Current status of the hobby

[kodock]

Hey guys and gals, so I started my break from the hobby back in 2019, before Covid. I have a couple items that I was looking to part with, but I couldn’t help but search for an excuse to keep them and use them on a new setup.

When I was searching I saw that all of the red sea max’s and AIO tanks were out of stock, not a lot of used tanks were for sale, and inventory was low or just non-existent for some common items. My question is, does the lack of resources threaten the hobby? You know like a salt shortage or anything. Maybe I just didn’t do enough googling. How has covid affected the hobby resource wise for you guys?

 

[jcook54]

In our area, it's been harder to get fish and those that stores can get tend to be higher priced. That's based on conversations I've had with a couple of store owners and I don't know that's a more local issue or nation wide. I do know a lot of people have been investing in the hobby since most folks are home a lot more than they ever used to be. I had a conversation with @adamdaniel210 and Classic City did a lot of new setups last spring. Folks entering or upgrading in the hobby was helped along by the extra unemployment money as well as the stimulus. I took this as good news since that's what the money is supposed to be for, keeping the economy going. In my professional life, I know that the first few months was a mess trying to get things imported but it's gotten easier as we move into the "new normal." I was trying to get wire out of Peru and the due date got pushed back a few months because the manufacturing plant had to temporarily close due to covid but they eventually got caught up. I'm assuming the same delays I've been experiencing would apply to most imported items in the aquarium hobby as well.

So, does all of this threaten the hobby? My gut says no because there haven't been any major issues that I'm aware of. Items might be out-of-stock for a while but I haven't seen or heard of anything major like a salt shortage or something like that. I'm also convinced that Covid is the excuse for pretty much everything right now even if it's not really related. Any delivery issues? Covid. Production issues? Covid.

 

[timeconsumer]

Supply is short in a lot of areas right now, I can't point to one thing or another and say this is the singular cause or isn't as rarely are things that simple. A great example is live rock, the maricultured stuff from the Gulf or the Keys, is currently in very short supply with TBS not currently servicing orders, Saltybottom Reef Co out of stock completely, and KP Aquatics being the only current seller that I can think of. It is very possible there is increased demand as well from either stimulus checks, tax refunds and/or people spending money on something else due to excess free time inside the home. With these current supply and demand situations KP Aquatics has raised the cost of their live rock by 15% in the past month or so. And I suspect the increase in price will likely have very little effect on the amount of orders placed with them, if you want live rock you don't have much of a choice. Is this threatening the hobby? Absolutely not, but it certainly is one more wrinkle in an already complicated marketplace.

 

[joeyprice]

RedSea just hiked their tank prices 20% citing COVID related cost increases.

 

[Shawn]

So yeah - covid has hurt every aspect of production, shipping, distributing, etc. Just using my bar as an example there’s some products that I haven’t been able to order in weeks simply because they can’t get it here. You’ve gotta remember that there’s the manufacturer and all those people. The shipping to the distribution centers and all those people. Then shipping to more distribution centers and all those people. Then shipping to retailers and all those people.

With businesses having suffered extreme losses due to lack of sales and customers that trickles all the way up and down. Folks have been laid off to keep the balance sheets in the black for the business. That results in fewer trucks on the road and people in the plants. If you’ve taken a look you’ll notice the past year there have been MUCH fewer trailers on the roads.

Give it a year and things will adjust to the new normal. This is a blip in the grand scheme of things.

 

[gill]

From vantage point of the owner of an established tank, I have seen no meaningful increase in price or scarcer availability of salt mix (Reef Crystals), foods, additives, RODI supplies, etc.