A Hardy, Fast Growing, Pretty & Inexpensive Coral...Does it exist?

[old salt reefer]

My vote-purple stylo-paid $10.00-1 year growth

 

[GoReefin]

Blue waving hand coral. Grows like a weed and looks awesome.

 

[saltyhog]

Agree with Green Slimer. Intense color, inexpensive and grows very fast....much faster than any of my euphyllia or duncans.

 

[hhaase]

Agree with Green Slimer. Intense color, inexpensive and grows very fast....much faster than any of my euphyllia or duncans.

After spending a few years away from having a tank, I'm still trying to wrap my head around green slimers being considered common, easy, and cheap.

 

[ADAM]

Dont forget Kenya tree.... grows too fast in most cases!

 

[theocorals537]

Me. Where are you located?

Messaged u

 

[LRT]

Jason Fox Minecraft.
By far the best bang for my buck shroom in my garden. Not a $10 piece by any means but for $99 in a world of other named shrooms ranging from 0-$1000 or more, it does make most other much more expensive shrooms look average at best.
Super hardy shroom and will grow in most any conditions just needs stability like any other coral to thrive

 

[Conrad Noto]

Wow, a lot of that is relative. What is cheap? Pretty? Fast growth? I do coral from $5 dollar bargin bin to about 150.00, on rare occasion (like last year year 750.00 on Carpet Nem) I will buy something more expensive. Expensive coral tends to get killed by my angelfish so I try to avoid the loss as funds are tight. Pretty is in the3 eye of beholder and as for growth. I know a few people whos sticks come out of the water every few months and others who's don't grow. I can't grow GPS, angels eat it, but that grows/spreads fast. Pretty is a personal like, growth can depend on tank, light, species. Cheap depends on what you consider cheap. I have a friend in FT. Lauderdale who has a 100 million dollar yacht and a 1200 gal reef he has spent over a million dollars on. I'm sure a 900.00 dollar coral is cheap to him, but that my monthly budget lol.

 

[stanleo]

I have to agree about GSP. It does get a bad rap for invasiveness but I love how it gets dynamic. And I don't think it's possible to kill it.

But my green hairy mushroom went from 3 heads to 20 in a year and I love how it moves in the current. I have to start taking some of it out and I don't think it is too expensive for the average reefer.

 

[stanleo]

Montipora digitata.
Monti cap.
Green slimer.
Birds nest.
Stylophora.
Duncans.
Rasta zoas.
GSP.
All pretty basic and common, but still very nice and all have different colors and growth patterns in the tank.

My birdsnest grows but not as fast everything else in the tank. Have to agree about monti cap. I have a red and a purple that is taking over their side of the tank.

 

[GeoSquid]

I love Softies! I have a couple SPS but whenever someone new see's the tank they pick out the softies first. Any coral that is labeled invasive is the one I want!

 

[Alexopora]

Where I am from, GSP and Xenia can actually be more expensive than acros and montis. So personally I would still include GSP and Xenia but would also add Discosomas, Rhodactis and Montis. Monti caps and digitata are almost always cheap for me unless if you get big colonies. The frags however stay relatively cheap due to their hardiness and growth speed.

 

[Gogol_frag]

Jason Fox Minecraft.
By far the best bang for my buck shroom in my garden. Not a $10 piece by any means but for $99 in a world of other named shrooms ranging from 0-$1000 or more, it does make most other much more expensive shrooms look average at best.
Super hardy shroom and will grow in most any conditions just needs stability like any other coral to thrive

Beautiful shrooms!

 

[andiesreef]

no-name zoas and duncans are my picks!

 

[saltyhog]

After spending a few years away from having a tank, I'm still trying to wrap my head around green slimers being considered common, easy, and cheap.

Green with Peach Tips Acropora robusta

Neon Green Slimer

www.reefgardener.com

Green Bali Slimer Coral – Cultivated Reef

cultivatedreef.com

Bali Green Slimer Acropora

The Bali Green Slimer (Acropora yongei) is a long time favorite of reef aquarists. Its bright green color makes it very eye catching and appealing in the SPS dominant reef. Frags of this coral will be 1"+.

www.tidalgardens.com

Several of the old standbys are very inexpensive and available. As far as easy, that's my own experience. By far the easiest SPS I've kept....even more so than montis. This colony is mine that originated as a 2.5" unbranched piece that I mounted horizontally. That was about 10 months ago. It is the sole hard coral survivor of a horrible ostreopsis dinoflagellate problem.

 

[Idoc]

Oh, they exist in plentiful quantities....but then online coral sellers see they are wanted and jack the prices up ridiculously!

I'm amazed that people put up with the prices for coral...especially on a commodity that regrows itself and can be unlimited in quantity over time!

 

[vlangel]

A lot of softies and LPS are hardy and fast growing as long as they get enough nutrients.

 

[reefinatl]

That is quite reassuring reefinatl. Thanks!! I have picked up this blasto, a bunch of favias, 2 pavonas and 1 pocillopora to test waters (literally). They are all "supposed to be relatively hardy". Some of them, especially favias, are slowish growers. Hence picked the Balsto from my recent shopping, for this poll question

Favias are amongst my favorite. I've always liked favias, favites, maze brains and the rest but nowadays with the small frags being norm I'm not planning to really keep many. They grow way to slow for me. 10 years ago I remember getting 6"x6" chunks for what a 1-2" frag tends to sell for now.

 

[reefinatl]

After spending a few years away from having a tank, I'm still trying to wrap my head around green slimers being considered common, easy, and cheap.

You really must've been gone a while I remember them being on the lower end for SPS a decade ago. Not monticap affordable but pretty cheap. The best part about the old stuff is it still looks good as it did then and prices have done nothing but come down.

 

[Gogol_frag]

Favias are amongst my favorite. I've always liked favias, favites, maze brains and the rest but nowadays with the small frags being norm I'm not planning to really keep many. They grow way to slow for me. 10 years ago I remember getting 6"x6" chunks for what a 1-2" frag tends to sell for now.

Ditto. My memory's the same, from back in the days (2008-2011). You could get a brain-colony for $45, which at the time felt expensive to me, since I had just made the switch from Freshwater. The more things change, the more they stay the same