Is coral farming on a nano scale worth it in FL?

[Seamusthecuber]

Hey everyone I am new to reef2reef and I am wanting to get into nano coral frag farming. Looking towards growing higher end zoanthids and green star polyps covering tonga branches.
I am wondering how viable it is for a side gig that is also enjoyable and relatively self sustainable. Is there a demand for corals from small individual sales or do the stores in the central fl and online shops take all of the available potential customers?

 

[Doctorgori]

also wondering but you thinking Indoors or outdoors (mariculture-ish)?

 

[Sump Crab]

FL is not the best place to start coral farming these days IMO. The state is coming down hard on "invasive" species and the potential is there to shut down the whole industry here some day.

With that being said there are a TON of people who get into the hobby as a "side gig" and most don't last very long. Its $$$$ to farm and hard to turn any real profit it seems.

 

[ninjamyst]

Nope not worth it and not sustainable. LFS won't give you a nickel for your corals. Their farms 1000x bigger and better than yours. Selling to locals is hard cuz everyone is doing this already. Can't even get people to take free GSP.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

Dependable on what you mean by worth it. Will you turn a profit? Probably not. Is it fun and can help offset your hobby costs? Absolutely.

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you are in an active local club where you can advertise your corals for sale, you can do quite well.

 

[Seamusthecuber]

also wondering but you thinking Indoors or outdoors (mariculture-ish)?

I was wanting to do it small indoor tank roughly 20 to 50 gallons

 

[Doctorgori]

I was wanting to do it small indoor tank roughly 20 to 50 gallons

pardon the slight detour….but I’ve always wondered if Floridas climate prohibited a mariculture type operation similar to those you see in the Indo-Pacific region….must be some law or environmental hurdle prohibiting scaling up a similar operation..

 

[Peace River]

It’s possible, but not a high percentage chance. It would seem that you would need to find an unfilled niche. For example, growing high end zoas that tend to melt for other farms but you can figure out the riddle. If you aren’t already, becoming a expert on water and the type of livestock that you plan to focus on. Good luck on whatever you choose!

 

[Seamusthecuber]

I don't k

pardon the slight detour….but I’ve always wondered if Floridas climate prohibited a mariculture type operation similar to those you see in the Indo-Pacific region….must be some law or environmental hurdle prohibiting scaling up a similar operation..

Now about that. Being in the Ocala area it is very warm all year but we get occasional freezes in winter

 

[RZGreef]

I'm in the Orlando area, and I've bought from someone who runs this as a side gig here. He basically frags off nicer torches and gonis, which is what I got from him. I plan to get more in the future too from him. The main reason for this is because his prices are 50% or less compared to the LFSes around here, and his frags are double the size of the tiny store frags. Considering GSP is already so low cost in the stores, it wouldn't make sense for him to culture such corals and sell them at or below 50% of LFS prices. Also, he was very generous with knowledge and his time, and continued to follow up with texts asking how the corals were doing in my tank, and even answering unrelated general reef keeping questions. I don't think that he's making any serious money, but more just doing it as something he loves.

 

[jkcoral]

I live in east Orlando and have 2 of the big coral stores as my LFS.

If you have a small setup that grows some desiresble Zoas and things, there are people looking for that stuff in the area. A lot of people who frag/sell coral around here want silly prices for things, so if you had some stuff and weren’t looking for 80% of what the big stores charge you’d have plenty of people interested.

 

[Crustaceon]

You'd honestly be better off developing a product to help people keep coral. Getting a patent and selling the product.

 

[useer10202820]

I do it in Houston. If you have the capital to get started and the time(thanks covid), you can create a stream of income.

As I retire from the corporate world in the next 10 years, my plan is to open a boutique store that is appt only type retail.

 

[revhtree]

I think it's viable to use for trade and possibly to trade with a local fish store. It's also fun being a farmer!