Timfish Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Just gotta brag! This was for a couple of Sinularia foliata colonies one of my clients donated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua-Dome Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Dang, Tim. No wonder you don't like my store credit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 That's awesome, and something I never thought of. Aquariums will accept coral colonies as a donation that you can then use for a tax write off? How difficult is it to get them to accept a coral, and how is the valuation made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoMa Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Who donated this coral to TSA? I don't see a name on that document. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 Who donated this coral to TSA? I don't see a name on that document. What!? And have you show this was just something I cobbled together to try to tweek a little more store credit out of Gary and Hunter at Aqua-Dome!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 . . . How difficult is it to get them to accept a coral, and how is the valuation made? Mike, it's going to depend a lot on what the aquarium is looking for and what they have space for. (No Nurse, Bamboo or Cat sharks!) I contacted 3 public aquariums and Texas State Aquarium was the only one that responded. It also helped that I had lab work identifying this species and that it's only recently described and rare. If it was just a generic green finger octocoral they probably would not have been interested. As far as determining price it was based on how many frags each colony could reasonable be divided into and what the frags fair market value should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 So do they ha . . . How difficult is it to get them to accept a coral, and how is the valuation made? Mike, it's going to depend a lot on what the aquarium is looking for and what they have space for. (No Nurse, Bamboo or Cat sharks!) I contacted 3 public aquariums and Texas State Aquarium was the only one that responded. It also helped that I had lab work identifying this species and that it's only recently described and rare. If it was just a generic green finger octocoral they probably would not have been interested. As far as determining price it was based on how many frags each colony could reasonable be divided into and what the frags fair market value should be. So would this also be a good avenue to pursue for fish that get too large for people's tanks? I had a huge purple tang (it had started small) that I ended up trading for a pitiful amount of store credit that would have sold for hundreds of dollars. In that case I would have rather donated it to an aquarium than get $15 trade-in for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoMa Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Congrats Tim, you need to frame that doc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 Congrats Tim, you need to frame that doc. Got a copy it taped to the frig next to pics of my cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 . . . a good avenue to pursue for fish that get too large for people's tanks? I had a huge purple tang (it had started small) that I ended up trading for a pitiful amount . . . It's going to depend a lot on what you have and what the Aquarium is looking for. I know they do not want the sharks people commonly get for their tanks, there are more important/valuable animals to commit their resources to. You might contact maintenance companies like myself to see if they are interested. Here's the considerations I would have deciding on getting a fish from a local hobbyist: Do I have to catch it. This alone may ruin the deal. If I have to tear apart a reef system to catch a fish it's probably not worth the investment of time (and I still have to quarantine it) or the risk to the corals. What's the history of the tank, has it been taken care of: If I don't know the history or the tank has not been maintained I'm better off paying more to my supplier. I might consider it for a more expensive fish like a Purple Tang that I think is worth rehabilitating but I'm not going to be willing to pay what I pay my supplier. On the flip side if the tank has been very well maintained and the majority of the fish are not overweight or underweight and the fish has grown well from when it was acquired I would consider a premium because there is always an element of risk with my supplier and this increases with larger specimens. How long has the fish been in the tank: A couple of months tells me the owner is buying stuff on impulse and to be cautious. It might be a good looking fish and a good price but tanks that have stuff cycled through them without having things settle down and establish themselves is a breeding ground for unseen and screwy problems. An established tank that has lots of fish and corals that have been in the tank a while and show growth is going to equate to a healthy fish. What is the age of the fish: A 5 year old Purple Tang should have another 15 or more years in it so it is a good investment. A 10 year old dwarf angel is probably at least at the median age for longevity so is pretty much on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ludakris Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 sweet man!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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