this is a little bit of a hodge podge of conversation / a rant, but my main question will come after it
As some may know, I have been away from the hobby for about 5 years. I have finally gotten back in, but won't officially be in until my tank finishes cycling. about 2 weeks away, roughly.
Coral $$ rant: 5 years ago, when I was buying corals, I always bought small frags. 1-2 heads, but never more, unless the price was an awesome deal for more than that. obviously, depending on what type of coral it was, it was priced accordingly. I remember "Sticks" were the craze, and might still be. But, during that time, I remember I bought a 1-2" frag of a toadstool. Don't remember where I bought it, but all the corals I bought were never more than $25. (I couldn't stomach dropping $40, 80, 200+ on a coral that could possibly die in a few days. not the point....
), so I'm guessing the toadstool was 20-25 bucks. That coral eventually grew out to be about 10-12" before I had to frag it off and sell it. I will most likely get another when I am ready.
today, I decided to go to one of my LFS's, and get a second test done on my water parameters, to see if they were that far off from what I was seeing. I was walking around, checking things out, and came across the coral tank. Tons of coral, all seemed to look good. A lot of the basic colored zoa's. eventually, I came to a 1" piece of toadstool. I got a little excited, UNTIL I saw the price tag on this little 1" piece. holy crap!!!! They wanted $60 for this frag. I understand I have been away, inflation has become our new best friend, but dang. that hurt my head. hopefully, I can trade with local reefers when the time comes, rather than dropping $60 on a softy. we shall see. (that hurt my one feeling I had left)
I understand LFS's need to make a profit, but cmon. I saw a bucket of reef crystals there for $90. what!!?? Look at Amazon, Chewy, etc. They're not $90. whatever helps them sleep at night.
Here is the topic in question: This store had a lot of clownfish. I have my eyes on the Picassos, in general. Was looking to see if they had them. I came across one or two clownfish that had a pattern on it's side that resembled a jigsaw puzzle piece. OH MY!! I went to Live Aquaria to see if I could find the name, but found nothing. What type of clownfish would this be? I didn't get a picture as there were a lot of clowns in the tank, I would have been there forever waiting on a glamour shots photo. Could it be a random patterned clown that just looks different? Is there a specific name for it? If I was ready for fish, I would have got that in a hurry. But I don;t want to rush anything until I can take it right then and there. Sure I could put it in my QT, but who knows how long the cycle of my DT has left. I will continue to keep an eye out for them if they do in fact have a specific name.
As some may know, I have been away from the hobby for about 5 years. I have finally gotten back in, but won't officially be in until my tank finishes cycling. about 2 weeks away, roughly.
Coral $$ rant: 5 years ago, when I was buying corals, I always bought small frags. 1-2 heads, but never more, unless the price was an awesome deal for more than that. obviously, depending on what type of coral it was, it was priced accordingly. I remember "Sticks" were the craze, and might still be. But, during that time, I remember I bought a 1-2" frag of a toadstool. Don't remember where I bought it, but all the corals I bought were never more than $25. (I couldn't stomach dropping $40, 80, 200+ on a coral that could possibly die in a few days. not the point....
), so I'm guessing the toadstool was 20-25 bucks. That coral eventually grew out to be about 10-12" before I had to frag it off and sell it. I will most likely get another when I am ready.today, I decided to go to one of my LFS's, and get a second test done on my water parameters, to see if they were that far off from what I was seeing. I was walking around, checking things out, and came across the coral tank. Tons of coral, all seemed to look good. A lot of the basic colored zoa's. eventually, I came to a 1" piece of toadstool. I got a little excited, UNTIL I saw the price tag on this little 1" piece. holy crap!!!! They wanted $60 for this frag. I understand I have been away, inflation has become our new best friend, but dang. that hurt my head. hopefully, I can trade with local reefers when the time comes, rather than dropping $60 on a softy. we shall see. (that hurt my one feeling I had left)
I understand LFS's need to make a profit, but cmon. I saw a bucket of reef crystals there for $90. what!!?? Look at Amazon, Chewy, etc. They're not $90. whatever helps them sleep at night.
Here is the topic in question: This store had a lot of clownfish. I have my eyes on the Picassos, in general. Was looking to see if they had them. I came across one or two clownfish that had a pattern on it's side that resembled a jigsaw puzzle piece. OH MY!! I went to Live Aquaria to see if I could find the name, but found nothing. What type of clownfish would this be? I didn't get a picture as there were a lot of clowns in the tank, I would have been there forever waiting on a glamour shots photo. Could it be a random patterned clown that just looks different? Is there a specific name for it? If I was ready for fish, I would have got that in a hurry. But I don;t want to rush anything until I can take it right then and there. Sure I could put it in my QT, but who knows how long the cycle of my DT has left. I will continue to keep an eye out for them if they do in fact have a specific name.
