Are acros the latest fad?

[gar732]

I realize acros have been around for some time and have been the focus of many tanks including mine but it just seems like every new sps that is introduced has a price tag of $100 or more for a 1/2"-1" frag. I remember just a couple of years ago seeing some really great looking pieces for affordable prices. I remember reading conversations about the chalice craze and sps keepers saying, "let them charge what they want for them as long as my sticks are still affordable". I don't know maybe it's just me, what do you think?

 

[Rockadile]

I think the fads kind of go from one to the other and back again

 

[Ace25]

Before the chalice fad there was an acro fad. ORA was releasing a new SPS coral every other month it seemed, and they were typically around $100 a frag for the hot new ones. I paid $100 for my red planet and $150 for my Oregon Tort. Then ORA stopped releasing so many new ones and the fad shifted to chalices.

Before Acros it was the Acan fad where they were going for $50 a head for common ones. There has always been an underlying zoa and mushroom fad due to the vast amount of color variety they come in, but rarely do you see them go for over $100, but even $100 for 1 polyp of a zoa or mushroom is insane in my book. I have seen chalices go for thousands and acros for many hundreds for small frags in the peak of their fads. You still see a few high ends like the red dragon acro or the my miami chalice going for big bucks but there is quite a large variety of "scientific named" SPS corals, like from Steve Garrett for very reasonable prices.

 

[dsmhero]

It seems to me that everything occurs in cycles. IMO acro's in general will always be popular because of the skill level required to keep them and their colors. Granted, yes there are booms of certain "high end" corals that keep prices high but overall everything will come back around.

 

[saltwaternoob]

I agree with the above posts, however there are still very nice acros to be had at decent prices.

 

[jonbar1]

I wouldn't worry...designer clownfish and nems are gonna take over soon enough.

I just hope blastos don't become the must have corals before I finish my collection...

 

[pumarjr]

I have never understood the pricing, I mean, when I see some of these corals they are super nice. very colorful, and exciting, but why are the prices so high? It's bad when we segregate ourselves even in this community with different social classes. some people on here may love a certain coral, but how could one afford a coral chip at $400 and up? Try no to laugh to hard please.

 

[-Logzor]

We could potentially be confusing fad with the fact that there a bunch of new morphs I have never seen come into the market. That's not really a fad that's just means all this new stuff is going to command higher prices because we're a huge group of people that are addicted to collecting new corals.

Think if they opened up a few vaults somewhere with never seen before stamps, all the stamp crazies would be going nuts all over that and the prices would most definitely be jacked up. I don't think this is a fad.

 

[mainereefer]

for me acros were big about 5 years ago then I went to acans. now I have a high end mix of everything from palu nepthia- mummy eye,tyree chalices-rdpe palys- red dragon acro.........

I sell alot so I always keep a tank of the less expensive corals because they sell best (kenya tree,toadstool,shrooms,xiena....)

 

[chort55]

I definitely don't think acro's are the latest "fad", it still seems to be chalice world. I can hardly find a sweet acro anywhere it seems (even looking around online selection wasn't that great IMO), which led me to just grabbing the whole colony when I had a chance for my new granulosa

 

[MattL22]

The nice sps is out there gotta look Into vendors that specialize in it ! Wet thumb frag, rocky mountain frags, battle corals etc...

Acros will always be the cadillac of reefing world IMO there is nothing like a full blown sps reef the first time I saw one in person I was in awe totally blown away! There will always be your stick heads but I don't think it will be a fad for the simple reason that it takes a big commitment to grow them everything needs too be perfect !

 

[mgdmirage]

Acros and other SPS are still my favorite by far followed only by acans and then zoanthids.