What do you folks look for when buying sps?

[Red_Blenny]

For the last few months, I've been doing research on the requirement to keep sps, such as lighting, flow, keeping parameters stable, etc... I have a bird nest frag and it's doing great so far.

However, the one thing I haven't figured out is what should I look for when buying sps? Should I avoid freshly fragged sps at all cost? Can you tell if the sps was recently infested with red bugs or flat worms? Are certain sps more prone to dying from the result of dipping, like deep water acros, milles or tenius? :headwally:

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jasonmxrcr]

It's been my experience the best frags come from fellow reefers for free. Just extend the favor to someone else.

 

[ChicagoReefOne]

I wouldn't avoid fresh frags I get them all the time, but know what you're paying for, there's a lot of growing that needs to happen and the chance of RTN depending on the coral-- that in mind encrusted frags are usually a sure thing, but usually a lower price IMO. Avoid air exposure. Look at the base of the piece a lot can be told there.

 

[divewsharks]

start with the less sensitive corals. Birdsnests being a prime example. Green Slimer, Blue slimmer, m. digitatas, m. caps. focus on tank raised pieces, not wild or mari's.
sensitivity to dips, depends on what dip you are using.

thru close examination and observation you may be able to see unwanted pests. red bugs are normally easy to spot (depending on color of coral), also quite easy to get rid of.
AEFW or nudi's, can be quite a bit trickier. dip and look for eggs around the base (including the frag plug) or dead spot of a coral.

 

[divewsharks]

I wouldn't avoid fresh frags I get them all the time, but know what you're paying for, there's a lot of growing that needs to happen and the chance of RTN depending on the coral-- that in mind encrusted frags are usually a sure thing, but usually a lower price IMO. Avoid air exposure. Look at the base of the piece a lot can be told there.

Air exposure is not a big deal. Most SPS can be out of the water for extended periods of time (may slime quite a bit once back in the water).

 

[Red_Blenny]

I wouldn't avoid fresh frags I get them all the time, but know what you're paying for, there's a lot of growing that needs to happen and the chance of RTN depending on the coral-- that in mind encrusted frags are usually a sure thing, but usually a lower price IMO. Avoid air exposure. Look at the base of the piece a lot can be told there.

Good to know. I'll carefully inspect the base of the frag or just simply buy encrusted ones. I hate it when I go cheap and realize I could have spent a little more to get something better (or have a better survival rate).

start with the less sensitive corals. Birdsnests being a prime example. Green Slimer, Blue slimmer, m. digitatas, m. caps. focus on tank raised pieces, not wild or mari's.
sensitivity to dips, depends on what dip you are using.

thru close examination and observation you may be able to see unwanted pests. red bugs are normally easy to spot (depending on color of coral), also quite easy to get rid of.
AEFW or nudi's, can be quite a bit trickier. dip and look for eggs around the base (including the frag plug) or dead spot of a coral.

OHH, forgot about the wild/maricultered pieces. I'll do my best to get ORA or tank raised pieces then. Is ReVive pretty harsh? I heard stories they're pretty rough to some sps pieces.

 

[JT3069]

lol, i personally look for bleached corals, there cheap
i do not suggest this for beginners
i would look at overal size, mainly the thickness of the frag, usually thicker frags
mean they were healtier pieces before fragging
really skinny frags usually don't survive
look at PE and color, don't want any bleaching of course, or one that looks stressed
do research before you buy, it will help you get farmiliar with the type coral you are purchasing
helping you understand, what "said" coral should look like, how to acclimate,tank positioning,and overall
general info on new additions.

this helps to insure frag survivability.
best of luck

 

[SeanT]

Personally, I like freshly cut, unmounted frags for one single reason: I don't have to worry about what nastiness may be on the rock/plug.

 

[mikid]

sps...........

sps...........

tank raised
fresh fragged
fellow reefer

thats allows you to get healthy corals, sure i still dip my corals when i bring them home, but less of a chance of any issues......I generally stay away from purchasing complete colonies,seems frags do better, just need a little more patience and time for them to encrust and grow out......good luck hunting!
mike...............:beer:

 

[Bigstring]

When looking for sps frags i like to look for ones that are encrusting the Rock/plug,
no bare skeleton
and when looking in the lfs tanks i usually look for browned out frags that others have overlooked and look for tiny signs of good colour and have often got some real stunners this way for a real bargain.

then i dip all frags before they go in my display.

 

[TucanSam007]

+1 My favorite most colorful frag was the browned out/ neglected frag that had only the faintest coloration at the tips at my LFS.

Join a local reef club and get some healthy frags and make new friends. You get a lot of perks besides getting stuff for cheap. I personally like fresh cut and thicker frags that show good signs of colors and slime up when they are out of water readily.

Getting frags that look nice at a LFS are hard to come by, at least around me. Most of the time I feel like I'm rescuing frags due to the condition they are in, but at least gives you some bargaining room .

I had some success buying some hard to find species online, but you pay top dollar let alone end up loosing a few along the way. Not to mention they need a few weeks to recover and usually lose their color somewhat. SO by far, getting frags from a local reefer is your best bet, search for clubs. LFS are hit or miss. Regardless of where you get them though, always dip .

 

[pakirri]

What I look for is:

1. Color
2. Polyp extension
3. Make sure the mother colony does not have RTN

#3 is difficult to acomplish... Most of the time I have found that if the mother is dying, all the frags will soon. LFS remove all dead frags right away so you dont really know...

 

[Red_Blenny]

Wow, thanks for the responses guys. :beer:

I think I know what to look for when buying fresh sps and rescue frags now. Again, thanks to everyone. :celeb2:

 

[bamf25]

I look for a mix of color and price. I do not need the FOTM sps, and I am patient so getting nice frags and watching them grow is just fine with me. I have gotten frags from local reefers, ebay, and online (from a hobbiest selling frags not a store), as well as from LFS. The worst frags I got were ebay, but then again I got them when I had less experience so probably the reason they did not do as well. My best frags were from fellow reefers including the online purchase. SO far I have been VERY lucky and avoided any baddies.

 

[mroccoralman]

The only reason I don't like encrusted frags is because they can have AEFW which will destroy all your sps. When you get a fresh cut the AEFW any hide in the base of the coral where they usually are during the day.

 

[Mikey122687]

Whenever i find what SPS i like, i keep an eye out for it. Come back after a week and see if its going good (no RTN, no AEFW ect...). Then i buy it and bring it home.