Most Overrated and Underrated "CORALS!"

[User1]

Where do you even get them? Most shops don’t even carry soft coral around here.

You just have to shop. Tidal gardens, KP aquatics, etc. What I've been doing if truth be told is search forums, videos, and get names. Then I just use whatever search engine and visit the stores that have what I'm looking for. There are a few hidden gems that are a bit high for frags such as the Japanese weeping willow but it is still affordable compared to much of what has been talked about in this thread.

The key is finding stuff in stock. So there is a bit of a wait unless you know someone or react in time to a email notification. But yeah - soft corals is a bit difficult. For me at least.

 

[jsvand5]

Most over-rated for me by far are any of the bounce mushrooms. They’d have been $10 corals before the internet and blue LEDs came along.

I love acros, by far my favorite coral, but some of them are over rated as well. $500 for an eraser sized piece of some of these acros is just stupid but it’s what the hobby has become I guess.

 

[erk]

Gorgonians are by far my favorite. I have 5 different photosynthetic ones in my tank and like to pick up new ones that I find interesting. Super easy to grow and not aggressive at all. Definitely an underrated coral. I really need to trim mine back a bit.

Overrated are mushrooms. They can have nice colors, but they reproduce so quickly and in less than ideal environments. I avoid them if at all possible because they can become a plague in no time.

 

[rkpetersen]

So with zoas in particular I'd say some are incredibly overrated to the point it mimics the Dutch Tulip Mania (if anyone is interested I have hundreds of Nirvanas I can sell you for the low price of $100pp lol).

The way zoas are handled in this hobby is particularly ridiculous. Took me awhile when I got back into the hobby to figure out what was actually going on with all the naming nonsense and everyone pretending that what they had was unique when that couldn't be farther from the truth; it's all about $$$, absolutely nothing more, kind of sad there are so many gullible people though, smh.

 

[MnFish1]

That's because they are under rated.

Underrated (I think) means they are less popular than they 'should be'. The problem is that the popularity is in the eye of the buyer - not the group - or? I happen to like soft corals (leathers, etc) - but - I have had 2 problems trying to keep them with SPS or LPS - so I no longer keep them.

 

[TJ Merrells]

We've all seen coral that we like or don't like, got to have it or don't want it. Some are overrated and some are underrated.

Of course most of this is a matter of opinion but there are those corals that most might consider to be overrated or underrated for various reasons. Could be because the coral does or does not look good in photos, could be because the price is too cheap or too outrageous, could be be because of how slow or fast it grows, etc.

Taking these things into consideration what coral would you consider to be overrated or underrated? Could be a named piece or a whole type of coral.

Most overrated coral?
Most underrated coral?

Photo for interest.....

I love zoas but I think they are very over rated in terms of pricing. They grow very quickly and people still charge quite a bit per polyp. At least that's the case where I'm from in Canada

 

[jasonrusso]

I fall into the underrated category. Under white lighting from 5 feet away I think some of the cheaper classic corals are as breathtaking as the much higher priced collectibles. A simple brightly colored staghorn (think green slimer) and monti caps stick out from across a room much more than these designer corals, imo. If your goal is to run blue lighting and take wonderful macro shots the pricey corals may be what you want. If you want a tank that looks great when you admire it from a distance, feel free to stick with the basics.

You want to get BASIC? Everyone that sees my tank admires my pulsing Xenia, which was free!! It's so full, moves by itself, and sways in the flow.

My Mom loves my green venus fly trap plays (also free) because the color pops.

 

[saltyhog]

Over rated...anything bounce (as I duck to avoid the thrown objects)

Under rated....neon green sinularia, green slimer....really beautiful in person, frog spawn

I don't think WD acro is over rated. It is stunning in person and the price has dropped a lot recently.

 

[Donavon]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I respect anybody’s opinion on what they like or want to put in there tank. Mostly my definition of over rated is really over priced. Way too many 200 dollar frags on the market. If I really had to pick the most overrated coral, I’d go with Bounce Mushrooms. I think some look stunningly beautiful, but i would rather have colorful mushrooms without the bubbles and the price tag.
A lot of under rated coral too, I have to say I will probably always have a cabbage coral in any tank I set up. There is no challenge to keeping them, and no jaw dropping colrors, however for me they add a texture to the reef that no other coral has. I like a big softball sized or (bigger) cabbage coral, with a nice spot on the sandbed all to itself

 

[Gareth elliott]

I do not really have an overated coral list, there are corals outside what i am willing to pay, and i dont really keep zoas.

Underated, Corky finger

Doesnt spread like xenia or kenya tree, sure it could if left unattended for a very long time but so could any coral. But still offers that movemnet that is missing in a lot of hard corals.

Tiny 1.5 inch frag after 3 years.

 

[KingJason]

The only thing I would say is overrated now IMO are the bounces. I just don’t get it. Maybe I’ll come around...

I don’t mind spending money on things I like. To me, there is value in the look of the corals and I think it’s fun to collect different corals and watch what people are finding and growing. For me half of the name game is a simple way to categorize things. It helps identify things and it’s great to see how they look in different tanks and to compare notes. I don’t think that’s overrated.

I’m glad there is a high end coral market. If not, many vendors wouldn’t be able to stay in business. I’m sure they’d have to sell a heck of a lot of $20-30 frags to keep the doors open. The higher end business allows the better vendors to invest in quality facilities, procedures and staff that we as crazy aquarists demand.

I’ve purchased from almost all the higher end vendors and I get a quality (usually super cool looking) product with quality service and I’m almost always impressed. I pay for that service and product and to me that’s not overrated.

 

[cbellm]

Overrated- Bounce no doubt (what ever happened to cheap ricordias that have colors)
Underrated- I will jump on the softy bandwagon, there is something beautiful about having movement in a tank I have 2 nice large gorgonias that add a lot of movement to the appearance of the tank

 

[samnaz]

Overrated. Absolutely. And here's why...

Of all the 100+ various corals I have purchased, my all time favorite by far, was one that came as a live rock hitchhiker. A coral I have never seen available for sale online, and have only seen/heard of from others a few times, despite how common it is in the Caribbean and various tropical reefs...

Phyllangia americana aka "hidden cup coral"

 

[Syed123]

In the hobby it seems that some people only care about hard to keep corals, expensive corals or hyped corals. Idk I guess it's like collectable trading cards or marbles?

Anyways overrated are acroporas. They are imo the most consistently overrated coral.

Most underrated are any cheap soft corals that are considered weeds like Xenia or gsp. They just aren't as appreciated as they should be. They have pretty nice attributes like the pulsing of the Xenia or the neon green of gsp.
I am planning on getting a few frags of acropora to add diversity to my tank. They have their own uniqueness I can appreciate.

 

[DaneGer21]

Definitely overrated.

For people starting fresh what a major turn off. I remember when I started and how much coral I could buy for $300-$400. Now that’s like HALF a frag lol.

Stop paying those prices people!!!

 

[Dawn Dababneh]

I know I’m not going to make any friends with this post but generally speaking....

Most overrated - acros and bounce mushrooms

Most underrated - leathers and gorgonians

Edit: I guess I was wrong lol

Totally agree

 

[the new reef kid]

#make elegance corals popular again

 

[RtomKinMad]

Maybe it’s because I just started trying SPS on my LPS and softie tank but I think leathers and star polyps are underrated. And some SPS over rated. SPS is hard to grow, expensive and some don’t move in the flow. I paid 30$ 3.5 yrs ago for this leather and it is huge, beautiful home to my clowns and catches everyone’s eye. The star polyps are easy, can’t kill them, pretty green, have good movement, grow fast (I know weeds) but I lov them and they were like 10$! I must be the only crazy one who likes star polyps-right! Lol
The SPS in my picture I paid 75$ each and the gorgonia 30$. Trying not to kill the SPS but forgot to change carbon and the purple SPS took a hit. The green one did not.
Two years ago we went on vacation and our house sitter overfed and we lost about 75% of the color all hammers, frogspawn and zoas but not the star polyps or the large leathers. Hardy corals are good for those of us who are busy and travel frequently.

 

[RtomKinMad]

You want to get BASIC? Everyone that sees my tank admires my pulsing Xenia, which was free!! It's so full, moves by itself, and sways in the flow.

My Mom loves my green venus fly trap plays (also free) because the color pops.

Please Post picture! Lov Xenia too!

 

[Claus84]

You want to get BASIC? Everyone that sees my tank admires my pulsing Xenia, which was free!! It's so full, moves by itself, and sways in the flow.

My Mom loves my green venus fly trap plays (also free) because the color pops.

Haha my Xenia was free too and now covers half my tank! The movement its pulsing adds to the tank is great, even if it does have a tendency to get out of hand