Reasoning On Frags

[Jas0863]

Why acquire quality frags. from fellow reefers even though they're/maybe smaller than those of the LFS? Advantages and disadvantages. What does Aquaculture means to you all?

[Dakota]

uh.. well.. frags are always cheaper than a colony, and usually, frags have been in someone's system for a while, so the survivability is much much higher than one on an LFS' tank. Aquacultered is a coral that is raised from a frag, usually in someone's tank, not in the wild. There are aquacultured corals that are grown in 'farms' in the ocean, but these still have higher mortality rates then wild growing ones.

Example: Candy cane colony costs ~ 35-40 dollars for ~ 10 heads.
Frag from a friend ~ $7 for 4 heads. Much better deal.. and it will
grow.

SPS colony at LFS: ~$65
small frag from friend: ~$10

The only 'disadvantage' (if you want to call it that) is, yes, the frag will be smaller. But with patience and TLC, it will grow and thrive. In this hobby, patience is the most important aspect of the reef-keeper IMO. My tank is 2 1/2 years old, and I'm still stocking it and getting all the equipment I want for it. Rushing only wastes money.

[MrKrispy]

i pretty much gave up on wild acros. They are expensive and a gamble. There is a fair chance the piece won't survive as Dakota said, but if they do they may never keep their color. The hitchhiker factor is much higher too (but sometimes in a good way).

However, with all the rampant pests being traded around on acros now (red bugs, acro FWs, etc...) I am leery of buying anything at this point. You can quarantine a piece for months before any of the pests get bad enough to start wrecking stuff. No one wants to run a quality QT all the time for one piece. So lets say you use a frag tank to quarantine your new stuff. Then that whole tank is infected. Uhhh I guess this got personal, sorry. Lol

[Phischy]

Plus frags mean less impact on wild reefs. I always perfer to buy a frag from a fellow reefer than to buy from the LFS since most likely that frag came from the wild.

[Darrell]

I just like frags because I have a 24 gallon nano. Plus you can get more species with the same amount of money.

[Jas0863]

LFS usually want to sell their corals asap. Reefers want to keep and nourish them to their full potential; quality, beauty and healthy. It takes patience, time and money to do achieve such. After this, why would he want to sell frags. for funds that may not equate to a 1 carbon replacement for that individual's system?

[jharr]

I can speak for myself only, but I have two reasons for selling frags. First, I have small tanks and they are so healthy that the corals outgrow them. I have a frogspawn that is simply too big and is stinging the adjacent corals, so it is time to frag it and sell the frags to other reefers who would like one, but maybe cannot afford the LFS prices. If no one wants my frag, the LFS will usually take it for store credit. Next, I just like giving back to the reefers in the community. When I was starting out, there were a few very generous people who gave me some nice coral for cheap or free (kind of like the pusher... first one's free, then they got me hooked!;) ).

Anyway, for me it's about enjoying the hobby and helping others do the same. If you can make a profit while doing so, that is outstanding and I fully support our LFSs and the individuals like Wil and others on the boards who sell responsibly.

J--

[Jas0863]

Getting to the point of raising quality frags. have to demand dedication to the hobby. This also means going the extra mile to acquire maybe that exotic coral and getting to really peak, then probably frag. and thus sharing it among fellow reefers. In my honest opinion, there's really no profit in frags. but just the love and satisfaction of the hobby. Consider all the elements just to reach the point of fragging.

[Dakota]

Let me put it this way. I bough my xenia for $35 dollars at AW. After like a year of fragging, I had enough money to buy a metal halide system, and enough xenia to cover 1/2 my tank. Fragging rules!

[swissfish]

Sometimes it is just fun to meet new people and checking out their tanks get some new ideas andmaybe help them with a little problem. I realy met some nice people whom I still talke too every once in a while.
Of course the corals are cheaper and freebees are comon.
The only bad thing about it, people are not showing up when they are supposed too:(

[nanoreefbro]

Hey Jharr whenever you get generous and want to frag your frogspawn let me know.. :D

[swissfish]

Hey Jharr whenever you get generous and want to frag your frogspawn let me know.. :D

he'll might take it to the frag swap.

[jharr]

nanoreefbro, I will be bringing a large frag (5 heads) to the swap. I will also bring the dremmel in case someone wants a smaller frag. I also have cut off some little baby buds and mounted them on plugs and they will go for $1 or maybe free or trade for a loose polyp or shroom. Anyway, I don't think there will be a shortage of frogspawn at the swap.

Hope to see you there,
J--

[Darrell]

Cool I'm looking for a frog frag......