armageddons. would you...?

CSJIII · Feb 8, 2011

I have a 3 polyp frag that has been on the plug for a few months. I fragged 1 polyp and has grown into 3. If interested, i can post pictures. They are true Armageddon palys that i got from Dream Coral.

MarvinsReef · Feb 8, 2011

Nanofins said:
That's a nice thought, and often a justification for buying expensive corals, but in the case of Armageddons, you really can't count on that. You've got a less than 50/50 chance of growing out that single polyp to the point of being able to frag it and sell some and still keep the rest of yours alive for yourself. If you were able to grow them out and get yourself a backup and then sell some, then sure, they would hold some resale value for sure, but that's a bit of an if.

I've been trying to grow Armageddons for the past 5 or 6 years. each frag I get, no matter if I get 2-10 polyps, they do good for a bit and even start growing then they slowly wither away. the last ones I tried was that mini colony. it was so devastating watching them wither away 2-3 polyps every few days. everything else in the tank is fine besides them. that doesn't mean, I won't try them again. LoL

Stray32 · Feb 8, 2011

MarvinsReef said:
I've been trying to grow Armageddons for the past 5 or 6 years. each frag I get, no matter if I get 2-10 polyps, they do good for a bit and even start growing then they slowly wither away. the last ones I tried was that mini colony. it was so devastating watching them wither away 2-3 polyps every few days. everything else in the tank is fine besides them. that doesn't mean, I won't try them again. LoL

I suppose we need to consider the fact that these are still available, which means one of two things:

1. They are still coming in on shipments, which I highly doubt because they would be advertised tirelessly by the retailer, I would think.
2. Someone or multiple people have been able to maintain a viable colony/frag/single polyp for all of these years. I think this is more likely, and probably even more likely that a large colony does not exist, and that the fragging and resale of these over the years has scattered them and the sale of single polyps has continued. I know that the guy that I bought from, everyone that I fragged a polyp for, and of course myself... don't have any left.

gioNVA · Feb 8, 2011

Nanofins said:
That's a nice thought, and often a justification for buying expensive corals, but in the case of Armageddons, you really can't count on that. You've got a less than 50/50 chance of growing out that single polyp to the point of being able to frag it and sell some and still keep the rest of yours alive for yourself. If you were able to grow them out and get yourself a backup and then sell some, then sure, they would hold some resale value for sure, but that's a bit of an if.

Oh I didn't mean it that way. I didn't say to frag the Armageddons but instead frag other corals to fund the purchase. I had a nice size colony of Armageddons that started to melt the moment I disturbed it for fragging.

slkotara · Feb 8, 2011

I would spend 100.00 pp if its a pp that you want for your collection. The key word is WANT in this hobby everything you get for your tank is a personal preference so if you have a problem with a 100.00 pp pass it by or wait until someone grows 100's of them and then they sell them for 20.00 pp.

reefpeeper · Feb 8, 2011

do u gamble? if so buy it.

kellyjn · Feb 8, 2011

No way.

I wouldn't buy a car that is known to start half the time.

Nor would I buy a heater or light for my tank, knowing either might only work half the time, and if it did work, it wouldn't be working for long.

If I did buy a car or heater or light and it didn't work properly, I would call it "junk". Wouldn't matter one bit to me how nice it looks. Junk is junk. This polyp would fall into that category IMO.

Nanofins · Feb 8, 2011

Oh I didn't mean it that way. I didn't say to frag the Armageddons but instead frag other corals to fund the purchase. I had a nice size colony of Armageddons that started to melt the moment I disturbed it for fragging.

Ah, gotcha...much more sensible. That's what I've been doing for years; only way I could afford all this horrible, unending new eye candy. In that sense, it is less of a risk of hard-earned money (depending on how you define that), though it's also money that could be spent on a more reliable coral. Still, every time I see those polyps, I just can't say no. I was in love with my Armageddons while I had them. I fed them a few times a week by hand and babied the heck out of them. They went from 2 polyps to 6 in just a couple months, then slowed, then melted over the course of a month. Such a bummer.

I just have this feeling that there must be some trigger that we're missing. There's no reason a polyp should thrive and grow and be huge and beautiful and then crash. I also wonder, not just with Armageddons, whether senescence isn't a factor. Do individual polyps have a lifespan? We sort of just figure a mat will keep growing and spreading and give no thought to the original (oldest) polyps and whether we should expect a die-off at some point. Are palythoas immortal or do they in fact have a limited lifespan, and if so, does that longevity vary between species/varieties and can that explain some of these sudden, mysterious die-offs? I don't know that's what we are seeing with Armageddons, because then why are the new polyps dying off, although it may be the clone condition, whereby all new polyps are being grown off of an old polyp with old DNA. Who knows.

RonMidtownStomp · Feb 8, 2011

kellyjn said:
I wouldn't buy a car that is known to start half the time.

But I'd imagine that you can respect that some people have cars that are a hobby? My father and I "restored" a '72 Triumph Spitfire. They're notorious for starting less than half of the time. I have one of the best cars ever made, but I love the Spitfire, too.