Can someone explain WWC/Jason Fox corals?

[ScottR]

I always see WWC (worldwide corals) and Jason Fox corals with their name as a signature coral. Like Jason Fox B33 bomber for example. Do they modify them in some way that it is unique only to them? I don’t see how an Acro from the wild can be changed into anything different. But then again I don’t know, which is why I’m asking. Chalices can be grafted and made into something unique, so I can understand this.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I always see WWC (worldwide corals) and Jason Fox corals with their name as a signature coral. Like Jason Fox B33 bomber for example. Do they modify them in some way that it is unique only to them? I don’t see how an Acro from the wild can be changed into anything different. But then again I don’t know, which is why I’m asking. Chalices can be grafted and made into something unique, so I can understand this.

People desire the known lineage. That is usually the only difference. Truth is a JF or WWC coral grown under different lighting, flow and parameters may end up looking totally different. Still, people want what they expect and are willing to pay for it. What I mean is, some classic Jason Fox coral has a specific, recognizable look and people want that as their starting potential.

 

[ScottR]

People desire the known lineage. That is usually the only difference. Truth is a JF or WWC coral grown under different lighting, flow and parameters may end up looking totally different. Still, people want what they expect and are willing to pay for it. What I mean is, some classic Jason Fox coral has a specific, recognizable look and people want that as their starting potential.

Well said, thanks! ~ So basically if you’re a horrible reef keeper, you may end up with just a plain old ugly coral.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Well said, thanks! ~ So basically if you’re a horrible reef keeper, you may end up with just a plain old ugly coral.

LOL. Yes! Perhaps a master can turn a dud into a work of art.

 

[ScottR]

LOL. Yes! Perhaps a master can turn a dud into a work of art.

One thing that irritates me though, is seeing a beautiful coral and you get it and it’s tiny and looks completely different than in the pic. The magic of filters and photoshopping.

 

[Johnny M]

One thing that irritates me though, is seeing a beautiful coral and you get it and it’s tiny and looks completely different than in the pic. The magic of filters and photoshopping.

Welcome to Capitalism!

 

[NY_Caveman]

One thing that irritates me though, is seeing a beautiful coral and you get it and it’s tiny and looks completely different than in the pic. The magic of filters and photoshopping.

Well, I can say of those you mentioned I have ordered from WWC and was somewhat surprised how exact the coral looked to the image presented.

 

[ScottR]

Well, I can say of those you mentioned I have ordered from WWC and was somewhat surprised how exact the coral looked to the image presented.

I live in Asia so I can’t order these corals. But we do have some nice stuff out here.

 

[Hemmdog]

One thing I don’t understand is when people buy corals from other reefers then claim it as said lineage; how are they actually proving the lineage. My LFS doesn’t give receipts with lineage names on them or anything, it says coral frag $40. But they are real lineage like PC Rainbow, Walt Disney, all that, that the owner got from the vendors and grew out over the past 10 years. But there’s no real proof on my end, it’s all hear say.

 

[Opus]

One thing I don’t understand is when people buy corals from other reefers then claim it as said lineage; how are they actually proving the lineage. My LFS doesn’t give receipts with lineage names on them or anything, it says coral frag $40. But they are real lineage like PC Rainbow, Walt Disney, all that, that the owner got from the vendors and grew out over the past 10 years. But there’s no real proof on my end, it’s all hear say.

Many years ago I used to see it requested all the time. Once every vendor under the sun started throwing a name on a coral it just stopped. There are local people I trust but that is about it.

 

[ScottR]

One thing I don’t understand is when people buy corals from other reefers then claim it as said lineage; how are they actually proving the lineage. My LFS doesn’t give receipts with lineage names on them or anything, it says coral frag $40. But they are real lineage like PC Rainbow, Walt Disney, all that, that the owner got from the vendors and grew out over the past 10 years. But there’s no real proof on my end, it’s all hear say.

Yeah. I’ve seen some coral sellers on here too, selling WWC, JF and others. But I don’t care what they’re called. I buy what I like. And I only buy WYSIWYG.

 

[SeaDweller]

I met Jason Fox yesterday in San Diego. I tried to pick his brain a bit. First off, he still uses only regular IO for his tanks and still does 600 gallon WC every other week on his 1800 gallon system, makes sense as to why he uses IO economically.

Amongst other things, I did ask him what stood out to him about certain pieces when he’s diving for his own corals, collection, etc. He told me “all corals really do look brown in the ocean, sometimes you get lucky”.

A bit off topic, but a lot of his corals he was selling was actually reasonably priced. And his signature HW was a “good deal” at $400, according to him and his piece looks obviously different than my piece, which did come from him.

 

[SDK]

I live in Asia so I can’t order these corals. But we do have some nice stuff out here.

Yes you do. I've been to the aquarium market in Kowloon. The word amazing doesn't even come close to describing it...

 

[BestMomEver]

JF goes on a lot of dives in Australia and the Philippines (and other places I’m sure) where he collects corals not always known in the hobby. He takes them home, quarantines them, and grows them out. The result is a JF Signature Coral!

 

[ScottR]

Many years ago I used to see it requested all the time. Once every vendor under the sun started throwing a name on a coral it just stopped. There are local people I trust but that is about it.

For some reason, the names that are given to corals irritates me. The zoa names used to be cute at first but

Yes you do. I've been to the aquarium market in Kowloon. The word amazing doesn't even come close to describing it...

I guess you mean goldfish street. I work near there and go nearly everyday after work. I’ve found deals there. But I’m disappointed in the quality and upkeep. Many of them use toilet water. Toilet water is filtered sea water used for flushing. It’s a lower salinity and lower mineral water (Ca 200). It’s sterile but it’s free salt water and many vendors go that route. Toilet water is free in Hong Kong. Here’s a pic of a $5 zoa frag I picked up there last week.

 

[SDK]

For some reason, the names that are given to corals irritates me. The zoa names used to be cute at first but

I guess you mean goldfish street. I work near there and go nearly everyday after work. I’ve found deals there. But I’m disappointed in the quality and upkeep. Many of them use toilet water. Toilet water is filtered sea water used for flushing. It’s a lower salinity and lower mineral water (Ca 200). It’s sterile but it’s free salt water and many vendors go that route. Toilet water is free in Hong Kong. Here’s a pic of a $5 zoa frag I picked up there last week.

Interesting. I was there 11 years ago and the block was full of great shops for reefing, planted tanks, discus and goldfish. This was just before the big influx from the mainland. I'm now wondering if quality has dropped off over the ensuing decade...

 

[ScottR]

Interesting. I was there 11 years ago and the block was full of great shops for reefing, planted tanks, discus and goldfish. This was just before the big influx from the mainland. I'm now wondering if quality has dropped off over the ensuing decade...

I’ve got quite a few reefing friends here. @ylreefer can weigh in as well. The shops now are below subpar. We go there quite often and shake our heads. We recently found Red Sea reefer fakes under the name “better”. Looks exactly like a Red Sea build.

 

[HB AL]

For those that buy corals online because they have no other option, and for the sake of this post, I’ve only bought from wwc once a couple years ago during a live sale, and well it left a sour taste in my mouth with what I received in the order. I’ve bought some JF corals locally and find them legit from my experience as I’ve bought some from my lfs and one other coral vendor and they look just as advertised and stay that way as they grow. I don’t really care for names I just buy what I like, but recently from my lfs I told him if he could find a Homewrecker and WD for a decent price bring it in, so I got a couple decent size frags for way cheaper than anything online or a live sale. My only question which the op brought up is, let’s use WWC as an example, live sale or just online when you see the pics on your pc and they arrive not looking like the pic and change not for the good when all other corals look great, then I just figured give it some time to color up, assuming your lights and tank parameters are spot on, shouldn’t they give you a good idea of what conditions, lights, params, additives etc..... they were grown under I tried emails back then but they went unswered. Or is it just make it look great for the sale grown under specific conditions and photography ( keeping the details top secret) and let the consumer fend for themselves. I buy 90% of my corals at my lfs but in the last few moths I bought a large order of @Battlecorals and drove down to @AquaSD , and in person and online they where beyond helpful and all those corals from those 2 company’s are thriving thanks to there intel. Some people might not like this but it is the truth in my personal experience. I’m not a professional, just an amateur but have had saltwater fish tanks for 30 years+, I like my fish all 14 of them with my Clown, Sargassum and Assasi triggers my favorite of all them more than my corals but like the challenge of growing corals whatever they are. I understand secrets of the trade but when people spend there money online, live sales, they should get the same good advice and important details from all online vendors just like my recent online purchase and the few LFS I frequent DOES.

 

[hatfielj]

I always see WWC (worldwide corals) and Jason Fox corals with their name as a signature coral. Like Jason Fox B33 bomber for example. Do they modify them in some way that it is unique only to them? I don’t see how an Acro from the wild can be changed into anything different. But then again I don’t know, which is why I’m asking. Chalices can be grafted and made into something unique, so I can understand this.

It's a completely arbitrary system that is really silly when you look at it from the outside. All of these vendors are getting their corals from the same place...the ocean. They put them in their tanks, wait for them to color up, then they name them. Some of the pieces they find are fairly unique, but ultimately, everyone has the same stuff, just looks different when placed under different conditions. Jason Fox has found some unique stuff (his fox flame for instance) and as such, the coral gets named for it. but, there's nothing stopping anyone else from importing that same coral and calling it something else. It's just a matter of finding the right supplier or in Jason's case, going over to Indonesia and finding it yourself.
Something to keep in mind...there's a difference between vendors. Some are truly doing aquaculture, meaning they have a limited number of corals they keep, they grow them into colonies and they use them to supply frags to people for many years. Battle Corals is a great example of this. Others are just chop shops. They just quickly acquire wild colonies, color them up, name them, then sell them all before moving on to the next. WWC is a chop shop. They have no way to keep up with the high volume they sell otherwise. That explains why they seem to never have the same corals for sale and are always coming up with new names. They do have some pieces they've held on to for years that they sell over and over (budgie smuggler for instance) from their displays, but the vast majority of their business comes from the wild corals they quickly chop up and sell.

 

[JMetaxas]

One thing that irritates me though, is seeing a beautiful coral and you get it and it’s tiny and looks completely different than in the pic. The magic of filters and photoshopping.

Yep, I've posted about this in the past. I can't believe how few people complain about this.