Does anyone else by brown acros on purpose?

[galleon]

They're often dirt cheap and have a mystique to me. Especially maricultured or wild browned out. You just know they were likely gorgeous before shipping and typical LFS care. Why else would they have been selected for mariculturing or collection to begin with?

The other funny thing is that at one LFS that I won't name, they light them such that they look gorgeous (blue, glowing, fluorescence, etc.). I purposely ask to see them under whiter lights like a fluorescent. That always gets a cringe. Because ooops... when you look at them under natural color light, they are often brown if they are mari or wild.

 

[Peter Eichler]

I have several gorgeous formerly browned out Acropora. After being in the hobby for nearly 30 years, watching an ugly coral turn into something beautiful still gives me a sense of acomplishment. I have an A. lokani that I saw a little potential in recently that has turned into perhaps my favorite piece.

 

[Piper27]

I don't. Just because the stores around here don't reduce the prices on maricultures that have browned out. If I did I would have a lot of brown coral right now

 

[sahin]

My LFS doesnt reduce the price on brown outs. But if the frag is large enough, and looks like it has potential I will but it. I have at least 5 such frags in my tank currently.

 

[MammothReefer]

Back when I was within driving distance of LAX. I would often go to the wholesalers and buy out as many browned out specials I could find.

But these are my reasons for buying brown acros.

1) For the most part they don't ship or bother to mariculture brown acroporas. (unless it's "efflos")
2) You never know what you are going to get. (Although most of the time it was AEFW lol)
3) They are DIRT cheap, and even cheaper when you buy them in bulk. (I would sometimes pick them up for as little as $5 a piece)
4) Sometimes I buy acros for the shape not for the colour. I have a few acros in my tank that I really like because of the growth pattern even if they are brown.
5) The brown acros in your tank make your coloured ones look even better. If everything in your tank was neon blue that one brown piece would really stand out, the opposite is also true.

 

[NeilFox]

I buy brown corals if they are reasonably healthy. Everything here is a wild colony. Most of the super colourful stuff gets cherry picked and sent to HK, Taiwan or Singapore. I like some colour but I also like a natural look. Most wild corals are some form of brown anyhow. On the reef you don't normally see fields of blue pink or yellow. More or less subdued versions of these colors. When my LFS gets a shipment it was most likely growing on the reef only a day or two previously so they have their natural colour. Some change in my tank some don't. I have only added SPS a couple months ago. The first challenge is getting the wild colonies to adjust but I have seen some remarkable growth from one colony. It was overgrowing itself and shading the base so I just gave it a haircut. Some of the new frags are growing alot different from the Mother Colony.

I just get what appeals to me and colour isn't my first priority.

 

[ReLPSef]

Love em'. 1 month and still coloring up. Buy em' all the time. I go for the formation. Never the color because they rarely stay that way.

 

[Drae]

Why wouldn't I? No tissue necrosis and good polyp extension is a coral I'd purchase.

 

[Allmost]

used to, when my tank had room.

not anymore though.

 

[franklypre]

Bluezoo still sells Catalina's picks and brown acros, I used to buy them when they went on sale(payed about $15-20 a colony) but I haven't seen them on sale for a while.

 

[jrod738776]

Is there anywhere else that sells browned out acros? Somewhere I can get in bulk?