The Money Pit: How much are you willing to spend on livestock?

[AlyciaMarie]

Starting a home reef is expensive. But after the tank is up and the cycling is complete, this is where the money pit can begin to deepen. Of course, if you play your cards right, you can snag some awesome stuff for cheap. But is there one thing that you would be willing to put the nail in your financial coffin for?

How much are you willing to spend on a single piece of livestock? (I.e., Fish, Coral, Inverts, etc.)

And what is the most you've ever spent? Let's discuss it!

 

[Reefer Matt]

$200-300 is my top. And it is very rare I go that high. Usually for me, the more expensive something is, the more likely it won’t make it long term. $100 and under is comfortable.

 

[vabben]

Coral I struggle to pull the trigger on expensive pieces, I love acros but have yet to spend over $100 on a frag. But have multiple $250+ fish.

 

[GARRIGA]

Gotta have it gonna have a bigger budget then utilitarian.

 

[paragrouper]

Hmmm

Vendors viewing this poll should note the really small addressable market for high priced livestock.

Just sayin’

 

[Gumbies R Us]

100-250 is the absolute max I would spend.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I would NEVER spend over 100 dollars on coral. Fish is a different story; but max would be 200.

 

[Formulator]

My boat is a hole in the water I throw money into, and my reef tank is a hole in the earth for the same purpose

That said, I don’t think I could spend more than $300 on a single piece. While I’m confident in my ability to keep most corals, these are sensitive animals and accidents happen. Its just too risky. I wish there was some kind of insurance policy available, but I suspect that business wouldn’t last long LOL. If I love a particularly expensive designer coral, I will just look for the tiniest frag and be patient. Not worth the $1000+ price tag for larger pieces.

 

[VintageReefer]

I would spend a few hundred if the coral was large, unique, etc

Most of the time I’m at 150 or less

 

[exnisstech]

I never really set a limit.
The most I've ever spent was $490 for a large acanthophyllia that was originally priced at $900. I just tossed the skeleton over the hill a couple of weeks ago so I now have a limit, it's $490.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Probably a $100 is a hard limit, per piece/animal.

 

[Narideth]

I don't like this poll at all!

I usually keep my purchases comfortably under the $100 mark. I've never spent more than that on a piece of coral or a -single- fish, but I did hit the $250-$500 mark when I bought my Crocea clam - and it wasn't near the lower end.

Unfortunately that clam perished, and I learned a hard lesson about impulse purchases and the stress that comes with worrying about losing a single high-priced investment piece.

 

[Aquavaj]

$100 or less for fish and $40 or less for corals.

 

[rc8t6353]

This is my most expensive purchase so far on a single piece of livestock. 120.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

less than $25 is as gangster as "Other" which probably means 10 grand or more for those 1-2%ers here. Funny thing is, you can have just as gorgeous a tank as anyone but need patience and lots of researching to find deals.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

This is my most expensive purchase so far on a single piece of livestock. 120.

gorgeous.. thats probably my cap when it comes to coral

 

[PharmrJohn]

Yeah, my wife and I have 2 different beliefs here. I'll go 250 to 500. She wants 100 to 150. As she is not in the community, I have a feeling I'll have some explaining to do. And a fair amount of begging.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

 

[exnisstech]

Yeah, my wife and I have 2 different beliefs here. I'll go 250 to 500. She wants 100 to 150. As she is not in the community, I have a feeling I'll have some explaining to do. And a fair amount of begging.

Explaining is easier than begging for permission

EDIT : well maybe not easier but you end up with the piece in the end

 

[tbaum101]

Starting a home reef is expensive. But after the tank is up and the cycling is complete, this is where the money pit can begin to deepen. Of course, if you play your cards right, you can snag some awesome stuff for cheap. But is there one thing that you would be willing to put the nail in your financial coffin for?

How much are you willing to spend on a single piece of livestock? (I.e., Fish, Coral, Inverts, etc.)

And what is the most you've ever spent? Let's discuss it!

I'd spend $500 on something but it would have to be very special with a low probability of it dying. I wouldn't at this point in my journey at all...But I can see it later. Every time I go to my LFS I try to keep it under $300 but that's more of a target than a hard rule. Starting it up, you're not sure what's gonna work and what's gonna make you cry. I'm 6 months in and have spent Thousands on coral, rock and critters but the most I've dropped on one thing has $180..For.a Tang...that got velvet...and died