Where do you get your frags?

[Mock]

Where do most of you get your frags. I see very nice tanks being set up in what looks like weeks in many threads with amazing colonies thrown in really fast.

Where do you guys get your frags or colonies from? Is it local, online, friend, do you have mother tank?

Where... and if you can please share pics and tell about the process if you bought online, where they brown and such when received and did you have to color them up or where they bright as soon as you got them?

Any info would be welcome!

 

[MammothReefer]

Well since I moved to mammoth there is no local for me.

Most of my frags I've gotten from the propagate coral section here on RC, or from the SoCal forum. So the members here on RC. I also got some from a couple people on another forum who's name gets changed when I type it in, and from various friends. I recently got a great pack from Copps.

When I made a trip to the Bay area, I picked up some frags from Atlantis, and Neptune.

When I go to San Diego, I get stuff from the local stores there, or if I drive back threw LA I stop @ Tongs, and a few other places that I used to go to when I had my business back in the days.

I recently did an order via MR Coral, and got a number of frags from him. 95% were amazing, but right now I'm a little unhappy with him as I had a couple doas and I'm not getting responses to my emails.

The rest of what I get are small colonies, Wild or Mari.. which I usually get from Live Aquaria, or Extreme Corals. I watch a few other sites, and I'm thinking of doing a Monti order with Battle corals today he has a decent deal on a monti pack with a few pieces I've been after.

Oh I also tried getting some LPS on ebay, it worked out ok, I was able to snipe a large variety of acans.

 

[crs751]

If there is a local reef club they might have frags available or have frag swaps. The club here in Central PA has them twice a year. It's a great source for frags at good prices.

 

[Mock]

We have a large club but not many SPS players out there.... We meet all the time and are very active just not really reliable for top notch frags...

Thanks Mammoth... I too have ordered from Extreme Corals and Mr. Corals.. Never live aquaria b/c their prices are a tad bit high... I have thought about the prop section here a time or two.

I have picked up a few odd and end pieces but have been looking for a sure nuff place to find good SPS that are reliable and not a brown stick for months as if they went brown weeks before they were shipped.

Anyone else purchased frags from a reputable place and been thrilled? I have been studying Harry's Frags for my next place...

 

[chrishayes]

cherry has very nice pieces but they CHARGE for them. I wouldnt call them a go to place but if you want a few show pieces especially lps you cant go wrong. I still purchase locally just cause i dont like getting a bag o brown like youve mentioned. Cross country shipping of recently cut frags just isnt my cup of tea.

 

[fcmatt]

I purchased all of my current coral and fish at my local fish store for reasonable prices.
I had no interesting in paying shipping fees, being home at a certain time to get it, and otherwise
taking the risks of ordering online.

One day I might give it a go again but it would have to be a couple of large orders and that
would be the end of it. I do not want to order online a dozen times and end up spending
300-500 dollars just on shipping for coral.

 

[MammothReefer]

Lots of places offer free shipping now, some as low as 125$ spent which isn't hard to do w/sps.

 

[sampster5000]

I get my coral from LFS' and from craigslist deals I see. I am thinking of buying from Pacific East Aquaculture as they have really good deals. I'm more into soft coral.

 

[Mock]

Anyone purchased online and had great success?... I would love to purchase from the LFS but 90% of them around here are not big into SPS b/c there is no demand for it.

 

[Alex T.]

I've purchased plenty online. I've had very good luck with every online retailer I've purchased from.

The ones that I've used so far are vivid aquariums, wet thumb frags and liveaquaria.

I'm close to 100% sps and the first two have a very large selection of aquacultured sps to choose from. After a year everything's growing well and I haven't had any mysterious losses.

 

[Mock]

Sweet Alex... I havent purchased from either of them yet but will deffinatly take a look... I have just purchased a few frags in the past and recieved a box of brown sticks, while I have revived 90% of them to full color now and they are going well I just hate the 4 to 5 month down time. I would like to find a vendor that I can order from that the coral will hit my door step with a little color left and not take so long to get up to looking awesome!. (tired of the 1/2" frags too when they promise 1" frags) Although this is not a bashing forum just a place to learn where others get their frags and maybe a thread to let others know where to get top notch pieces when locals are not as reliable.

 

[dimitrge]

I stick with Ora frags or frags/colonies from local reefers. The wild an maricultured is nice but I don't want to risk a bug infestation. Local reefers in my opinion with established tanks are the best source.

 

[this is me]

RC members' frag pack is hard to beat. I get most of my frags through the mail now. Have the shipper ship the night before and have the package be held at a local FedEx or UPS fir pick up and you'll be fine.

I don't trust those wild colony.

 

[Alex T.]

Nothing against members' frag packs, but I've had some AEFW issues in the past. I don't know if it came in on one of my maricultured SPS or on their frags, but I trust a larger operation that can't risk the loss of their mother colonies over fellow reefers. Some local hobbyists have wanted to trade pieces with me and I just don't do it. I'd rather give a frag away than to risk introducing something to my tank.

 

[MammothReefer]

Eh, you can get pests from anywhere, from anybody. Big Retailers move so much volume they don't inspect, or QT. They don't hold onto the pieces long enough for it to be an issue.

 

[allsps40]

I get 90% of my corals from a few different LFS and I have gotten some from local reefs selling or trading frags. For me ordering online has been kind of iffy. I live in Arizona where is getts well over 110 in the summer so having a box of corals dropped off at my door and left for a hour or 2 would not be a good thing.

 

[Mock]

From my past experiences you cant have them dropped at your door for an hour or two... You have to sign for them or they go back to the main hub for holding. I live in Arkansas and we get 110 degree days for weeks too and I have never had a problem. I get them to ship to work where I can get it there and I know someone will sign, then at lunch I go home and acclimate and add to the QT system till I get home. I have never had a problem just have a problem with some of the stuff I have been given.

 

[jg2269jg]

i got all the corals i have currently from one person. A guy in new jersey smcooler or stan. he has had the best sps i have ever seen. his kalk reactor got stuck on and killed everything in his 4 tanks and he and i almost had a heart attack. the one good thing is he is now rebuilt bigger and better. his corals always come very colorful and grow great. i havent bought a coral from the local store since i meet him. Also i go to the local swaps. the last one in jersey Jason Fox was there and his corals were amazing as well so i picked up a few but alittle expensive.

 

[Mock]

I wish I had more people local that were into SPS.... Soon (5 years or so) I hope to be that "guy" that every one comes to for SPS but till then I have to start my collection from somewhere and it sure isnt locally...LOL

 

[this is me]

It's your responsibility to quarantine and treat incoming corals before putting into the tank. There's no difference if they're from another guy's tank or from the ocean. With that said, the frag/colony that you get from another guy's tank is more likely to survive and hold their color in your tank than the wild one.