"Don't Break the Chain'

[safeuerwehr]

Hey fellow Maasters, I was doing some surfing on reefcentral and came across this idea of frag swapping....its similar to the "Pass it forward" idea....It seems like an interesting idea and wonder if something like this would work in our club...I'm willing to start things off with some frags which are mostly softies...heres the link

http://www.bareefers.org/BAR/viewforum.php?f=17&sid=47a81887245cdd2120d59ea8aee e39e9

LMK what you members think of this and see how we can get something like this started...

[Shark_Bait]

I've done this with fragexchange before. The big thing to remember is shipping distances (which should be that bad 'cause we're all in TX) and the size of the "thermos". If the box is too big those that don't have many frags will feel bad that they couldn't fill it. But on the other hand if it's too small it's almost not worth it.

But either way I'm in it's a great way tp get some frags for shipping only.

[MattK]

I'm game.

[fishypets]

Great idea but use caution when introducing new corals into your tank. I now have AEFW because I didn't think it could happen to me.

[safeuerwehr]

I thinks its an awesome idea but i would take alot of cooperation from everyone interested......as far as shipping i wasnt thinking about that but wouldnt be a bad idea to just pay for shipping....The whole purpose of the DBTC is that we as a community can help each other introduce new species into our displays without breaking the bank and also insuring that these species have a legacy...Say i had a rare coral that I kept to myself and never fragged it out, should something happen to the colony that would have meant the end of my rare coral....had i passed a frag on and so on and so on I would insure that in the event of a die off i would have a sourse for my rare coral...thats one example....

[jrnannery]

:o I would so like to get in on this, especially as far as zoas go. Also, as far as shipping goes, I will GLADLY drive to New Braunfels, or even South Austin to deliver, or a similar radius around town.

Let me know what is involved.

[jrnannery]

Bump

[Mr_Cool]

Great idea. But, for those of us who don't have a really great collection, it just doesn't seem fair. I mean, I would feel like I'm cheating someone if I got a bunch of nice frags, but couldn't give anything like it to the next person. Also, what about those who are not quite set up for sps corals? I would have to just pass along any sps to the next guy 'cause I really can't keep any of those.

What if we did a "mystery exchange" at a meeting or something. Anyone who wanted to be in it could bring a frag or two to exchange. But, we would draw numbers or something to decide who to exchange with. You could decide if you want to be in the sps exchange, the softies exchange, zoa exchange, etc. (I'm thinking of something like a "Secret Santa" exchange that is done at the office, or at work.)

Not to kill the original idea, but would there be any interest in this? Of course, we could do one or the other, and some people could opt to do both.

[jrnannery]

The point is to grow out that frag you receive, then pass it on. In the case of zoa's, this is pretty darn easy. Same with mushrooms. All I really have to exchange right now is zoa frags. I just got a piece of chili pepper, but it is gonna take some time to grow that out to fragging size. I am more than willing to do this, or forget the organization, and just start sharing the bounty.

I don't really want any money for the limited amount of stuff I have, and am willing to trade if I can find any like-minded individuals here. Sounds kinda like Socialism, don't it?

[safeuerwehr]

exactly JR, this idea has many advantages, the goal here is to propagate corals to ease demand on wild propagated corals, also it continues the legacy of the the original coral should it die off. and the way this works you pass a coral on to a person with similar parameters in their tank as yours. Also the only coral that you are passing on is the one your were given and grew out.

[mathias]

I think we should work on something like a buddy system find out where everyone stays and the closest people to each other help each other setup thier system for sps and such and then start sharing frags with each other....

[safeuerwehr]

im all for any type of system that would be us closer as a group.....i think we just need more involvement....this is a club but besides montly meetings we dont get together and associate with each other like other clubs do....would be nice to start up some sort of group to share ideas and buddy systems.....

[Bill S]

Just a thought. I belong to a worldwide sailing fraternity. Our local group gets together regularly for parties, events, etc. Along with that, we get together for dinner (families too!) every "First Thursday" at a local resturant. This has proven to be very popular, even though we've been doing it for a couple of years - EVERYONE seems to make it. It's only a couple of hours, and it's a great way to catch up.

[jrnannery]

Without soundng like a fish hater, Sea Island or Red Lobster sound REALLY good right now. BONUS!!!!!! Red Lobster has a live lobster tank where we could float corals until we were ready to leave!!! :skeezy

[Bill S]

I'm guessing the lobster tank is chilled??? How about the new restaurant at Bass Pro?

[safeuerwehr]

well ive been to the rain forrest cafe and they have several fowler tanks, im sure we could float our frags in them..

[jrnannery]

This going to go anywhere?

[5.0Stang]

I think its a great idea but im broke and have like 4 frags but im in when i get more frags i just started!

[Hotrod32487]

Id love to get in on this but i feel i would be cheating someone too cause i dont really have much. The stuff that i do have that is nice, i just recently aquired and is still small frags. Great idea though Alfred and i really like the idea of meetings and stuff. It would be nice to put a face to more of these names i feel like i already kinda know through all the posts i read

[jrnannery]

Alright, I will break the ice, then. How about we who wish to participate begin the process at dinner somewhere? I will be out of town Sunday, and I have something to do tomorrow night til well after 10:00pm. Friday night is wide open for me.

I saw that most of us are in SA, one from Helotes, I'm from Schertz, so let's find a place that is really central to all of us. Agreed? I vote for a restaurant off of 410 near Fredericksburg. Is that about central for us all?

I don't wish to sound macabre, but, I LOVE seafood, and steaks. How does that fit the bill?

Richard
I have a small 4 or 5 polyp colony ( more like a settlement ) of mottled green zoas with purple centers and DENSE brown fringe.