Rant: State of the Hobby

[Cell]

Several people on my local forum give chaeto away weekly. Maybe try your local clubs outside of facebook.

 

[rfgonzo]

Orange juice is a commmodity and look how much Billy Ray Valentine made back in 1983.
I'm now going to corner the market with Chaeto......

 

[S2G]

I couldn't find any local, but I found someone on here that'll ship slightly under a basketball for $25.

Several states away that much for $25 is pretty good imo. I use to and still would give away chaeto, xenia, gsp, etc.

I really dont know what happened. People use to be a lot more generous. I've seen people throw out coral & chaeto after they didn't get asking price.

 

[Humblefish]

I really dont know what happened. People use to be a lot more generous. I've seen people throw out coral & chaeto after they didn't get asking price.

The strange thing is people are usually more generous when the economy is bad vs. upswing like it is right now. On one hand, I suppose people have more sympathy for one another during a bad economy. On the other, getting some cash for chaeto should matter more during a downward trend.

I've never charged a penny for chaeto, Xenia, GSP and other weed corals. I even give away BTA clones when the mother splits. It all comes back on you (good or bad) in the end.

 

[Sea Witch]

Let it be said ...I went on the record a year ago saying soon we'd be paying for "designer chaeto"... Greedy people are just slapping a chunk of fun out of our hobby

 

[hyeclass]

Almost every day I am trimming chaeto and throwing away

 

[ScottR]

Chaeto should be free. It basically becomes garbage anyway. I can see if someone is operating a business. But a fellow reefer, no.

 

[Auquanut]

It all comes back on you (good or bad) in the end.

Truer words have never been spoken my friend!

 

[McPuff]

People need to stop throwing away corals! You can dry it out and use it as calcium reactor media instead. :0) Seriously, I have started to do this with certain corals that I have too much of and can't really sell, even for cheap.

I do agree that giving away certain things like chaeto and certain corals is a good thing to do... and it certainly is something I have done in the past. The problem is that it's way too hard to weed through all the messages and trying to figure out when someone can come pick it up and can I deliver the free stuff (NO!). So usually it's easier to charge a nominal fee for corals and just throw out the chaeto because otherwise it becomes a headache.

 

[79chopperdr]

the other side of this coin is;

Sometimes I prefer to give away chaeto, simple corals, dated equipment. I've posted them in my local groups, I've been badgered and berated over what place in line a would be claimer thought they should be. Or folks will insist you deliver the item or work around their schedule to pick it up.

I believe the moral of the story is to keep your reefing family tight, I have a few that i will bend over backwards for and they are reciprocal. It's sad it has come to that but it's similar in many aspects of life outside the hobby.

New hobbyists, be humble and gracious, most of us want to share our enjoyment of the hobby and the spoils of our skills. At least you learn something at most you get pulled into a reef family.

 

[Oldsalt]

It's illegal to import or export Chaetomorpha here in Australia. But there was a guy in Eastern Australia (running an aquarium shop) selling it on ebay and posting it via regular Australia post in order to purposely avoid Australian customs and quarantine inspections. The Chaeto would arrive as a few dead, stinky strands many days later. He got reported by quite a number of people and it nearly ruined his entire aquarium business due to the fines imposed. That was over a year ago and his eBay ad disappeared. I was browsing ebay yesterday and I noticed the same exact ad again. Maybe this idiot likes to gamble.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I just bought Chaeto from RUSALTY (online). 1/2 cup for $19.95 (includes shipping). Looks very clean and healthy. I'm happy with it!

 

[S2G]

1/2 a stinking cup for $20?!

 

[S2G]

lol some of y'all are better than me.

I'm like free chaeto. Pickup only if not picked up by xxxx it's going in the trash.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Weekend auctions with kenyii tree frags for $15
You can have all you want from me free and this is the purple stuff !!

 

[tehmadreefer]

I just bought Chaeto from RUSALTY (online). 1/2 cup for $19.95 (includes shipping). Looks very clean and healthy. I'm happy with it!

lol
this is exactly what’s wrong with the hobby!

 

[C_mo97]

I wouldn’t buy chaeto from other hobbiest. You will get any and all of the pests they have in there tank. Maybe if you get it for free you might consider it but definitely quarantine it first and try to get all the pests out, then put it in your tank.

IMO I’d rather get clean chaeto from algae barn though.

 

[fish farmer]

lol some of y'all are better than me.

I'm like free chaeto. Pickup only if not picked up by xxxx it's going in the trash.

IF you can find it for free. I don't have a network of local reefers anymore. At the LFS it goes for cash. I bought a bag on Ebay for $15. I do the same for everything else in this hobby, pretty much buy online.

 

[MichaelReefer]

I DIY'd a fuge last weekend and then went about finding some Cheato. I hit up my local Facebook Group and got two quick responses. To my surprise, Cheato is now a commodity, at least in my local area... and by the prices they wanted a rare commodity. I used to give the stuff away or throw it down the drain! This hobby has gone insane!

Really? Where I live you can buy a baseball size piece of Cheato for five bucks at the LFS. This is my External DIY Refugium. Have a line with a gate valve coming off my return pump which feeds water into refugium and then it overflows down a tube going back to the return pump. It's super packed under my Reefer 250 but I wanted a refugium. lol