What has happened to The reef hobby

[NoahLikesFish]

i dont pray to euphillia corals, half this stuff isnt that hard to grow or breed, when i start my 10g i am going to get 2 pairs of rare-ish fish & breed them and markdown them a bit but sell em small & make a TON of cash

 

[Cool tangs]

completely agree but with the turnover you have new people in the hobby every 6 months to pay. Thinking this is just what it costs.

Sadly your probably correct here, and that coral dies and the hobbyists moves on

 

[Badspstank]

 

[Badspstank]

 

[Badspstank]

Old pics

 

[BrandonS]

Sadly your probably correct here, and that coral dies and the hobbyists moves on

yes, unless and even if there was a required license and learning you loose some. it would also prevent people entering the hobby and I am a believer in showing people magic in a box to make it personal and make them care about it. If it's personal people are more likely to care about it. studies show at least. It is the purpose of places like this to help people be more successful. More successful people in the hobby is a plus in my book.

 

[BrandonS]

That looks awesome!
yep doing that these days would cost thousands.

 

[Badspstank]

I'm going to see can I find more pictures you know I have the gem Tang chiaoti wrasses Vietnamese angels I had a pair of cross has triggers one at one point in the tank I had a lot of a lot of fish that people say you shouldn't keep in reef tanks but I did it I had a pair of tassel file fish I had a pair of Adidas butterflies

 

[SlugSnorter]

I've been out the reef hobby for about 8 years now I used to have a 240 gallon cube and I've noticed a lot of the equipment has changed which is great for the hobby but I also notice a lot of the corals are the same with different names and crazy high I'm not sure what has happened over the last 8 to 10 years but I was considering getting back into the hobby definitely will not do it at this point.

lots of "designer" colors. A "generic" member of that species will be better priced

 

[Badspstank]

I get more of a kick now trying to educate people for one point my tank ran for years I didn't even have a skimmer but just making water changes weekly I've got to the point to where I can see my corals to know what I was lacking as far as magnesium calcium where my alkalinity was there with my pH was that it was years before I even got a calcium reactor so you don't need to have super high in equipment if you willing to put in a little bit time I believe in Hands-On not a whole bunch of equipment.

 

[sfin52]

I've been out the reef hobby for about 8 years now I used to have a 240 gallon cube and I've noticed a lot of the equipment has changed which is great for the hobby but I also notice a lot of the corals are the same with different names and crazy high I'm not sure what has happened over the last 8 to 10 years but I was considering getting back into the hobby definitely will not do it at this point.

Local trades you can get really nice stuff for a reasonable price and thats not a thumbnail frag

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

This is the rediculous greed that ticks me off

 

[1ocean]

frag trading is always a good things among reefing friends since ya have to sometime cut corals to maintain size

 

[flashsmith]

Frag swaps and reef clubs are a joke these days. At least around me. Everybody wants WWC prices for everything. At that level why would anyone buy from an unproven source vs. an LFS or online vendor. It got so bad with people hawking their stuff my local clubs have completely banned it on their pages. Every other post was a reefer selling frags for top dollar.

 

[Waynerock]

It’s a “collector” hobby now it seems. Yes there are still plenty of people in the hobby for the love of the hobby but a bunch of people got into it to make
Money. Seems like when a hobby turn into a money making “business” it starts to go down hill quickly. Heck even on here when I joined 3-4 years ago R2R seemed different. Like a bunch of hobbyist posting picts and stories and tips and helpful info and having fun together and we all were here for the love of it. and now the forum is bloated with sales and adds and people just trying to make a buck or complaining about anything. I used to use R2R as an escape, to look at the art, be inspired and talk to “weird o fish and coral people” and now it’s just so and so and their little coral business selling 1 inch frags for 100.00. I have been in the hobby for 22 years now and yes the whole thing has changed. Some for the better but seems more for the worst. It’s all about that dolla! 1k frags and 400 powerheads You can be successful without and lighting I could never afford. Used to be DIY and face to face meet up trades and us fish nerds were a tight bunch. Maybe just me complaining ( on R2R no less I must be part of the problem) but the heart and soul of the hobby is drowned out by the sound of cash registers and jingling coins.

 

[flashsmith]

99% of the population wouldn't know the difference between an indo gold holy grail whatever you want to call it or a standard flashlight torch which can be had for less than $50 alot of times. Other than color that's it. There's absolutely no reason to buy all these high end corals unless you have ego issues or just like to waste money. The non reefing person you show it off to isn't gonna care and would probably roll their eyes if you told them what you paid for that "special" piece. I can buy what I want so that's not an issue but I can think of plenty of other things that are worth wasting money on than high end coral.

 

[rtparty]

YOU can make this hobby as cheap or as expensive as YOU want. It really is up to you and your choices.

This hobby was never cheap for the majority of us but we found a way to make it work. Used equipment is plentiful these days. I can't even sell almost brand new Coral Care lights for half of retail right now.

So look around and take your time. There are great ways to have an amazing tank at 1/10 the cost

 

[Lyss]

The collector hobby comment seems about right, or at least heading there. Just be thankful these places are still retailing them b/c if they ever go the route of the auctions going on in the plant hobby then it’s over.

The auctions artificially inflate already-too-high prices. Why is any retailer gonna retail that rare plant for $300 when auctioning it off will bring in $600+? Then there are the folks who put in the high bids on purpose b/c they don’t think anyone who would pay less is worthy of having it. It’s an insane and infuriating economy.

I appreciate that if I wanted to collect, I could still buy corals at retail prices even if they are retailing at high prices. But just like I am with plants, I like what I like and don’t pay much attention to what’s a fad, and ignore the stuff with the insane price tags.

 

[vtecintegra]

It's went from a bunch of hobbiest with tanks, to a bunch of greedy individuals trying to make big profits off of what we do. For instance, I count eight ads on this page I'm on right now.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

It all went south when the latin/scientific names stopped being used and new hobbyists began sniffing the rainbow spliced 24k holy grail unicorn fart perpetuated via social media platforms displaying unrealistic and or misrepresented images of corals in windex colored systems.