Are you a coral collector or keeper?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Do you consider yourself a collector of corals or a keeper of corals?

For me I think I had more "joy" in the hobby when I went from trying to collect to just "keeping" what I had to the best of my ability.

 

[happyhourhero]

I try to be ecosystem driven. The comensal inverts and micro components, hitchhikers and things that fill certain niches are super cool to me and I would rather have a tank filled with diversity rather than a flat of tiles with a gallery of high ends corals. Nothing is wrong with that, I just prefer the whole reef experience as much as I can. I miss the days of getting a shipment of rock and just watching stuff grow off of the rocks.

 

[EricR]

"Keeper" of cheap/easy corals only (so far).
Enjoyment with minimal stress/effort is my current goal.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I think for me I'd rather be a coral keeper, just keep what I think works best for the tank.

 

[exnisstech]

Keeper here as I am happy if I can keep them alive.

 

[averagesteve]

Lately I feel like I've been a coral killer tbh.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Keeper. Collector for me indicates a nonliving thing that's essentially a trophy. Coral are living things, and because of this it feels strange to describe them as collections to me

 

[ChiCity]

i think i just “keep” good water…
the corals just happen to live in it.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I am a reef keeper and the corals are just a collection of animals that are part of an entire system.

 

[FishTruck]

Keeper / failed collector

I don't really have the "blue thumb", when I get fancy frags, the likelihood that they will survive maintain colors and grow into big colonies is inversely proportional to what they cost. So, I am happiest just fragging and spreading around the easier corals. Having lots of redundant colonies also means I have backups if a colony goes down randomly here and there.

Also, I can never remember the names of all the new fancy frags out there - which makes me a poor collector.

 

[bushdoc]

I used to collect stamps, now I am trying to keep corals.
Collecting corals seem to be though more common in reefing with lots of tanks displaying plethora of various corals, frequently very colorful , but often not exactly compatible with one another.
I am trying to defy this trend and I am in the process os setting up 30 gal Caribbean, photosynthetic gorgonian tank.

 

[exnisstech]

I think if we had more keepers than collectors the prices of frags might be more reasonable

 

[Cincyreefer513]

I am a coral keeper being pretty new to the game and just want to keep things alive and hopefully thriving.
I'm a collector in the sense that I have a list of corals I want to keep so I work on checking off that list as I can. I am not what most people consider "collectors" who have to have the rarest corals in the hobby. You won't find me paying astronomical prices for something that's ugly to me, but someone else thinks is "the one to have".

 

[Cthulukelele]

I used to collect stamps, now I am trying to keep corals.
Collecting corals seem to be though more common in reefing with lots of tanks displaying plethora of various corals, frequently very colorful , but often not exactly compatible with one another.
I am trying to defy this trend and I am in the process os setting up 30 gal Caribbean, photosynthetic gorgonian tank.

If you find a good vendor for photosynthetic gorgs let me know. I love them, and finding anything other than the standard pinkish brown weed one is hard in my area

 

[i cant think]

I only ‘collect’ dependant on species or growth pattern. I couldn’t care less about the name or fancy colours, if I like it, I take it. Or if it’s a new species to me I’ll take it. I’m currently hunting;
A. tenella
A. echinata
A. tenuis (I have one but would love more)
And a few others

So honestly, I’m a keeper. I look for the unusual but they tend to find me. I’m only truly hunting a Pink Lemonade Acropora.
None of the SPS seen in this photo were planned for, instead I had an idea I wanted SPS and boom… I gained an addiction to going to my LFS and claiming certain acros I see that I like or may have potential.

 

[StatelineReefer]

 

[DanyL]

Keeper. I do have some "premium" corals in my tank (mostly from trading), but I don't view them as "collector" pieces, but instead as any other coral I have.

I do like some corals better than others, especially finicky ones that are harder to keep because I'm attracted more to the challenge of keeping a piece rather than some fancy name or an enormous price tag collectors like to put on them.

Also, there is nothing more attractive than watching your 1mm stick growing out to an enormous, healthy looking colony. Collectors usually don't get to see them grow like that due to the constant fragging the do to recoup their investments.

 

[vlangel]

I am a coral keeper and that is with the entire ecosystem in view, as I also keep fish and cool inverts. Each one is valued both as an individual and as a part of the combined whole.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Good point! What does that look like? Something like, "I keep a mixed reef, but I collect zoanthids?"

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

If you find a good vendor for photosynthetic gorgs let me know. I love them, and finding anything other than the standard pinkish brown weed one is hard in my area

Russ @ gulf coast eosysyems. Where I got mine. Great quality and pricing.