Who has ordered a mystery box?

[i cant think]

I don’t think you can/should compare a coral with a dog or cat with a coral which is much less complex. Corals are very simpler forms of life when compared to other animals.

I like how you say they’re simple… they can be hell to keep happy haha.

 

[Janet Belanger]

Honestly, I've been happy with mystery coral except the part where I received duplicates of things I already have. Luckily my LFS takes in my unwanted frags for credit.

To befair, it was mystery acro and from a reputable and large online retailer, but definitely happy with what I received for the price I paid.

 

[jimk60]

A lot of opinions here as always but has anyone actually bought any of these "mystery boxes"?

 

[danieyella]

I just got a softy mystery box for my very tiny tank, i let them know the size of the tank and that leathers will quickly outgrow so to please avoid and they did. Got a baby gorg, and a variety of zoas & cloves without having to pick out colors myself. Worked out beautifully. 100% mystery without knowing sps/softy/lps/etc absolutely could be a disaster though.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I like how you say they’re simple… they can be hell to keep happy haha.

Well I mean in the big picture they are when compared to other things on a biology basis. But the needs/demands depend on the coral.

 

[DE FISH]

That’s just the normal UK LFS if I’m honest, I only know of one LFS that doesn’t bring some form of nasty invert in the tank.

Pm me buddy

 

[DE FISH]

Eww, where do you order from?

For legal reasons I probably can’t state but they are on the first page on on Google for online corals (uk) my local lfs coral tank is a grim scene to behold it has every possible nasty and that includes massive aiptasia in the fish only tanks

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Some vendors give you some good stuff in mystery. But most is a way to sell stuff they can’t. I’ve had some really bad experiences with some vendors. To the point I will not buy them ever again

 

[DE FISH]

Some vendors give you some good stuff in mystery. But most is a way to sell stuff they can’t. I’ve had some really bad experiences with some vendors. To the point I will not buy them ever again

Agreed my lfs in question and online vendors are literally setting up new hobbyists to failure without them even knowing, it’s sad really considering how much it costs to get started and the time and effort it takes to maintain a system.

 

[Chrisv.]

One reason corals end up in a "mystery box" is that they grow very well. I'm of the opinion that healthy coral is beautiful. Doesn't have to wreck my home or bank account.

You have to realize that when some of these corals get growing, they can be literally growing out of the water. I would wager that anyone who has ever successfully grown montipora digitata has also thrown some away when they could no longer deal with selling frags of it.

So when someone has a mystery box full of hardy, easy, colorful corals...I say that's the best deal you will get in the hobby. I despise needy corals that just don't grow, or die overnight.

When I'm buying coral from someone and I need to fill out a frag pack, I'll often tell them what I already have and what I explicitly don't like, and then ask them to pick something for me that they think is nice and that does particularly well for them in their tank. I've never been disappointed.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Agreed my lfs in question and online vendors are literally setting up new hobbyists to failure without them even knowing, it’s sad really considering how much it costs to get started and the time and effort it takes to maintain a system.

I think the most egregious example I have ever seen is when the mystery box actually costs more than the undesirable corals that they contain had you bought them individually and with knowledge.

 

[Chrisv.]

I think the most egregious example I have ever seen is when the mystery box actually costs more than the undesirable corals that they contain had you bought them individually and with knowledge.

Wow. That's pretty miserable.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Wow. That's pretty miserable.

Yeah...and it was from of one of the more well known vendors out there. I wont buy from them ever again because that approach. If they were a little more forth coming about what to expect, I probably wouldnt be upset..but they make a very big deal about the mystery boxes and you get nothing but disappointment

 

[Derrick0580]

MEGA Mystery Box (50 PACK) - FREE SHIPPING!

Our MEGA Mystery box includes 50 hand picked corals from our large collection. You will receive a MINIMUM of 20 different corals with a maximum of 3 duplicates of any one coral. Each box will contain a variety of types of coral such as Zoanthids, LPS, SPS

www.tidalgardens.com

This is more toward what I am referring to. I just read the description and it says minimum 20 different corals, no more than 3 duplicates…no thanks, don’t want you clove polyps or xenia, 1000 bucks and probably get $250 value in frags!

 

[SPS2020]

"Who has ordered a mystery box?"

Every time I purchase something used!

 

[Chrisv.]

Yeah...and it was from of one of the more well known vendors out there. I wont buy from them ever again because that approach. If they were a little more forth coming about what to expect, I probably wouldnt be upset..but they make a very big deal about the mystery boxes and you get nothing but disappointment

I think there are some companies that take particular pride in their mystery boxes. People seem to really like battle corals, for example. It's too bad that there are unscrupulous vendors that ruin the fun.

I've never ordered a "mystery box" by name, only asked people to round out a frag pack with one of their favorites. I've had good luck with this.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I've done a few mystery boxes with a online coral seller (that I do local pickup with). I've made out pretty good with a softie box and a zoa box. I had misread @ first thinking it was about fish & mystery boxes, I was like what the heck.

 

[jtone_philthy_aquatics]

I have purchased mystery packs that specify that the corals will all be sps. I didn’t get ripped off either. I got some really cool old school classic acropora frags / classic montipora frags not just the standard caps either. The selection was nice, frags were good sized, they all looked very healthy and I still have them today almost a year later