Colony vs Frag - Definition??!!!!

[VR28man]

For all the hoo-haa on this thread:

Why Do We Continue To Buy Frags?
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/Why-Do-We-Continue-To-Buy-Frags?.620966/

i’m not sure that the definition between “ colony“ versus “frag“ was ever defined. (some people also think the definition of colony has come down in the past several years)

So what do you define as a colony? Is the definition slightly different between zoas, softies LPS and SPS?

(I don’t know the answer. I’m very curious to see other peoples thoughts)

 

[James M]

For me this a Frag

And this is a colony

That goes for all coral not just sps

 

[KrisReef]

I don't know how coral forms are defined in biology but they do seem to grow as colonial organisms, 1 polyp when they settle and slowly developing into larger groups of polyps. Given this, one polyp is a frag, and two is a small colony, etc. (Don't hate me, I'm not selling any frags. )

 

[Dkeller_nc]

It's obviously a subjective judgment with a very gray area and the extremes most people agree on. A 2' wide coral head is a colony, and a 1/2" snippet mounted on a frag plug is a "frag".

I suppose for a "frag" you could go with "mounted on a small ceramic disk, small enough to perhaps need optical equipment to see, has a comic-book name, and is for sale on a website".

 

[GThompson]

For me this a Frag

And this is a colony

That goes for all coral not just sps

+1

 

[GThompson]

My thoughts on this; A frag, I see the ceramic disc it’s mounted on. A colony, don’t even see the rock. Just my .02

 

[VR28man]

@James M is that colony still for sale?

Seriously, thanks for the input so far.

 

[atomic081]

Its going to be different for every coral. Ive always personally defined a SPS colony as bigger than a tennis ball and having atleast 5 branches. Euphillia needs to have 5 or more heads to be a colony. Zoanthids need to be bigger than a golf ball.