SPS colonies or small frags?

Waters · Oct 12, 2023

Just curious.....how many of you, if given the opportunity, would pay more for larger baseball sized SPS colonies over smaller frags? Would you rather pay less and watch a small frag grow, or would you pay more for the immediate impact of a larger, more established colony?

Bob Weigant · Oct 12, 2023

Personally I liked a mixture of both

Charlie the Reefer · Oct 12, 2023

Interesting discussion. At this point (still amateurish) I see the merit of both but definitely will pay up for mini colonies.

There’s a limit though. I don’t want anything that’s overgrown a tile let’s say but a fully encrusted frag with multiple branches (mini colonies by some standards) is like the sweet spot. It’s not so big to where it’s adapted to a specific environment and will be succeptible to shock or a new system. But it’s not so small to where it will just die for no reason..

Another aspect, I really have appreciated the growth differential of one year between a mini colony and a small nub. There’s a compounding effect in SPS growth where you will see a LOT more quicker with decent sized frags, cause sheer math (% compounding).

Long story short.. yes I would pay more! To a certain extent!

PizzaIan339 · Oct 12, 2023

Frag because I do not want to run out of room to fast

Matt1997 · Oct 12, 2023

Will always buy a fairly priced colony over a frag

Reefkeepers Archive · Oct 12, 2023

Colony! I only buy wild caught coral so I don't usually have the option of a frag, though I'd take a colony over frag any day

Troylee · Oct 12, 2023

Colony..

Waters · Oct 12, 2023

Charlie the Reefer said:
Interesting discussion. At this point (still amateurish) I see the merit of both but definitely will pay up for mini colonies.

There’s a limit though. I don’t want anything that’s overgrown a tile let’s say but a fully encrusted frag with multiple branches (mini colonies by some standards) is like the sweet spot. It’s not so big to where it’s adapted to a specific environment and will be succeptible to shock or a new system. But it’s not so small to where it will just die for no reason..

Another aspect, I really have appreciated the growth differential of one year between a mini colony and a small nub. There’s a compounding effect in SPS growth where you will see a LOT more quicker with decent sized frags, cause sheer math (% compounding).

Long story short.. yes I would pay more! To a certain extent!

That brings up a second question.....how would you determine the value of a larger colony? Can't really take the frag price and multiple it out otherwise some of the colonies would end up costing more than the entire tank lol.

trmiv · Oct 12, 2023

Depends where I’m putting it. If it’s already got a bunch of space a small colony is great. Otherwise a chunky frag that I can let naturally grow into the space I have is preferable.

spsick · Oct 12, 2023

Are we talking online or local? In general frags ship and adapt better than colonies but not if they’re booger sized. Here’s some frags I cut the other day but most online sellers would call these mother colonies.

Charlie the Reefer · Oct 12, 2023

Another aspect for me though… To me it’s two very separate things having an SPS tank you grew out from frags,vs buying colonies and chucking them all in. There’s a much higher level of satisfaction for me personally seeing frags grow!

It just comes to success rate for me. I’ve noticed I have a lot worse success with nubs vs mini colonies/encrusted frags.

I also really understand now why people like WYSIWYG

bakbay · Oct 12, 2023

When I first started out with SPS, I wanted "instant gratification" by getting colonies! I got 2 mini colonies but quickly realized that these guys grew too fast! If I have to do this all over again, I will get encrusted 1-2" frags, healthy and can enjoy watching them grow.

doubleshot00 · Oct 12, 2023

I bought huge chunks from local reefers that are doing great. But recently bought 2 very large frags from a well known dealer on here and they rtn’ed within a few days of adding. I would prefer larger frags.

Moral is i lost out on a lot of money thinking im getting more.

Robs Reef · Oct 12, 2023

More satisfaction watching a frag grow to mature colonies. No matter the tank size, once the frags start growing you will run out of room in no time in a matter of several years. And you will come to a hard decision to cut them all back or do a major reboot.

Digimes · Oct 12, 2023

For me, it's cost vs want.

Waters · Oct 12, 2023

spsick said:
Are we talking online or local? In general frags ship and adapt better than colonies but not if they’re booger sized. Here’s some frags I cut the other day but most online sellers would call these mother colonies.

Yeah those are good sized....as far as local or online, probably more local than anything.