Please let me know your preferences when acquiring new frags. Some people like newly cut frags, and some prefer frags that have had some time to heal and start to grow out on a plug or rock.
Also include the reasons for your choice and we can get to know what the pros and cons of either method.
In my experience the survival rate of grown out fully healed frags is 5-10 times greater. I will often cut the base of a frag off right before putting them into my display when removing the frags from quarantine, but prefer to receive them healed almost so much that I won’t take fresh cut even for free.
I chose fresh cut but not straight from the colony to my tank. I prefer them to be cut and healed just not attached to anything so i can attach them to my aquascape to give a more natural look.
I would have to say I would prefer healed. that way you know it is handled the stress well. Though I have sold both healed and growing out to cut the night before and all frags I have sold blossomed in others tanks. I have not yet heard of anyone getting a bad frag from me whether it was sps/softies. Though on the other hand I have received frags both ways and the fresh cuts/glue. I had more issues with frags that were fresh from other people then the healed.
Which reminds me I have to start making frags for the swap 
I like them healed too they don’t have to be fully encrusted just a bit just to know they are growing. I like my plugs so fresh is ok, but a bit of growth shows they are good.
Of course if I was to pay large amount for some frags. I would like for it to have been encrusted and growing a little. Knowing it has been well taken care of, the survival in my tank would be much more rewarding. But don’t get me wrong I will also take a cheap or loose free frag any day, especially when I know were it was coming from or if some acro piece I’m looking for.
We all know that a frag that has had some time to rest and grow out on a plug or rock is a much hardier frag then a fresh cut frag, but will definitely cost twice as much money, if not more. The fresh frag is stressed from just being cut and then transported to a new environment, stressing it out even more.
But, this is where we have to make a tough decision. Because of the addiction to wanting more corals in our tanks, we will choose to get the fresh cut frags for a lower price and then we will think since they cost less money, we can get even more frags for the same price of just one healed and growing frag.
I also don’t mind buying brown corals then they color nicely and you get a good surprise. Kind of better than buying a really expensive colored acro that loses some luster.
[quote=“dunk, post:8, topic:5683”]
I also don’t mind buying brown corals then they color nicely and you get a good surprise. Kind of better than buying a really expensive colored acro that loses some luster.[/quote]
+1, love surprises.
John a couple things. Having worked for and with many local fish stores I know the smart ones take into account the casualties in the price. If they can get corals 20% cheaper from vendor X, but they often lose 35% of the order then it’s not worth it. The biggest problem is the hobbyist who are hunting for cheaper prices are often not being smart, but just being cheap.(and many are new hobbyist that just don’t know better)
Focusing just on the retail side of things(ignoring hobbyist trades) if we just support the chop shops, this will hurt the quality stores and we may not have an option in the future. If most of the frags we trade at swaps are fresh cut how are you to know when you are buying that you are not buying from a new hobbyist that received the colony last night from someone that has both “red bugs” and montipora eating nudibranchs. Survival rate and pest transfer risks are significantly greater.
On a grown out frag you can tell they have had it for a while in healthy conditions and often see any symptoms of pests/issues with the coral.
I don’t think I will ever sell or trade a fresh cut animal. The other day I found myself considering selling a fresh cut red monti cap just because I have tons of it to replace it if it was lose, but I don’t think it is ethical. These are animals we should treat with respect and I would show the person receiving the coral that it is ok to get fresh cut animals when I do not believe it is.
On the other hand, people that are hyper critical about hitch hikers, algae or bugs are better off getting a fresh clean break piece from a nice healthy colony. easy to blow anything off and observe for any pests while in a dip in a white plastic tub. if your tank params and biology are good, it shouldnt even skip a beat.
Just inspect, dip and rinse first, and then mount on a sterile plug and its good to go. If its coming from a healthy, happy tank, not much chance of a problem. and certainly no algae hiding in a rubble rock mount or other stuff. The super glue gel acts as a sealing bandaid on the fractured end of the frag when you glue it down. just dont use such a big glob it goes too far up the live skin of the frag. just enough to cover the boken edge and seal it. Hospitals use super glue to stitch skin cuts together. works the same for corals.
I like getting fresh break frags. unmounted. Ive had good fortune with them.