I have to jump into this discussion with my own views. Decades ago I used to raise african cichlids. It was easy to make anything I spent back in selling young fish. Now that I'm a senior I'm no longer interested in raising something to sell. I know what I want. Basically a tank with nice coral growth. It doesn't matter to me if the corals are rare or not. What matters is whether or not it grows well and looks nice in my tank. Often the lower priced corals are hardier and easier to grow. I actually bought a brown acro because all the corals in my tank were bright colors and I wanted the contrast. I might spend as much as $60 for a large rock covered in zoa's or mushrooms but for most coral frags like acros I find for $20 to $30 and that's all I'm willing to spend for one frag. By going to several lfs in my area I find some nice buys that would be more expensive to purchase elsewhere. The last time I purchased live rock I requested some with coral if available. For the cost of the rock I also received brain corals, ivory corals, tube corals along with turkey necks and sponges, etc. They might not be $500 specimens but most people who look at my tanks don't know a coral from a plant. I take pride in the coral growth rather than how rare it is. Some of the most spectacular tanks I've seen were filled with large specimens of fairly common corals.
