every store I visited sold or kept
a lot of SPS corals. When I asked
why, the response was kind of
startling: to the shop owners
SPS corals were easy to grow
and frag and as a result they
said these corals were often
traded or sold by hobbyists so
having them in their shops was
not cost effective (this is also
becoming the trend here in the
States as well and seemed to
especially be the case in Italy).
So, while frags do not nearly
fetch the price that they do
here, there still seems to be a
significant market for them, but
most of this market is between
hobbyists or individual’s corals
for aquaculture in their homes.As I have said many times, I
consider myself to be blessed
that I have been able to travel
to many interesting places and
enjoy the hobby wherever I
have travelled. This has allowed
me to see many beautiful tanks,
shops and corals and meet
many wonderful fellow hobby-
ists in the process. I find it funny
that the competitive juices still
flow between hobbyists all over
the world. A curious observa-
tion I have made is that often
the Europeans look to the US
for what the next trends or
breakthroughs in the hobby
will be, while at the same time
US hobbyists often look to
Europe for what the next new
methodology will be. It is nicethat there is kind of a mutual
admiration between hobbyists
everywhere. In my opinion, I do
not think any one place I have
visited is significantly ‘better’ at
the hobby than any other, but
just as here, everyone kind of
does things a little differently,
and in just about all instances
with great success. More impor-
tantly, after talking with many
of my fellow hobbyists, I am
heartened to know that most of
us realise that we are all in this
together and as a result most of
the people I met were happy to
share their “secrets”. Since there
really should be no secrets I
try to pass on what I learn to
my fellow hobbyists. It is good
to know that these hobbyistsalso generally realise there is
no “magic” to this hobby, rather
it takes time, patience, money
and a certain amount of obses-
siveness to be successful. While
the internet has helped shrink
the size of the world, and has
allowed for information to be
shared easily, I must admit that
I still learned more by visiting
and seeing these tanks and
talking with their owners than
I could have from just getting
snippets of information from
the ‘net. Hopefully this sharing
of information will continue to
increase and improve every-
one’s level of success, whatever
side of ‘the pond’ you are from,
long into the future!A curious observation I have made is that often the Europeans look to the
US for what the next trends or breakthroughs in the hobby will be, while
at the same time US hobbyists often look to Europe for what the next new
methodology will be.
A tank showing a couple of the hottest thing in the States. “Bounce” mushrooms with prices that can go to $6000 per mushroom