why are acans so expensive????

D

DeMarcusR

Could some of you professional coral keeper please shed some light on my peon brain.. I'd like to know why the heck acans are so expensive?

They appear not to be any different (care wise) than the average favia coral..
No outrageous lighting requirements or anything of that nature. I'm seeing acan FRAGS that are more expensive than some entire sps colonies.



Acanthastrea Lordhowensis (Acanthastrea sp.)

Type: Large Polyp Stony
Family: Mussidae
Origin: Indo Pacific

Aquarium Needs:

Lighting: Acanthastrea Lordhowensis are a hermatypic/photosynthetic coral. They require moderate to high lighting. Power compact lighting may be used but ideally T-5 & Metal Halide fixtures will prove more beneficial.
Water Quality: Acanthastrea Lordhowensis are more tolerant of changes water quality making them an excellent coral for beginners. Though they are more tolerant, a stable environment is obviously better for the prolonged health & well being of these creatures. Due to the heavy feeding requirements, a strong protein skimmer is recommended. Activated carbon as well as items such as ozone generators can help as well.
Current: Acanthastrea Lordhowensis require medium to strong water movement. Excessive flow on the animal can cause polyp retraction or in worst-case polyp bailout (polyps actually detach from their skeleton).
 
Because people will pay that kinda money for 'em... Pure and simple...

There are fads in corals that come in go... Few years ago it was Zoanthids, especially blues, people would pay outrageous prices for a few heads... Now they're a dime a dozen... Give it another year or two, and acans will come down in price and the next fad will come along...

(Not saying they're not beautiful, mind you, it's just that they're the current "it" coral in fashionable circles, thus the high price)
 
I would also suggest that coming from Australia, it is hard on the corals to make that kind of journey. The flights alone are 22 hours, so they must be in transit for longer than that, in the same water.
Catherine
 
I agree with Matt. If you look at the "expensive" pricing, it might be for a 20-30 head colony. Zoanuts sells quite a few in the $5-10 per head range. The bag of crud I bought from them had 25 heads, so quite reasonable for $100. Neptune's cove always sells many different acans and will frag a smaller 5-10 head colony on many of them.

Now, if you want to talk about overpriced, let's talk chalices :D
 
Squirt and Brian hit the nail on the head. Some of them are rare and you get different color morphs coming out all the time, but they're the "it" coral atm. About a year ago Duncans were another Australian coral that was the "it" coral and were going for 50-60 + a head but have gone down quite a bit as retailers/aquaculture farms starting growing them out and saturating the market. They were rare for a while because not many people have them. Usually when a "new" or "rare" coral hits the market it's only a matter of time before the supply catches up with the demand either through more collection or aquaculturing.

Rhizos are another example. They are still pretty high and have been for a while. They'll probably stay up there for a while because I don't know how easy it is to aquaculture them as it is for other corals.

They are certainly pretty, it's just a matter of how much you're willing to pay like anything.
 
There are quite a bit of favias that go for big money as well. I have noticed the price of acans come down quite a bit especially the normal red and green variations and i've only been in the hobby 11 months.

I agree with Charlie though lets talk chalices where you can be talkin $200+ for a 1/4 inch. I just bought my first one and I'm scared I'm about to get addicted to this new crack I've been introduced to. Now if I can only get Drew to give me my next fix on that. Come on Drew just a lil piece!
 
Another thing about Acan's is their relatively slow growth. A couple of Doncan heads will turn into 10 in a few months with regular feeding.
 
I think one reason for the price the acans was so expensive was that there was talk that no more corals were going to be exported out of Australia. So no everyone has a bunch of acans the horded up so price is going down but that is just my take on them..

If you feed the acans they will multiply pretty fast.
 
A big reason Acans are so expensive, is that is the way that wholesales in Austrailia try to keep it. If they can't make a certain margin for these nice corals, then they will simply stop sending them in.
I agree with Charlie and Ruben, Chalices and even some favia's have begun to take the place of the highly coveted and priced acans.
 
Has anyone ever figured why diamonds are so expensive. The large companies are reputed to have huge storage buildings loaded with them -- but keep them off the market to maintain prices, shame we cant grow out a few of them from a frag :lol:
 
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