Duncan's... what's the big deal?

[jefathome]

I know that they are on the rare side, but I don't understand what the big deal is with these corals and why everyone wants them (ie, how they can charge so much for them).

Do they grow like crazy? Are they super Psycadelic (not in my opinion)?

Or is it just a fad thing where b/c they are "rare", everyone jsut has to have them?

 

[pammy]

Well, I know it's my favorite coral in my tank. I think it's beautiful, and love the way it flows and how quickly it grabs the food and closes around it when I feed it. I paid $40 for one head about 8 month's ago, and here's a picture I took in December. Photo is untouched, no editing at all. Pam

 

[coralnut99]

Re: Duncan's... what's the big deal?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12943769#post12943769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jefathome
I know that they are on the rare side, but I don't understand what the big deal is with these corals and why everyone wants them (ie, how they can charge so much for them).

Do they grow like crazy? Are they super Psycadelic (not in my opinion)?

Or is it just a fad thing where b/c they are "rare", everyone jsut has to have them?

imho, a nice coral, pretty tough and a good eater that grows fast when target fed as noted. But I agree there's been some nut-job pricing for them. This hobby definitely follows "fashion trends" when it comes to some things. There were people paying hundreds per head when they first appeared in the trade.

 

[muzz]

I really like them, they are beautiful corals. But I do not think they are really overpriced. They can be gotten regularly around here for 10 to 18 bucks a head. I bought 3 heads for 40 bucks a couple months ago, and now have over 14 heads. It grows quickly IMO. Just shop around and you can get them for a good price.

 

[jefathome]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12944065#post12944065 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by muzz
I really like them, they are beautiful corals. But I do not think they are really overpriced. They can be gotten regularly around here for 10 to 18 bucks a head. I bought 3 heads for 40 bucks a couple months ago, and now have over 14 heads. It grows quickly IMO. Just shop around and you can get them for a good price.

Ok... maybe b/c it is a good grower I can see paying a bit more. Then again, if it is that good a grower then there should be more avialable, and thus supply-demand... Prices should go down (which I guess they have).

 

[ianiwane]

What do you consider expensive? I personally think they are now pretty cheap.

 

[johnanddawn]

from what i see there is also at least two popular morphs (likely more)
the ORA and other flourescent greens still seem to compand a little higher price then the purple do. I think all the purple types are showing up were from ausie wild caughts that have been split up and fragged and usually go for about 10 - 20$. The ORA type seems to be still holding around 30 - 40$
i only have the purple morphs but will be getting the ORA type soon - i think they are cool

 

[icedragln]

My LFS has pretty competitive prices normally, but a 6-8 head colony of purple/yellow mouth duncans is 350$ and a 10-12 head colony is 400.

Occasionally they will have a single head for 45. The lime green duncans are normally slightly cheeper, but still pricy.

I suggest going to CherryCorals.com They hooked me up with great deals on both styles of duncans. I have a post in the CherryCorals forum on the board with pics if you like

 

[jefathome]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12945789#post12945789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by icedragln
My LFS has pretty competitive prices normally, but a 6-8 head colony of purple/yellow mouth duncans is 350$ and a 10-12 head colony is 400.

Occasionally they will have a single head for 45. The lime green duncans are normally slightly cheeper, but still pricy.

I suggest going to CherryCorals.com They hooked me up with great deals on both styles of duncans. I have a post in the CherryCorals forum on the board with pics if you like

Yeah, that is about the price around here. Maybe a little cheaper. I don't even bother to price them anymore b/c they jsut don't interest me that much. Despite all the hype.

If you just came into the hobby and saw a nice bright frogspawn next to a Duncan, you would probably wonder why the duncan was so much more.

I understand Supply and demand, but I guess I just don't see why the demand is there.

Or maybe I've just never seen a NICE duncan. :lol:

 

[ct_vol]

I think they're pretty damn sweet... I paid $100 for a single head before they became readily available... I've sold them for $10-$20 per head at local frag swaps... They're easy to care for, and my clownfish love them, which keeps my wife happy and therefor me in return...

 

[yellowslayer13]

I charge 15 to 20 per head on mine

 

[slojmn]

I have the big green ORA type...though I got it from Live Aquaria. The tenticles look pink sometimes, body color is a sweet green. Super sweet big heads...1-2" in diameter. I paid a bit higher price than they are now but not that much higher. I have yet to cut or sell any of mine. I am sure I would sell them for considerably less than I paid when I got them. I think I have about 12-15 big heads. I was drawn to them because I love the Elegance coral and I saw some similarity. At the time Elegance corals were regularly dieing in the trade and my tank is on the smaller side. I thought the large head nice ORA duncans would do well in my tank and fill the place of an Elegance. I think my Picasso Clown pair may eventually host in it...they spend a lot of time hovering around it and sleep right above it. I hope, if they do host in it, that they wont harm it. We shall see.

 

[bph0013]

I never understood the attraction to duncans either beyond people's obsession with "rare" corals. Even though they're cheaper now I still think they look like a dull version of a dendro. Very plain coral IMO.

 

[nikon187]

beacuse they resemble elegance corals but are much hardier and grow quickly. don't get me wrong the prices are too high for how fast they grow and are avalible quite often now. $10 a head is pretty standard here where i live

 

[jadeguppy]

ditto nikon, they remind me of elegance corals.

 

[Amoore311]

I pay 25/head for the Aussies. They have a green oral disk and purple tentacles.


I agree there are some that aren't worth the price. The standard duller green ones are pretty bland imo.

The ORA and purple aussies are really wild looking corals though. I wouldn't pay more than $25/head though.

 

[bobafett]

I like them because to me they seem like a cross between an elegance and an anenome. And the good thing is they dont die in 3 months like elegance nor do they move around your tank like anenomes. They are pretty cool corals if you are into feeding corals.

I agree they are very over priced but they grow fairly quick so you can trade/sell them in a few months and make your money back. If you have the cash you can pick up some very large colonies which then average to less than $10/head. My LFS has one with about 30 heads for $200.

 

[Lotus99]

I got the aquacultured ORA one, just because it's my preference to get aquacultured.

To be honest, although I've seen many good pics of them online, none of them really do justice to how pretty a coral it is.

In addition, they're hardy, and show a strong feeding response (I like corals that are interactive and like to eat). They're also a coral that does well in lower light tanks, so they make a great choice for lower tech tanks.

 

[Avalon_Princess]

I think location is important as well LOL, I'm an Aussie and they sell as low as 25 cents a head around here, their actually rarely in stores because the owners find it difficult to move em on. I've got a nice one with 30-40 heads and tonnes of babies I picked up for $30.

 

[RevHtree]

They are a beautiful coral for sure...

You need to own one before you say how dull they are trust me!