Most Coral "Names" are Mean Nothing Guys... Beyond Scientific Name it's Purely Made Up for Marketing

livinlifeinBKK

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I think most people realize this but since so many people post on the forum daily asking for coral IDs meaning the trade name, i thought it was worth posting for newbies and others who aren't aware (i was even guilty of this at one point myself although i was just curious what ridiculous name some people referred to the coral as). Anyway, all those cute goofy names mean absolutely nothing in 99% of corals. Beyond the scientific name, they're just color variations that the shop made up a name for to sound cool or was a name previously made up by a more famous shop that your LFS wants to charge a premium for. Yeah, genetics are important but the names don't come from any genetic code... they're literally made up to sound cool so people will buy them. I understand if a coral was intentionally crossed with another coral of the same species you want it to sound special and we need to refer to them as something in the store to differentiate between them but after you buy a coral, the name is pointless. There is no point in trying to identify your zoa or acro by the marketed name. I actually worked for a shop a while back and they brainstormed and chose the most ridiculous name they could come up with to call the coral by. It's the same with mushrooms (fungi) and other intraspecies color or body morphs (well tbh fungi aren't fragged from a mother colony so they actually do have different genetics by strain so not a perfect analogy). It means nothing. Don't waste your time scouring the internet to identify the trade name of your acro...
I think a majority of people already know this though.
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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Matter of fact if you look in the forums I’m usually the guy throwing out bonkers names poking fun at it all
Haha i think most people know it's just marketing but some really are naive to the game...if the genetics were different then ok but they're frags 99.9% of the time with the same genetic code. Furthermore, yours won't even look like the mother colony in most cases due to the innumerable environmental factors that alter color and even growth forms in nature.
 

Poseidon03

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Let me start off by saying that I do believe that vendors do slap a name on something to increase the price, which I don't agree with them doing. It does help the hobby in some degree though.

Let's say you have a coral and it's your absolute favorite. Now, let's say something happens and you lose it. It is a lot easier to replace if it has a name other than "millipora."

It helps people that are collectors organize and list what all they have for sale.

Also it is a lot easier to say "Walt Disney Acro" than "tenuis with all these colors.". With the actual name, you can find colony pictures and such.
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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Let me start off by saying that I do believe that vendors do slap a name on something to increase the price, which I don't agree with them doing. It does help the hobby in some degree though.

Let's say you have a coral and it's your absolute favorite. Now, let's say something happens and you lose it. It is a lot easier to replace if it has a name other than "millipora."

It helps people that are collectors organize and list what all they have for sale.

Also it is a lot easier to say "Walt Disney Acro" than "tenuis with all these colors.". With the actual name, you can find colony pictures and such.
I agree which is why I included this line in my post:
we need to refer to them as something in the store to differentiate between them
 

Poseidon03

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It's just marketing, that's all. I am confident there is no malicious intent to inflate the cost due to the name for many if not all vendors.

Lighting/filters/photography is a different issue in my opinion.
I do not like all the photo editing. I feel like it is false advertising.
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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I do not like all the photo editing. I feel like it is false advertising.
To me it fully is...the name thing i was just trying to point out to new people and so many other who want an ID on their coral that the marketing name means nothing
 

spsick

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I really respected how Jake Adams always harped on this subject and preached knowing scientific names. The silly names really make us look silly.
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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I see no issue.
There isn't an issue...it is what it is. I wasn't complaining about it...just trying to get the people who post looking for a I'd on here every day to realize it makes 0 difference even if you happen to guess the right made up name
 

Poseidon03

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There isn't an issue...it is what it is. I wasn't complaining about it...just trying to get the people who post looking for a I'd on here every day to realize it makes 0 difference even if you happen to guess the right made up name
I have a couple of acros I'm saving, and eventually, I will want to know the "silly names" to make sure I don't purchase the same acros I already have, hahaha.
 

billyocean

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A scientific name is great..but if I want a specific variety of that coral then the "silly" name is what helps. I do agree it gets ridiculous to a point. On that note why call anything in life anything other than a scientific name.
 
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