[johns]

i mean how hard is it to snap a pc of monti off or any other coral, but then charge someone half or a quarter of what you paid, you get 3 buyers and they just paid for your coral

Well this thread is getting pretty stupid, but if you are interested I paid over $120 for the superman monti I bought. You do the math.

It was not a frag, but a piece about the size of my thumb with a big awkward looking base. I had no intention of breaking it apart originally, but I did something stupid. I didnt like the way the base looked on the thing, and I decided to try to break a couple of pieces off of the bottom so the whole thing looked more 'natural' where I wanted to glue it in. Well, I wound up killing the majority of the piece from what I did. All I was left with was the about 6 pieces from around the base, all around the same size. The main piece (probably 90% of the coral) is still in my tank, but is pretty much a-goner.

And all the talk about making a profit is outrageous too. I didnt turn around and post to sell any of the pieces from the base I had left upfront. I waited about 3 months until I knew all were established and encrusting again. Then I found 2 I wanted to keep for myself, sold one off (it's the only one I've sold, and for the exact price I posted here - $35), and killed another piece in the process.

$35 from a $120 coral isn't what I would call much profit. And even if I sold the other 2 pieces (personally I'd rather trade), there wont be any profit to be had. In fact, it's doubtful I'd ever even sell another piece off of the coral once these last couple were traded off or sold. I'd rather let the coral frags I am keeping grow out.