Where can I get some coral on the cheap?

M

miogpsrocks

New member
Where can I get some coral on the cheap?

I was thinking of maybe looking for some in the ocean but I have been told that you can get in trouble.

Still, I don't want to get ripped off from one of these crooked LFS.

Does anyone catch their own coral or have friends to can mail them a piece(if that is even possible)?

Thanks.
 
NO, DO NOT TAKE FROM THE OCEAN. You need a very special license to do so. IF you want cheap corals:
Solution 1:
1. Go find a reputable online seller and order from lowest price to highest price.
2. Go to a frag event, occasionally, there will be a frag giveaway
3. If your friend has some corals they are willing to give you, ask them to mail it.
 
I like to buy my coral from other enthusiast. From a local forum, for me that's Atlanta Reef Club. You usally get a way better deal than any store online or lfs.
 
The best place to get coral is from reefers. Check out your local forum. The next best place is a frag swap.
 
miogpsrocks said:
Where can I get some coral on the cheap?

I was thinking of maybe looking for some in the ocean but I have been told that you can get in trouble.

Still, I don't want to get ripped off from one of these crooked LFS.

Does anyone catch their own coral or have friends to can mail them a piece(if that is even possible)?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Frags are the best way to go. $5. $10 frags are pretty much standard around my LFSs and is a small investment with a lot of upside, if done right. Where do you live? There is bound to be a reef store around, no? Since I assume you are by an ocean there is always going to be temptation but that would seem like more of a chore and potentially expensive (fine) than your "crooked LFS."
 
My "LFS" has a 15 frag for 100 dollar sale the first Thursday of every month.

Otherwise they are 10.00 a frag.
 
the best way to get a good price on anything let alone coral is to be an informed buyer.

i have found great deals at lfs, from other reefers, from frag swaps and online. although online i dont prefer, they never seem to come looking like the frag in the picture, imo

knowledge is power
 
Many lfs take home-grown coral in trade and grow their own. These 'domestic' corals are far less expensive than those that have taken many express plane rides to reach your locale. Also, research corals that are hardy, and start with those. You can, however, parlay 3 little heads of hammer into filling a 50 gallon tank in a few years. Then you can trade them for other corals, while they continue to reproduce.
 
i also think it depends on where you live. I live in new york on long island. there is literal 12 lfs to choose from. This keeps the prices very competitive around where i live. Plus jfk is pretty close , so some of the store are even direct importers, no middle man lower prices. I notice on most items, not just fish or corals the lfs matches and sometimes even beats the prices online
 
...and don't be afraid to take that sad looking coral off the $10 frag rack. Under better lights and in an actual tank, that sad frag may take off. I was able to score a branching hammer this way because it had two branches, but the polyp had fallen off one head, and the other polyp was so retracted that you could see the bare branch. Six weeks later, that single head is now four heads with new heads growing from two different spots.
 
me and a buddy got into the hobby about the same time...we are gonna start trading frags once our tanks grow out some.
 
As others have stated, find other local reefers. Most corals will grow like weeds when given the right conditions. I paid just over $100 for all the corals in my tank. It would have cost $500-1000 online or from LFS for the same. This also gives you a chance to look at what the successful people do.
 
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