Buying Coral

[unwritten law]

So where do you guys personally buy corals?

My LFS has some but his zoas and palys aren't so colorful (brownish) and the rest of his stuff seems too large and expensive for my nano.

My petco (work) has some nicer sized corals that are colorful and and stuff but it's petco and the invert tanks usually have a lot of aiptasia. Can buying their corals brings the aiptasia with them? Is there some bath I can give my corals before placing them in my tank to take care of it? Also petco is a bit more expensive.

Is there a good online vendor who has decently priced corals with a good selection that any of you have good experience with? I've looked at the coral vendor list but does any one have any personal opinions?

Any one want to sell me some cool stuff?

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Yes you can bring unwanted creatures in the tank..fireworms, apitasia, majanos, etc.
There are some iodine bath but i wouldn't use it, a coral is stressed enough when it gets into a new tank. I've ordered corals from Coral Fanatics - Suppliers of rare sps frags, corals, and zoanthids. , i was pleased and they delivered it quickly, even in Canada.

 

[unwritten law]

I just found my first aiptasia... to say the least i wasn't happy... I'll be looking into a peppermint shrimp now....

 

[KahluaZzZ]

It's almost unavoidable..plus they shrink when they're in the bag, and you see it in your tank afterward. With all the rotation in their tanks, they can't and won't try to eradicate unwanted pests...plus they can sell you Joe's Juice!

 

[unwritten law]

yeah... I'll try that too I guess... I wanted a shrimp eventually but I wanted to wait... I'll see... I'm not 100% on what it is but it looks like aiptasia.. I think I just might be stupid and it's a feather duster.... hard to tell right now and its too small to get a good pic.. I need a better camera...

 

[unwritten law]

okay false alarm I think it's a feather duster...

I'll look around that site that you showed though. Right now I like this site: Soft Coral :: Aqua Escape

selection is not huge but the colors on the zoas are great a long with some other stuff and the prices seem alright for the amount of polyps you get.. usually 10-20+.

 

[Lorna]

I have always like Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums the livestock side of Dr.s Foster and Smith

 

[unwritten law]

yeah liveaquaria is where I got most of my rock... I was just looking for other options... have you gotten corals from there before? Also for zoas they dont really show you individual types/colorations, just a general form.

 

[strout]

I have bought Polyps and Zoas from Vivid, twice, and have nothing bad to say about them. Packaged good and everything arrived alive and in good shape.

 

[quaddity]

We have a good local reefer club here. Once I discovered that and their goal of spreading "rare" corals around the valley for cheap prices I don't buy from anywhere else now. We have monthly meetings and auctions.

 

[unwritten law]

I have bought Polyps and Zoas from Vivid, twice, and have nothing bad to say about them. Packaged good and everything arrived alive and in good shape.

Vivid seems like another nice place... thanks for the tip

 

[Lotus]

I've gotten corals from LiveAquaria. I bought some of the aquacultured ones. For nice zoas, check out the LiveAquaria Divers Den, which is where they have all the "hot" corals.

 

[unwritten law]

Vivid seems like another nice place... thanks for the tip

Since I have to pay for shipping each time, would it be wise to stock my corals all now or wait till later when I have all my livestock and stable or just add slowly?

I'm mostly looking at zoas, easy leathers, and mushrooms

 

[strout]

I would, forget about the live stock and just buy more corals.

 

[zoalover34]

Also look into Uniquecorals.com .. They give more polyps than they say and everything comes in good shape and starting to open in the bag!!

 

[unwritten law]

I would, forget about the live stock and just buy more corals.

thats what im thinking... haha

unfortunately one of my clowns who never looked great isnt doing hot so I hope to get a new one of those...

I think the only other fish I'd add is a small goby (maybe a clown) and if I can handle it a six line


I would rather buy corals of people here if you guys have some extra frags laying around. From what I've seen most of you have great looking stuff.