prices of coral

[king_nothing_]

I'm still a good 3-4 weeks from beign able to add corals to my tank I think if all goes well, but I was wondering....How come you come across such highly different prices in coral types? Should I be leery of what appears to be a good deal becaue the coral being sold has a problem or something? I'm saying this because there are about 5 pretty cool reed-only type fishstores around me I just found today, and one place for example sells TINY coral frags...like 2-3 polyps per frag or whatever or an inch tall if its hard coral) for like 20-30 dollars, then theres another store thats a bit bigger that sells ANY frag for 10 dollars and theyre large and look very colorful. Do you think theres a problem there? I was talkign to the owner and he sounds extremely knowledgable about it and everything, even gave me a rundown of his entire filtration systems for the whole store and everythign since I was the only customer in there. Maybe he just sells cheaper becasue he's better at growing them? I dunno. But the majority of the frags are 3-4 times the size as the ones from the other stores and less tan half the price.
I just FEEL like theres a catch somewhere....but I don't know.

 

[maxalmon]

All depends on the actual corals. If one store has .5" Montipora Setosa and the other store had .5" Montipora Digitata, you could see those kinda prices. But, if you can get a true Setosa for $30 bucks, buy it fast,,,,
Hope you can see what I mean, this is where you learn that it's easy to make expensive mistakes, study the basics of corals and learn the common stuff. Start off with the Montipora's, easy coral to recognize by shape and texture, comes in basic colors thru rare morphs. Pretty tough coral, you can get a 4" green encrusting monti for $20-$30, great starter coral. Or, spend $50-$100
for a 3-4" purple haze or superman monti. Don't get caught up in "rage" corals, pick out some corals that you like, study them, price them out, this in the long run could save you lots of cash. hope this helps

 

[koralkid]

sorry if i high jack the thread but my lfs has a true setosa. its about 1.5 inches long n.5 inch tall. about fourty bucks. worth it. i just got a .5 inch true undata monti for 10 bucks. good deal. need replys quick theres only two left

 

[king_nothing_]

thanks, yeah I see what you mean. I could see how it would be VERY easy to misidentify a coral, and I bet a lot of LFS's do it on purpose to try to make an extra buck

I'll keep my eyes open.

 

[king_nothing_]

thanks, yeah I see what you mean. I could see how it would be VERY easy to misidentify a coral, and I bet a lot of LFS's do it on purpose to try to make an extra buck

I'll keep my eyes open.

 

[maxalmon]

KoralKid, if your LFS's Setosa looks like this, you should snag it....$40 I would find hard to believe if it's a true setosa

 

[maxalmon]

Originally Posted by king_nothing_
thanks, yeah I see what you mean. I could see how it would be VERY easy to misidentify a coral, and I bet a lot of LFS's do it on purpose to try to make an extra buck

I'll keep my eyes open.
Not necessarily misidentification, more of learning what a coral is actually worth according to size, color, species. I think there's something like 5 types of Acanathastrea, trick is learning which of those 5 tend to be the more expensive and how to identify them.
General rule is the more colorful the more expensive.

 

[ags]

Location can play a large role in price. The best LFS in my area is pretty far from me but has great price. A decent LFS a mile from me is in the heart of high rent district. Same livestock is 2 and 3x the price.
Then you have the different varities of corals (as mentioned) and the current fad coral. Super colored zoos used to be astronomically priced now $10 frags are the norm. Then it was micromussa, acans, etc. I remember when certain acan varieties were going for $100+ per head. Now a medium sized rock is $60.

 

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by Ags
Location can play a large role in price. The best LFS in my area is pretty far from me but has great price. A decent LFS a mile from me is in the heart of high rent district. Same livestock is 2 and 3x the price.
Then you have the different varities of corals (as mentioned) and the current fad coral. Super colored zoos used to be astronomically priced now $10 frags are the norm. Then it was micromussa, acans, etc. I remember when certain acan varieties were going for $100+ per head. Now a medium sized rock is $60.
Where in Tampa are you going? Marine Warehouse??

 

[maxalmon]

Originally Posted by Ags
Location can play a large role in price. The best LFS in my area is pretty far from me but has great price. A decent LFS a mile from me is in the heart of high rent district. Same livestock is 2 and 3x the price.
Then you have the different varities of corals (as mentioned) and the current fad coral. Super colored zoos used to be astronomically priced now $10 frags are the norm. Then it was micromussa, acans, etc. I remember when certain acan varieties were going for $100+ per head. Now a medium sized rock is $60.

right place - right time

 

[ags]

Where in Tampa are you going? Marine Warehouse??
Rarely. I buy water from them but that is about it. I look over the bargain bin from time to time as well. Finz, aka Creative Oceans, is who I was talking about. Decent enough people but their prices are through the roof. Sitting on Dale Mabry in S. Tampa does help either.
Fish & Other Itchy Stuff is hands down the best IMO. I also buy from a couple of independent sellers who ship out of their homes but allow locals to buy right out of the tank.

 

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by Ags
Rarely. I buy water from them but that is about it. I look over the bargain bin from time to time as well. Finz, aka Creative Oceans, is who I was talking about. Decent enough people but their prices are through the roof. Sitting on Dale Mabry in S. Tampa does help either.
Fish & Other Itchy Stuff is hands down the best IMO. I also buy from a couple of independent sellers who ship out of their homes but allow locals to buy right out of the tank.
Thanks, I'll have to check those out.