Which soft corals are, "profitable". Looking for initial stocking advice.

[tablesalt]

I know I will never make enough propagating corals from my small 45 gallon tank to pay for my system, but I figured trade ins at the LFS may be enough to keep me in new corals from time to time once everything gets established. My new MaxE 170 (45 gallon tank) is supposed to arrive (again) tomorrow. I'm looking for initial stocking advice for softies that I can trade in as they grow and I prune them. I am looking for mostly easy beginner corals that grow quickly that I could conceivably frag and bring into the LFS. As I am limited on space, I'm thinking some Kenyi Tree Corals on top, zoas on the bottom, Pulsing Xenia in the midlight areas, Green Star Polyp island, yellow button polyps, and anything else you might suggest. I may go with some mushrooms too, but would want some fancier varities as they were prolific last time I did this (10 years ago) What would be your recommendations for quick growing soft corals that are easy to prune/frag.

What would you suggest as good beginner corals that have the potential to overgrow the tank without regular pruning?

 

[John3]

I’d suggest staying away from the Xenia unless you put it on an island and even then....

Unfortunately what’s wanted today may not be wanted tomorrow. That said high end zoas of today should still be worth something(likely a lot less) down the road but they grow pretty fast. High end mushrooms might be another good option. Either way find corals you like because that is what will keep you interested in your tank.

For the most part anything that grows like a weed(Xenia, gsp, come to mind) doesnt have much resale or trade value. They look cool but their reputation normally keeps most people away. I had both in the very beginning and only bought them because I didn’t do any research(impulse buys)

 

[TreyC2010]

As has been said, I’d avoid Xenia. You can purchase zoas that are different and hope they will be wanted. Finger leather and some variations of mushrooms might be profitable.

 

[cbc4447]

It might not be profitable but huge clusters of Xenia sure does look nice!

 

[HiddenUser]

I would go with Zoas.

 

[tablesalt]

"I would go with Zoas."

Kind of leaning this way... maybe with some leathers on top... still looking towards GSP island.

 

[HiddenUser]

I know that a LFS store near me a while back was selling frags of Zoas at $20/head. Depending on the Zoas you could probably get some decent trade value.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

neon green sinularia. Its been around for a long time, grows quick, looks awesome and still has a decent value due to being hardy and super bright.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Keep in mind that there are different varieties for a lot of corals, even GSP has a few different varieties. The GSP I had was the metallic green variety which looked amazing but it still had the potential to overtake other corals. However, I was often able to get a pretty good price for my GSP just because it was a good looking variety that wasn't too common. If you want to eventually propagate leather corals, I would go with high-end or at least hard to find species such as Neon Green Nephthea or Long Tentacle Toadstool. Other soft coral options for you can include palm tree coral (also referred to as Giant Clove Polyp) zoas, snake polyps, and mushrooms.

Also, I would stay away from Yellow Button Polyps, those suckers grow super quick and can take over a tank if you let them. I would also stay away from Brown/Green Palythoa since they can be very dangerous to mess with (all zoas and paly's have some inherent risk, but these bigger paly's are known to be especially risky when trying to propagate them).

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Ricordea florida and Ricordea yuma are also great sellers due to color hardiness. I love R. florida. They grow relatively quick in "dirty" water but also retain color, althouh slower growth, in cleaner systems like Sps tanks. 15-20 bucks a polyp is typical especially since collection is really restricted now.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Yes I would also say mushrooms and zoas. But you need to “invest” in some of the nicer morphs.

 

[instareefer]

Yes I would also say mushrooms and zoas. But you need to “invest” in some of the nicer morphs.

I second that. Also, Japanese green toadstool and neon nephthia. Both hold value and look great.

 

[reef lover]

Honestly....pulsing Xenia and cespitcularia pays for 80 % of my frags...I let them grow onto coral rubble and trade them in. Most seasoned hobbyists won't touch it but there's a never ending slew of new aquarists that find it just as beautiful as I still do...and it never stays for long at the LFS...they actually make a ton off me...

 

[Philt56]

"I would go with Zoas."

Kind of leaning this way... maybe with some leathers on top... still looking towards GSP island.

I have GSP covering my whole back glass of my 65 gall tall tank. I used to trade in pieces of gsp rock to my LFS just for a new piece of clean rock.

 

[RobertN]

I would agree with what others above said regarding high end zoas, high end shrooms and long-tentacled toad stools (I think this is often listed as being from Japan)......also there's a pink nepthea which is really nice and seems to garner a good price (a well-known clone of this is also from Japan).

 

[tankstudy]

I've been in the hobby a bit and have some pretty high end stuff but xenia is still one of my favorites. Can't really find much out there as lively as pulsing xenias.

 

[Masonreefer]

"I would go with Zoas."

Kind of leaning this way... maybe with some leathers on top... still looking towards GSP island.

 

[Masonreefer]

I have a bowling ball size gap looks cool

 

[jeffchapok]

I'm going to grow you a curve ball and recommend if you want to make money, grow macroalgae instead.

I grow dragon's breath in my refugium and pull out a baseball sized clump every couple of days. It grows incredibly fast under a $25 grow light I got from Amazon.

I paid $35 for my initial specimen here on R2R that was about half the size of what I pull out each time. I've been throwing it into my DT for my snails to eat, giving it to friends and trading for frags with local reefers. Everyone seems happy to get some. When my LFS reopens, I'm going to ask if they'll take some in trade. Otherwise I'm probably going to have to start throwing it away.

Corals just don't grow fast enough IMO to make much profit without a huge frag tank. I'm growing this stuff in a small isolation box in a 6 gal sump faster than I can use it. If you have a large fuge, you could grow bushels of it.