Whats the hotness right now?

[BAUCE]

Im going to a coral show this weekend and want to get a couple nice pieces. I want something that looks great under 14k lights. My favorites under this lighting are the WD, Homewrecker, Malificient, SC orange passion. I have a few expensive rainbow tenius that look boring under my lights.

I was going to look for the rainbow splice but what other new pieces would you guys look for?

 

[T-J]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't look for "name brand" corals. I look for whatever catches my eye and what I think looks nice. Sometimes it's a $10 frag, other times it's a $200 frag.

 

[BAUCE]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't look for "name brand" corals. I look for whatever catches my eye and what I think looks nice. Sometimes it's a $10 frag, other times it's a $200 frag.

I do the same at my local LFS but thats not really relevant to the thread lol

 

[BAUCE]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't look for "name brand" corals. I look for whatever catches my eye and what I think looks nice. Sometimes it's a $10 frag, other times it's a $200 frag.

I actually think you are part of the majority of hobbyists now that I think of it. This is the one of the biggest SPS forums so of course its going to attract all kinds of hobbyists. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the hobby on either end of the spectrum, there will always be corals for every price bracket.

Myself and a lot of others enjoy buying and selling the named stuff. I know when I spend a few hundred dollars on a piece with lineage that I can make the money back because of the skill I've built up over the years. This is one of my favorite parts of the hobby at this point.

I've been busy with my business lately and haven't had much time to enjoy the tank so grabbing a few nice pieces gives me more reason to get back into the hobby more. I love this hobby and am glad there are lots of ways to enjoy it!

 

[Grill]

Reminds me of this thread... "rants" about prices/names of corals. Some in the hobby for prices/names others against. Always two sides to the hobby. Rant - Why do hobbyist price their corals like a store???

 

[T-J]

I

I actually think you are part of the majority of hobbyists now that I think of it. This is the one of the biggest SPS forums so of course its going to attract all kinds of hobbyists. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the hobby on either end of the spectrum, there will always be corals for every price bracket.

Myself and a lot of others enjoy buying and selling the named stuff. I know when I spend a few hundred dollars on a piece with lineage that I can make the money back because of the skill I've built up over the years. This is one of my favorite parts of the hobby at this point.

I've been busy with my business lately and haven't had much time to enjoy the tank so grabbing a few nice pieces gives me more reason to get back into the hobby more. I love this hobby and am glad there are lots of ways to enjoy it!

I’m all for people doing whatever brings them joy in this hobby. I don’t frag and resell corals (for now). Anything I purchase is just for my enjoyment. Regardless, I’m sure you’ll find some great pieces at the show. I love going to them and supporting small businesses!

 

[BAUCE]

Reminds me of this thread... "rants" about prices/names of corals. Some in the hobby for prices/names others against. Always two sides to the hobby. Rant - Why do hobbyist price their corals like a store???

It's not always black and white, my side vs your side. I enjoy going down to the LFS and gambling on brown sticks that may or may not end up looking awesome.

Anyways, my intention was to find some nice pieces to look for this weekend, not to start a debate on coral prices.

 

[burningmime]

Assuming you're looking for "hot" with the goal of propogating/collecting/selling then I'd say (personal opinion)...

* Euphyllia are way too high right now. I'd put that at a SELL
* Designer shrooms (bounce, electus) seem to have kept their value, but we'll see what they're like as the Covid boom dies down. I'd put that at a HOLD/DON'T-BUY
* Zonathids will always be a reasonable investment, but for those I wouldn't buy 1-2 polyps; see if you can get deals from tank teardowns or grab mystery boxes.
* Acros may hold their value especially as some Covid-reefers get further into the hobby and have more mature tanks. So if you think you can keep and propagate it, go for that rainbow splice!
* Scolys, acanthos, and trachys seem low priced right now. You can't really frag them, but if there's another export ban, you can expect those to soar in price. As always, shop for deals, though.
* Nems seem like a good investment although I can't seem to keep them alive myself. If you can get an RBTA or Colorado Sunburst that splits every month or so, you'll have a steady stream of pieces to sell.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I love my Rainbow Splice. Really a special coral. For new hot acros I’d recommend any of the BKChem corals. They’re hard to find and I’d qualify them as more expert acros, but very unusual colors. I have a BKChem Froot Loops that I’m really enjoying right now.

 

[MaxTremors]

Trends are for the anxious and for those who don’t know or trust their taste. I would just go to the show, look around, ask the vendors to change their lighting to 14k if it’s super blue (this is simple with LEDs and any vendor who won’t change it for a minute so you can decide whether or not to buy something probably isn’t someone you want to buy from anyway), and pick out the pieces that appeal to you. Don’t worry about what is trendy or ‘so hot right now’ and get what you like.

 

[stephj03]

If you're looking for less common but highly collectible, I would reccomend keeping an eye out for:

CC Pink Highlighter/MCC Prom Queen
LRO Buzz Light-year
LRO Heartthrob
True OG PM or PP or 20k/30k lokani
TSA BubbleYum
TSA Gravedigger
TSA Haymaker
TSA Starscream
Vivid Insanity
Vivid Badfish
Vivid 4 loco
MattV Pacific Wave
MattV Looney Tunes
MattV Midnight Madness
MattV Mistress
TGC/RRU Acrolandia
RRU Wicked Tuna
BC Rainbow Melon
BC Laser Melon
BC Angelica
RRC Jaw Dropper
RRC Mardi Gras/RMF Lucky Charms
RRC Supreme
JF Frankie's Neophobia
JF Sunday Driver
SBB Claw Machine
SBB Half Baked
SBB Rainbow Rare
BKChem Fruit Loops
Any BKChem Speciosa
SKA Jackpot
FHC Rock Candy
Hung's Rainbow
POTO Flamethrower
Mythical Corals Willy Wonka
Reefers Direct Paramour
ThomasCoralFragz Nemesis
Epic Catalina Wine Mixer
Joker Corals Yorha
Joker Corals Bloody Mary
Joker Corals Tempest
Peng's HOTO

 

[stephj03]

Collector stuff isn't for everyone, myself included at times.

But the way ppl come out of the woodwork derailing threads like this is a bit out of pocket to me.

Having been around during a time when purple monster and 20k lokani were the controversy of the day, Im grateful for collectors. My tank is stocked with much more colorful corals than back then. I just wish they would collect deep water smoothies instead of Tenuis and Speciosa.

 

[minus9]

Trends are for the anxious and for those who don’t know or trust their taste. I would just go to the show, look around, ask the vendors to change their lighting to 14k if it’s super blue (this is simple with LEDs and any vendor who won’t change it for a minute so you can decide whether or not to buy something probably isn’t someone you want to buy from anyway), and pick out the pieces that appeal to you. Don’t worry about what is trendy or ‘so hot right now’ and get what you like.

This 1000x. Buy what you like and if possible, ask to see colony pics of the frag you’re interested in.

 

[Big E]

Im going to a coral show this weekend and want to get a couple nice pieces. I want something that looks great under 14k lights. My favorites under this lighting are the WD, Homewrecker, Malificient, SC orange passion. I have a few expensive rainbow tenius that look boring under my lights.

I was going to look for the rainbow splice but what other new pieces would you guys look for?

I'd stay away from anything you can't find with grown out colonies pictures under your type of lighting. I'd actually go in with your own list and see if they have what you want. This way you'll know fair pricing on the corals as well.

90% of the newer coral names over the last few years are renamed or hacked wild stuff..........in other words junk. They look like crap, washed out and the prices are ridiculous.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

 

[flashsmith]

Good luck with your search. Honestly though investing in a hobby with the hope of a return is never a good strategy. Go to any thrift store and you can find beanie babies once worth thousands for a quarter. Today's hotness will be tomorrows clearance section.

 

[Bribo12]

Love how everyone is commenting about reselling frags of the hottest corals when op never commented he was looking for corals so he could profit off them in his original post...

I'm a sucker for old school acros myself but TSA Princess peach and bill murray definitely look good to me. Good luck op hope you find some nice pieces.

 

[James_O]

I would just get whatever catches your eye, wether it that be a $20 SPS or a $200 SPS.

 

[Joe462]

I'm guessing a little because i don't run 14k but, if you don't already have them.
vivid's confetti
TGC orange creamsicle
couple of my current favorites that i thought might look good.

not new i guess but i have to say a lot of the new hot corarls are those that need a lot of blue and uv to pop, might have better luck with old school favorites in a 14k spectrum

i just got a all green splice to save some $$, hoping the red comes in eventually

 

[Frogspon]

Hottest commodity in the hobby right now is self sustainability in your tank and a wallet full of cash to buy what you want when the unexpected pops up,