Expensive $500 Holy Grail Torch Arrived from Vendor Covered in Glue (& worms) What are your thoughts?

[nycfreshreef]

I received a $500 holy grail coral in the mail yesterday. The skeleton was almost completely covered in glue (about 70% of it)

from the bottom all the way up to the top on 2/3 of the skeleton/stalk is covered in a thick layer of frag glue , the 1/3 exposed skeleton that I can see is COMPLETELY covered in spirorbid worms … I know these guys are mostly harmless and can be found in nearly every mature reef , but the amount on the skeleton/stalk is beyond anything I have ever seen on a live coral, completely covered so much that you can barely see the actual skeleton.

*This is where I am most concerned*

Originally the coral opened up , but after about 24 hours is retracted , once it has fully retracted I noticed that the entire rim of the torch head (where the tentacles come out of) is also covered in frag glue , it is difficult to see in these photos here , but someone made a full ring of thick frag glue surrounding the tentacles , all the way around. I can see absolutely no flesh since the glue is covering the entire edge of the head , I can also see where some tentacles seem to have been cut off / from the ring of glue ….

What are your guys thoughts ? Is this acceptable for a $500 single head torch ?

Maybe they glued it to keep the worms from encroaching on the tentacles ? Maybe to hide the non existent flesh ? What are you guys thinking ?

I certainly am not happy to spend $500 on a torch coral and receive this … thinking I will have to call the vendor and ask for either a refund or replacement

 

[nycfreshreef]

Also do you think this ring of glue around the head and 2/3 of the skeleton will keep the coral from growing or splitting ? In the photos I took show the front side where it’s not covered in glue , the entire back of the skeleton / head that you cannot see in the photos is covered , I angled it like this in my tank because any other angle you would only see glue and no skeleton , lol …. Smh

 

[Reefer Matt]

It looks like they splintered the coral when they fragged it. Not a good sign, imo.

 

[nycfreshreef]

It looks like they splintered the coral when they fragged it. Not a good sign, imo.

That’s what I thought as well (but then I saw the ring of glue around the head which I have never seen before) ….

 

[Reefer Matt]

That’s what I thought as well (but then I saw the ring of glue around the head which I have never seen before) ….

I would definitely inquire about a replacement. Was it pictured like that as a wysiwyg? Or just as a frag in general?

 

[Ben549]

Ive never seen a ring of glue like that around the area of growth. That's definitely unusual.

The additional glue at the base is just sloppy workmanship.

 

[nycfreshreef]

I would definitely inquire about a replacement. Was it pictured like that as a wysiwyg? Or just as a frag in general?

I took a closer look with the magnifier , definitely look like they splintered with framing and the glue ring around the head is just extra reinforcement holding the pieces together … no it was completed healthy in the photo and no glue , even spoke to them on the phone before placing the order …. Will definitely try to get a replacement

 

[nycfreshreef]

Ive never seen a ring of glue like that. That's definitely unusual.

Looks to be reinforcement glue holding a cracked / shattered skeleton in tact

 

[Reefer Matt]

My theory is they fragged it with bone cutters, split the stalk vertically, and the polyp fell out. Then they glued it all back together. Again, just my theory.

 

[Ben549]

My theory is they fragged it with bone cutters, split the stalk vertically, and the polyp fell out. Then they glued it all back together. Again, just my theory.

If this is the case, definitely get a replacement or refund. That's not a healthy coral at this point.

 

[nycfreshreef]

If this is the case, definitely get a replacement or refund. That's not a healthy coral at this point.

Ye I just emailed the guy

 

[nycfreshreef]

My theory is they fragged it with bone cutters, split the stalk vertically, and the polyp fell out. Then they glued it all back together. Again, just my theory.

Definitely what it looks like …. There is One way to easily find out also …. Lol

 

[LRT]

I received a $500 holy grail coral in the mail yesterday. The skeleton was almost completely covered in glue (about 70% of it)

from the bottom all the way up to the top on 2/3 of the skeleton/stalk is covered in a thick layer of frag glue , the 1/3 exposed skeleton that I can see is COMPLETELY covered in spirorbid worms … I know these guys are mostly harmless and can be found in nearly every mature reef , but the amount on the skeleton/stalk is beyond anything I have ever seen on a live coral, completely covered so much that you can barely see the actual skeleton.

*This is where I am most concerned*

Originally the coral opened up , but after about 24 hours is retracted , once it has fully retracted I noticed that the entire rim of the torch head (where the tentacles come out of) is also covered in frag glue , it is difficult to see in these photos here , but someone made a full ring of thick frag glue surrounding the tentacles , all the way around. I can see absolutely no flesh since the glue is covering the entire edge of the head , I can also see where some tentacles seem to have been cut off / from the ring of glue ….

What are your guys thoughts ? Is this acceptable for a $500 single head torch ?

Maybe they glued it to keep the worms from encroaching on the tentacles ? Maybe to hide the non existent flesh ? What are you guys thinking ?

I certainly am not happy to spend $500 on a torch coral and receive this … thinking I will have to call the vendor and ask for either a refund or replacement

Horrible. Where did you get it? I'm looking at snagging a few torch myself and want to make sure I don't buy from these guys.

 

[MoshJosh]

Are we sure the ring is glue and not the flesh of the torch bunched up near the top of the skeleton due to the recession? It is hard for me to tell just from the pictures?

I have seen air trapped in glue cause it to sort of "drip" upward as the air escapes, but the way the glue is tight to the skeleton makes me thinks that is not the case here.

I hate to ask, but anyway we can get white light pictures?

 

[LRT]

My theory is they fragged it with bone cutters, split the stalk vertically, and the polyp fell out. Then they glued it all back together. Again, just my theory.

Agreed that's exactly what it looks like to me. It's crazy it doesn't take much to crack them. It also doesn't take very long for them to heal. I'm surprised they shipped it like that honestly. No wonder they didn't make any effort to clean up the stalk lol

 

[MnFish1]

I received a $500 holy grail coral in the mail yesterday. The skeleton was almost completely covered in glue (about 70% of it)

from the bottom all the way up to the top on 2/3 of the skeleton/stalk is covered in a thick layer of frag glue , the 1/3 exposed skeleton that I can see is COMPLETELY covered in spirorbid worms … I know these guys are mostly harmless and can be found in nearly every mature reef , but the amount on the skeleton/stalk is beyond anything I have ever seen on a live coral, completely covered so much that you can barely see the actual skeleton.

*This is where I am most concerned*

Originally the coral opened up , but after about 24 hours is retracted , once it has fully retracted I noticed that the entire rim of the torch head (where the tentacles come out of) is also covered in frag glue , it is difficult to see in these photos here , but someone made a full ring of thick frag glue surrounding the tentacles , all the way around. I can see absolutely no flesh since the glue is covering the entire edge of the head , I can also see where some tentacles seem to have been cut off / from the ring of glue ….

What are your guys thoughts ? Is this acceptable for a $500 single head torch ?

Maybe they glued it to keep the worms from encroaching on the tentacles ? Maybe to hide the non existent flesh ? What are you guys thinking ?

I certainly am not happy to spend $500 on a torch coral and receive this … thinking I will have to call the vendor and ask for either a refund or replacement

My thought is that it should be taken up with the vendor - in the vendor feedback forum.

 

[Peace River]

Unless I missed something, no vendor has been named so there is no vendor for vendor feedback. At this point it seems that the OP was trying to understand what was happening with the frag.

 

[doubleshot00]

Pictures are horrible. Retake pics with white or use a filter.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Are we sure the ring is glue and not the flesh of the torch bunched up near the top of the skeleton due to the recession? It is hard for me to tell just from the pictures?

I have seen air trapped in glue cause it to sort of "drip" upward as the air escapes, but the way the glue is tight to the skeleton makes me thinks that is not the case here.

I hate to ask, but anyway we can get white light pictures?

The top looks like flesh to me as well - better pics with white lighting would help immensely

 

[Reefer Matt]

Unless I missed something, no vendor has been named so there is no vendor for vendor feedback. At this point it seems that the OP was trying to understand what was happening with the frag.

This was my thought too. I think the op was very careful, and was only asking for input about the frag.