Who’s paying these prices? Crazy.

[elorablue]

FOR SALE: Ultra-rare “Pineapple Upside Down” Torch... $50K

Proprietary mounting instructions will only be shared with new buyer!!

Does that include shipping or is it local pick up only?

 

[olonmv]

Does that include shipping or is it local pick up only?

I’m pretty sure you’re gonna have to sign an NDA before you buy. Can’t have any of those mounting techniques leaked.

 

[olonmv]

Well, it's kinda like buying seeds. Give that guy some food and time, and you can get something you'd be glad to have spent $83 and time on.
It's not a large coral species, so even a colony with dozens of polyps is gonna be pretty small, which is why frags tend to be tiny. It's several heads, they're just bitty heads.
Like I said, some of it is hype pricing, but some of it is that this isn't a particularly fast-growing coral. Not in terms of overall volume, at least. I'll be curious to see what their price does in a few more years, I know it's already been going down quite a lot as people frag them.

Or maybe I'm just a bit tilted from keeping micro-miniature orchids. I've got an orchid the size of a half-dollar that cost me as much as (or more) than a typical household moth orchid the size of two hands. Small species don't look like much for the money. If orchids sold by the weight, this would probably have been about a penny, and I can't really expect growers to sell me an orchid for a penny. But I'm still gonna enjoy this lil guy.

I’m not arguing at all. To each their own but my cheap behind gets as much satisfaction from seeing my GSP growing as I do seeing everything else on my tank grow. I just can’t personally justify buying such an expensive coral. Not now, maybe in the future. Heck, I got excited when I saw a plain Jane candycane recover from the brink of death lol. Did I mention that I was a cheap-o lol?

 

[Tired]

Oh, that's entirely fair! Everybody likes a bargain, and it's definitely satisfying to heal anything up and to watch things grow. I mostly don't touch the expensive corals, I just have a soft spot for the Holy Grail micromussas. They're really pretty in person. If you ever see one at a price you're willing to pay, absolutely snap it up.

Torch prices are nuts, though.

Anyone wanna take bets on where the bounce shroom prices are going to wind up? I'm hoping they'll eventually get to a point where I can pick up a reasonably-sized baby one at a reasonable price, because it is kind of a neat look.

 

[olonmv]

I’m sure in person it’s breathtaking and the pics don’t do it any Justice. I have my eye on a rainbow encrusting monti that I saw at one of my LFS’s. It’s gorgeous and extremely cheap at $20 bucks a frag. I’m just waiting for my tank to re-stabilize. I’m new to reefing and am trying to get the hang of dosing since WC don’t replenish enough anymore. So many options and opinions in this hobby, I’m just trying to find my sweet spot. I hope you soon have your chance at getting your hands on that holy grail!!!!

 

[Tired]

I got lucky last Black Friday, picked up a nice little one for $60. Most I've ever spent on a coral. Had it growing out all nice, aaand then I had a palytoxin incident a couple weeks ago and killed it. Hoping it'll regrow from the skeleton. Also keeping an eye out for another one- maybe I'll get lucky on sale again. It's a nice little coral, and I like 'em. I've seen some pics do them justice, the ones that aren't neon blue, but it's still cool to see one in person. Loads of color.

$20 for a rainbow monti is a nice price, good find. Encrusting montis seem to be a good bet for nice color at a good price. Guess it helps they're fast-growing.

If you get the chance, grab a blue-green sympodium. Generally pretty cheap, $20-$30, and they look great when they grow out. They form this sorta patchy carpet that almost branches in spots, and they're a nice, multicolored, hardy enough soft coral. Blue base, green polyps with orange-red tips. Grows at a reasonable rate, but not invasively fast. You'll see a couple people claiming it's invasive if you look them up, but they've gotten it mixed up with blue clove polyps, which are VERY invasive. And can also spread throughout your entire tank even when originally confined to a single rock. Don't get blue clove polyps unless you REALLY like them.

 

[olonmv]

I need hardy lol. I’ve seen them at my LFS. They are definitely good looking softy’s! I’m currently taking it easy. I don’t want to risk killing anymore corals and get my parameters in order. I’m slowly grasping the ins and outs of this hobby and it’s pretty frustrating at times when road bumps show up and think about throwing in the towel until things start to go back on track and the frustration goes away. I’m also limited in how much livestock I can put into my tank since I’m running a 13.5 evo. If and once I get a grip and can keep this lil beast tamed I plan on going bigger….maybe 40 maybe bigger, that all really depends on my negotiating skills in convincing da wife into letting me go bigger lol.

that rainbow monti was super striking because of all the different coloration, it looked like a tie die shirt! I’m in the Houston area and am very fortunate to have a ton of LFS’s in and around the area so it makes it a little easier to haggle if I ever feel the need to. Luckily the place I favor is really good and fair on their prices. They’re a vendor at a reef trade show in September here in Houston and I’m hoping to have my tank and husbandry in order by then so that I can bring something home if it piques my interest.


Thanks for all the wonderful input and if I ever get a chance at an affordable holy grail micromussa I’ll snag it up!!!

 

[Micro-Reefs Aquarium]

It's just that some of us have larger disposible income to move around and enjoy life, so when we see huge large purchases like those that have been mentioned it appears astronomical and rightfully so. Did you guys/gals remember the price Jeff Bezos paid for flight, what is 55 million? Imagine what kind of corals he would purchase if he was reefing?

 

[NanoSteam]

Who remembers the days when paying $40 to $80 meant you were buying the entire colony? The term "frags" weren't around back then, at least in my area/LFS. Now the most affordable coral is a $100 single zoa polyp the size of a grain of salt.

Sure I'm better off now in life and can afford to blow $250 without a worry on a coral but ethically refuse to do so. I'll stick to the $25 rack at my LFS so I can enjoy the hobby. There's no enjoyment in stressing over losing $$$ corals overnight due to something going haywire in your reef that's out of your control.

 

[Opus]

Y'know, I could justify certain prices if the coral/fish was actually a rarity in the hobby (and I'm not talking a fancy morph, but one of those "never seen before" type things), but these torch corals aren't rare at all. Every single store near me has a full selection of torches, every picture I see from wholesalers shows tanks absolutely full of golden Euphyllia. If folks would quit paying for the craziness we'd see pre-Indo ban Euphyllia pricing again.

A fool and their money...

I would love to be a "fool" with tons of money to spend!

 

[burningmime]

There's 2 parallel discussions here: one about the price of corals in general which has been discussed ad infinitum and a more fruitful discussion about the cost of euphyllia/torches. It boggles my mind that a 24k torch is now more expensive than a bounce mushroom or high-end tenuis.

 

[Tired]

I can't tell the difference between a lot of these torches. Maybe there's a tiny color shade difference if you squint, but not worth the price hike. And I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a single coral. If I had lots of disposable income, I could absolutely see spending a couple hundred bucks on something particularly nice, but not thousands of dollars. Aren't there better things to spend money on, like maybe an entire new tank?

Maybe people figure they can buy a torch, grow it out, and get rich.

 

[RedSeaReefer1]

Guys I might meet this hobbyist and buy this coral, he’s asking $150 for this pink and blue chalice. I have seen it in person and it has this cool sparkly look to it. You guys think $150 is fair?

 

[Tired]

If it's for that whole chunk, absolutely. That's a nice-sized chunk.

 

[Doctorgori]

cant you people read? it’s says “ Master Torch Coral” as opposed to just “Torch Coral” …

 

[Doctorgori]

Guys I might meet this hobbyist and buy this coral, he’s asking $150 for this pink and blue chalice. I have seen it in person and it has this cool sparkly look to it. You guys think $150 is fair?

yeah but chalices can grow fast..
how big is it,? hard to tell from pics