Is the Chalice Craze Finally Over?

[Sikryd]

A slowdown would be nice, but only will happen when people aren't paying in the four digits for colonies - either vendors, or customers.
I got suckered into it once, too though. I bought a colony for $600, that looked pretty good, keeping in mind that I should be able to make a few bucks back on it. I am not in love with it though, at least right now. I wish I wouldn't have bought it now - regardless of whether I can make some of the money back. Live and learn...
That is the one and only piece I regret buying....so that isn't bad (out of 400+....doh that is alot!)

 

[underwaterfirefighter]

+1
Well said Sikryd! We don't quite have a collection like what you have described. But with the help of fellow R2R members we are getting there by purchasing some reasonably priced frags. When they grow out we'll prbably trade some frags, give some away, and like you say just enjoy the hobby:wink:

Dave and Lisa

 

[Rukis]

Not until after I get frags of Mia's and Jendub's please~

JPOG is sick, I got a frag from SCFM earlier this year! it has 5 heads now and the colors are bright.

 

[Sikryd]

+1
Well said Sikryd! We don't quite have a collection like what you have described. But with the help of fellow R2R members we are getting there by purchasing some reasonably priced frags. When they grow out we'll prbably trade some frags, give some away, and like you say just enjoy the hobby:wink:

Dave and Lisa

If I had 400 chalices I would be living in a cardboard box! That is ~ how many frags I have total from a full mixed reef.

 

[Acronuts]

Well guys I TRUELY believe that if we are buying corals to frag and sell then we should just be reef store owners. For some the hobby turns into a dream ownership, which is fine. But most of us bought our corals for the sake of having these gorgeous pieces in our reef tanks.
Sure it sounds nice to have a frag tank. Give some away, sell some to your lfs even better, but the true sense of an aquarists IMO is to have a small piece of the ocean and watch it grow. All of your hard work and intense hours of labor should be measured by what your tank looks like after a couple of years.
It sounds as though we are no better than what happened in the real estate and mortgage and other sectors of the economy. Drive prices up and up then watch it come crashing down. I guess as with everything the law of supply and demand fits here as well.
Sorry guys I am not harping or angry at anyone just stating that the reason why we got into the hobby has been lost.

 

[Reef Goddess]

You also have to take into account that a lot more Bubblegum Monster and Watermelon type chalices are coming in through the wholesalers than before, making them more common. I think the Flame Thrower and other rare ones will hold their premium price.

 

[marcus50]

Judging by the recent posts on Reef2Reef over the last few days asking for several hundreds of dollars a pop for chalice frags, I'd say that nothing has died down. I actually really like the brilliant chalice frags, but I can't justify spending that kind of cash on something that's the size of a pea. I bet if it were a faster growing coral, the price would drop a bit. Right now, it takes so long to grow the frags out that people feel really "attached" to 'em knowing the long process involved. I'm hoping the prices will drop soon as they did with acans last year. I remember when some acans were going for $50-$60 per head and now can be found for $10-$30 per head. It would sure be nice to see a pink watermelon/bazooka joe chalice frag for $50-$100 instead of this $200-$400 stuff. Wishful thinking??

 

[FaviaFreak]

Whats funny is I added a few "cookers" to the display today

I'm gonna do the same today as well :tongue:

 

[meisen]

Personally I think its like any other thing that people collect (stamps, cars, coins, fossils, girlfriends jk etc etc etc) and it will eventually get oversaturated and/or old to a lot of folks. My advice would be to buy what you like at a price you can afford. Dont buy as an "investment" but something that you truly want in your tank. Frankly its sad to see folks selling off a "rare" chalice collection so they can pay for school, rent or other needs. Personally I have sold off or fragged down several of my chalice colonies cheaply because I got bored with them. Or they never achieved their potential for me. But I certainly didnt lose money on them since I bought nice stuff initially. But I'll keep buying and trying new ones that I like for a long time yet especially with all this nutso Australian stuff coming in.

FWIW, I got my first true "chalice" (echinomorpha, oxypora, echinophyllia) before they were coming into the hobby in any significant numbers. Every once in a while they would come in as "cup corals". We ordered a lot of grey turbinarias and mycediums over the years to get those first few chalices . But they were worth it!

 

[Wycombes]

The chalices that are fetching the premium prices have such vivid colors that I think the craze will continue.

 

[acronautical]

Not that my tank is perfect; it is not. However, the idea that I have for my 150 is for it to represent something resembling an Indo-Pacific patch-reef. Granted, I do not know the exact island, depth, or region of the Pacific my corals came from. However, I do know that I have never seen any depiction of a biotope that consists of twenty-five different color morphs of echinophyllia, mycedium, or oxypora. I have picked up several nice chalices over the years for inclusion with my little "pseudo" Pacific biotope, but just enough for a balance between my predominant SPS and some LPS. Just my humble thoughts...

 

[dustponds10]

It has probably been said already but I hope that it is coming to an end because I want to stock my tank with some killer chalices. Either way I will probably still stock it with nice chalices.

 

[FaviaFreak]

well I stopped into Unique Corals yesterday to see Vince and I gotta tell you they have a ton of sweet chalice's, needless to say it got me right back on the bandwagon after seeing a few of their killer pieces, I just can't shake em

 

[jerryc]

I thank the cheaper price on the nicer ones is just the economy. Everyone or most
everyone is cutting back on everything. Not me so far but i can see it comeing
if commercial building dont start to pick up.