A Very Expensive Coral...
 

http://www.jlaquatics.com/static/liv...noteworthy.htm

Aussie Acan Hillae
$599.95
Acanthastrea hillae
This ultra rare coral is for the person who only has what others want.

cool coral...but holy, if it didn't make it...wow that would really suck to say "I had this very cool coral, ultra rare and ultra expensive...and here's the remains"

Kind of pushing the envelope a little far. Just my opinion. I "think" they are testing the waters for a huge price hike on corals. Not like J&L, just a gut feeling I got when I saw those prices..Jumping on the back of Global warming, reefs endangered etc.

When i asked them about an Elegance coral for $250 they told me it came from Australia and extra duty/charge was applied. next tank over were same Elegance corals for $49.
I agree this price hike is creasy.

guys all aussie corals are in this price range. Sure its shocking when you first learn it but when you actually think about it its not as crazy as you think.

The regular indo corals are collected by divers making 17 cents. I have no idea what the aussie guys are making but i know its a lot more then that.

There was a 15 year ban on collection of aussie corals for export this was just lifted. Who knows how many cites they will allow and how long the collection will continue.

Add in the extra freight cost and extremely high demand and you get these prices.

what would you prefer an indo elegance that is 45$ and melts on the way home or within a week or an aussie one you keep for 25 years.

If you have the money for these especially the acan lords its well worth it imo.

What specifically makes an Aussie elegance coral survive for 25 years more than a run-of-the-mill elegance coral from the Indo-Pacific?

I don't understand what you're saying.

Apparently the Aussie Elegance corals are more "bulletproof" than their Indo counterparts. Basically, you won't expect a sudden death syndrome for no reason with the Aussie ones. That is of course, you maintain good parameters, but this goes for any coral.

That's only true if the store can keep them in separate tanks from the Indo ones. Apparently what ever kills off elegance corals is contagious (or is it infectious? anyway it's catching :smile: )

What is so special with that 599 bux acan at J&L's site else than being called as rare or being an aussie acan? Yes some of aussie acans have brighter and nicer coloration than indo acans but many of indo acans are nicely colored as well and their pricing is way more reasonable. Is it worth to pay 400-500 bux more for that much coloration differance ? Are the aussie corals aquacultured? I personally don't mind paying more - not crazy amounts though- for color and aquacultured corals but i don't pay more for an avarage looking coral just because it is rare or the wages, taxes, cost of permits and cost of transportation are higher in the country where that coral collected from . What is wrong with nicely colored aquacultured corals? I don't know maybe it is only my taste but i believe i can buy at least 8-10 amazingly colored aquacultured SPS corals for around 600 bux and they will make my tank look way nicer than a 600 bux aussie acan does.

I have wanted an Elegance for a long time but knowing the poor record of survival I have held off. I have also read that the Aussie elegance is more bulletproof, but a couple questions remain. Since shipments from Austrailia are only happening very recently how do we know they are anymore hardy in the long run?. Also I would be surprised if importers/distributors or most retailers keep the Aus corals seperate from any other, thereby continuing to pass on whatever is causing the demise of this coral regardless of it's origin. Hopefully these corals with proper care will have a chance.

Ridiculous.

yes, it's a lot more expensive to buy and import from australia. this is how much it costs to buy coral from a developed nation. it's not that australian corals are expensive...it's that indo corals are dirt cheap. be greatful for that, because most of us cannot afford to pay more. but there are plenty of people willing to pay hundreds for a coral that not many people have. nobody is forcing you to buy them, or testing the waters for a price hike....

regarding the elegance corals, i haven't heard anything about disease affecting indos. i was under the impression that they are mostly collected from much deeper waters than they used to be, and they cannot adapt to our high-flow, high-light, low nutrient tanks. whereas the aussie elegance are being harvested from much shallower waters.

Looks to me, from the pics, is that those 'aussie' elegance corals are already showing signs of the 'condition'. Short tenticals & inflated bodies... However, it may just have been the time of day that those pics were taken.

Are the Ausie Acans considered rare because the ban on trade has been lifted or are they actually rare? Are they going to be cheaper as time goes on and are more readily available?

i know i can be a sucker for an amazingly colorful sps but for a coral that looks like that i could care less where it came from or how 'rare' it is, there is no way i would pay that. i agree the wages would be a lot higher in australia but those prices seem like a little gouging to me. just my 2 bits though

They are rare in the hobby. It really doesn't matter if they are rare in the ocean or not. It's what's availible in the trade.

Indo acans look bland and dull in comparasion. It's not even close. Sure there are nice indo acans but the aussie ones blow them away. All colours of the rainbow. They are pretty easy to keep and grow out.

Also the collections will not be as frequent as indos. No one can expect aussie corals to arrive weekly like the 1000s of indo corals. if the ban is brought back then it will be next to impossible to get more.

Once you see them in person you will be greatly impressed. I've seen about 75 acan colonies in person and every single one was different. Even the polyps on the same colony can be different. They are truely the cream of the crop.

I noticed that too, that's why i haven't bought one

If I win the lotto, I may just spend that on a coral. MAYBE. But seeing as my entire setup (well, let's not be silly, lots added together would be more than that) cost less than $600, I'll pass. I feel sketchy buying corals for $40!

Obviously aussie corals aren't for everyone. There is no doubt they are expensive, but how is it sketchy buying corals that come from the ocean halfway around the world, which are collected by people who put their lives on the line to get them, then have to be bought by a store and shipped properly and then in some cases bought by a wholesaler before hitting your LFS for the cost of only $40. Yes reef keeping is an expensive hobby but really I think its amazing that corals can be sold for $40.

I can remember back when when elegance corals were frequently imported, and sold for under $40.00, and one of the easier corals to keep. Then for some reason mortality rates increased dramatically and they were rarely seen in the LFS.

Don't recall what the reason was for the mortality rates. I had one for years and it was huge. Traded it to a LFS as it outgrew my tank and was stinging nearby corals.

It is some kind of pathogen that is picked up in dealers and lfs's tanks, highly contagious and always fatal. It starts with the oral disk puffing up huge and the tentacles getting smaller and shorter