Frags

[Aquattro]

Don't really see any type of pattern at all, it's just the way SPS are. Some do well, some don't. Some grow fast, others don't grow at all, and some fade away. Ideally, more grow than fade, but it depends on the coral, it's source, it's time and changes during shipping, it's new lighting, water chemistry and flow, available food in the water column, and on and on.

[reefermadness]

The big thing for me is how long has it been in captivity.....is the mother colony grown from a frag? Does it have a history of doing well in an aquarium? Not all SPS do well and/or grow in an aquarium.

[reefermadness]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Don't really see any type of pattern at all, it's just the way SPS are. Some do well, some don't.

The pattern for me is whether or not someone else has been successful in growing it and keeping it healthy/colourful. I have never lost a single aquarium grown frag. I've lost lots of wild and maricultured pieces. This mostly pertains to acropora.....

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by reefermadness

The pattern for me is whether or not someone else has been successful in growing it and keeping it healthy/colourful. I have never lost a single aquarium grown frag. I've lost lots of wild and maricultured pieces. This mostly pertains to acropora.....

Agreed. The OP doesn't state how long the seller had the frags, that could be the difference. If the frags have been recently cut from maricultured colonies, and not given enough time to settle before being moved again, that could reduce the likelihood of success.
I think I've only ever lost one piece that came from an established aquarium colony. I think I've only ever kept one piece that was wild. Generally pretty lucky with maricultured, but I get them out of the box most of the time, that reduces the bouncing from tank to tank.