found in Indonesia either, as those are native to the western Indian Ocean, where no corals are collected for the hobby. What we misidentify as S. maxima in the hobby are actually Micromussa pacifica.


I would say Echinophyllia could probably go for a lot, as they are usually very colorful and usually don't grow very fast in captivity.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Which areas in Indo does he have access to?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Which areas in Indo does he have access to?

He's based in Bali

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Scolies and bowerbankis wouldn't really be found in Indonesia. Those are more endemic to southern GBR/subtropical Australia.


Acanthastrea (now Sclerophyllia) maxima won't be found in Indonesia either, as those are native to the western Indian Ocean, where no corals are collected for the hobby. What we misidentify as S. maxima in the hobby are actually Micromussa pacifica.


I would say Echinophyllia could probably go for a lot, as they are usually very colorful and usually don't grow very fast in captivity.

Are you sure about the Scolys? He's sent me pictures of them and according to the online database they are found in the area.

 

[encrustingacro]

Are you sure about the Scolys? He's sent me pictures of them and according to the online database they are found in the area.

Yes, Lobophyllia (formerly Scolymia) vitiensis will be found throughout the Indo-Pacific. I was thinking more of Homophyllia australis, which is found more in Australia.

Keep in mind that many of these biogeographical distribution maps were made before the widespread use of molecular analysis and relied heavily on skeletal features for identification and classification. Molecular analysis has shown that genetic data does not always line up with skeletal features, which is why most corals cannot be identified to the species level unless it was observed or collected near the type locality of a species.

As for species databases, I would recommend using WoRMS instead of SeaLifeBase as it has the most up-to-date taxonomy.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Indonesia is a large archipelago that spans across different quite different zones. The climate in Nth Sumatra is different from the climate in West Timor. Additionally, it fronts both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. You’ll see differences in the fish and invert life between the Nth Maluku Islands like Moratai and Halmahera to what you’ll see on Bali or Lombok.