The coral stock market has crashed....

[MSB123]

I really like bounces- I tend to buy low, and then just turn around and sell them on my local market for 5 or 6x the amount i bought them for (unless they are wwc og, i love those )

 

[anit77]

I ventured into the high end, or deep end... lol, on a Walt Disney frag last spring. I was at a swap and the larger pieces were selling for $150 to $200 for 1/2" ~ 3/4". The guy had a piece that must have broke off while he was fragging it. This tiny piece was the size of my pinky nail or smaller, it was $40. Today it's completely encrusted the plug and has started to extend away from it.

In general I buy what looks good to me and if it's something high end I'll wait or see if a minuscule piece shows up for a good price. I don't think I've been in this game long enough to know what is going to take off next but I have figured out that if I like it and the price is high, just wait. It will either drop or it'll become available locally from someone for a much lower price. Zoa's come to mind in this, with their crazy names and insane prices today and tomorrow it's something different. In the end I think Dansreef is right. Whatever is new and has a vibrant color will be the hot ticket. And like ca1ore said, if it's a slow grower and is harder to keep it will hold its price longer. It's the divers that hold these cards as their the ones that are going to find the next big thing.

 

[JaimeAdams]

I think that anemones are hot right now and the waiting lists are really long, so I don't see those prices dropping any time soon. Mushrooms will continue to be hot, but awhile back jaw breakers were coming down in price but over the last year they have just gone up and held there, while I think bounces have started coming down a bit. You will always have your Acro guys and your Zoa guys. Chalices and Acans (microbus) have come and gone. That being said I remember that in the early 90's Xenia was that hot coral. I think that given enough time to hobby will continue to find newer and better things.

 

[jduong916]

Pretty much all hard to keep and slow-growing acros have maintained consistent price (like gold ), not exactly what you asked, but I think thats relevant, as it provides a consistent baseline

Very true, Fox flame has started to come down quite a bit among local reefers in my area. The coral just grows to fast and is too hard to kill, people constantly frag it and just can't get $100 a piece. Currently, in my area, Fox flame goes for about $40 dollars a frag if you know where to look.

 

[4FordFamily]

I only buy cheap, hardy coral by and large. The most expensive coral I’ve ever bought (per size) was a golden hammer frag at $80...

 

[leahfiish]

Anemones, zoas, and acros are definitely in right now.

 

[10Seconds]

I have bought some cheap acros and some high dollar ones also that I swore I wouldnt when I first got into SPS. But its never been about making moneys. If I wanted to make money I would sell all my equipment and invest in stocks.

If I can see a few frags when I need to trim back, its still not a true profit and I would likely dump it back into the hobby. Unless you are putting more in the bank the your initial investment, you are also just playing in a hobby.

 

[chefjpaul]

What corals do you guys think could see some popularity increasing soon?

I've been seeing some hot looking favia recently, encrusting montis?
As long its not the color coral from fashion 2017 trend we will be good to go, Im actually waiting on a coral color coral named coral.

 

[wattson]

all corals come from the ocean in one way or another,,farmers to whole salers then retail vendors to the public..
Its always been this way and will never change,,its only when short supply of any given coral with some new eye appeal is where we start voting with our wallets..
Its getting too common in the retail end to buy corals on a frag plug verses colonies on natural rock,,most wholesalers get shipments of corals colonies on natural rock (if that species grows on rock)...I am one to buy colonies of softies on rock verses frag plug pendants.
Mother nature is the only one that is making the new morphs as time goes on..

 

[prhoades2]

...

 

[patfat]

In my area of north Texas we got a few shops. Everyone of them is priced different. Last week I got these orange mushrooms for $35 (it was on sale reg was $45) (I go for the sales cheap items it’s what I can afford but it makes me happy..I can’t justify paying a premium on some of these corals honestly my opinion and I know I’m gonna get heat but I find bounce not all that eye catchy boring to me ) and it was a rock covered. Went to a different store as they had the exact same type with a rock that had 4 mushrooms asking $300. (WT*) I talked to a buddy from the shop and told him and he was like ya never buy corals from here the owner likes to over price every thing even if they are generic..and ways what I have seen lately is rock nems bubble nems and spa being the hot thing right now

 

[LatinKing]

If those remember when the first Red Hornet Zoanthid was introduce on eBay and sold for $350 for 1 polyp. Everybody wanted a Red Hornet, and even me, but not at $300 a polyp. I waited and purchase 2 polyps at $150 only a few months after introduced on eBay. The same online vendor a month later were selling them for $30 a polyp. Trust me I was very upset and contact the vendor. Hobbyists were propagating these red hornets and selling them for less. This was about 8-9 years ago. Still there're hobbyists out there that still love the red hornets and now they bring at $10-$15 a polyps. I see eventually the high-end prices will eventually come down in price.

 

[prhoades2]

Funny I was just thinking about this. I have been looking over the Rainbow Chalices available in my general area. Most are the size of the fingernail on my baby finger, and go for $350++ a frag.

What we need is a Coral Public License (CPL)tm

If all the reefers that purchase these high end frags were to give the first 2 frags away to other (competent) reefers with the understanding, that by getting the frag for free, that they will also give away the first 2 of their frags for free to other reefers. It would both help to moderate the insane prices that the coral vendors demand, and to prevent the loss of genetically unique coral specimens. Similar to what Mike Paletta has spoken about in the past (The Reefer's Code).

I worry that the ridiculous prices that vendors are charging, is putting many of the "special" specimens in the hands of those with the means (money), but not necessarily the skill, for the most unique corals to thrive and become available to all.

Dennis

So the first guy to buy it is the sucker. And you want him to give away free coral that he paid a premium for? Because he had the "money"....Sorry, that sounds like socialism in the reef hobby.

 

[jkopfishman]

I remember when u couldn't touch a single head of Bowsers zoas for under $100, now I can get a frag of 10 heads for 40 bucks

 

[Diesel]

Not sure if I should weight in the discussion.
If I do the coral market will crash even more.

 

[Newb73]

Any thing under $150 that looks healthy and or is a color i like.....even when faded is fair game.

They color up in my tank.

I only buy corals in person, never on line.

Its taken two years to get my 225g 50% stocked going coral shopping once a month with about a 10% loss rate.

 

[JimFuller]

I do not know what the next "hot" coral will be, but the chances it will be in my tanks is diffidently rare. My wife and I are not in the reef tank hobby as a business. We are in it to enjoy and have some nice tanks to enjoy. The tank are defined as multi- reef tanks with many different corals and fish. We do have a few we frag and trade with our LFS and friends, Like GSP, Montiporas, and Pulsing Xenia. It is not our purpose to make money, but we will take any assistance to our hobby, especially when we need to thin the corals to keep the tanks looking nice. We only buy what we like to enhance our tank, normal from the 20-25 dollar frags

 

[Reefing-Around]

It may be easy to buy local, but it is what everyone else does for the most part due to the cost and simplicity. I think one way to keep it interesting is to buy unusual pieces online... You will pay premium prices but a much larger selection. It all ends up getting grown and fragged but as some have already said, stick with what you like and hope the prices eventually go back up,,,, or not!!

 

[October Sky]

What corals do you guys think could see some popularity increasing soon?

Aiptasia. Wait, no, bubble algae! Scratch that, empty snail shells because of my jerk hermits.

In all honesty, anemones and clams seem to be gaining in popularity, especially rock/lower anemones. They are all so brilliant under lights, that the "new hotness" can't be known. But the moment someone gets a strange anomoly on one of those, it's through the roof.

 

[Labridaedicted]

When I was starting out, it was all about zoas and acans (I remember tubbs being the hot zoas) and the big three montis (sunset, superman, and rainbow)(also, Leng Sy cap which I forgot existed until this thread made me remember)

I'm still surprised Australamussa hasn't been more sought after. (I assume due to low collection quantities) They can have some insane color morphs, though.