renaming named corals

[MimicOcto8]

I'm fed up with people or "coral companies" renaming named corals and putting a huge priced tag on them. I just went to a coral website and they renamed the superman monti and added at least $30 to the price. RIDICULOUS!! dont really care if you think i'm bashing or what not. just curious to see if anyone else feels the same way I do.

 

[KoleTang]

I was not aware people were doing this. If it is true then they are just representing their company poorly which will cause buyers to go elsewhere. They would have to be foolish to think $30 extra from the few who buy it will make up for lost clients.

I think most people are aware of respecting each other's named corals.

 

[chort55]

The tricky part about names is the fact that many colonies get split before making it to vendors (or get collected again at a later date or extremely similar piece in another location from another diver even), so 2 (or more) vendors get the same piece and name it something different eventho they look exactly the same and may even be from the same original colony they are not the same in some peoples eye.... especially those that want lineage, because they want the actual piece from the original namer and not a potential knockoff piece.

That said, if they got the original named piece knowing it was that piece through the line, and called it something different then yeah thats bad business but IMO if they got it in a fresh shipment said hey this looks like this.... but it didn't come from whoever named it so it isn't truly that piece lets call it this and set the price at this there is nothing wrong with that IMO, and if someone wants to pay $30 more for a very similar piece to a cheaper one that is their choice ;)


I think more people pass off knockoffs to be original named pieces then anything tho....

 

[MimicOcto8]

The tricky part about names is the fact that many colonies get split before making it to vendors (or get collected again at a later date or extremely similar piece in another location from another diver even), so 2 (or more) vendors get the same piece and name it something different eventho they look exactly the same and may even be from the same original colony they are not the same in some peoples eye.... especially those that want lineage, because they want the actual piece from the original namer and not a potential knockoff piece.

That said, if they got the original named piece knowing it was that piece through the line, and called it something different then yeah thats bad business but IMO if they got it in a fresh shipment said hey this looks like this.... but it didn't come from whoever named it so it isn't truly that piece lets call it this and set the price at this there is nothing wrong with that IMO, and if someone wants to pay $30 more for a very similar piece to a cheaper one that is their choice ;)

well thought out what you said. I understand what you mean; however, its impossible to call two of the same living organisms different names. Thats liek saying two apples are different just because. This is an apple and this apple is an orange BECAUSE i say so. So mine is called an orange so it cost more. Superman monti is a well well known monti. how can one have the nerve to call it something else? I would understand if they titled it Spiderman because its commonly mistaken for both, but thats not the case. I'm just tired of seeing people put a price tag on a name. I accept the fact that people pay for the names instead of the colors but i just can't stand people giving named corals new names.

 

[chort55]

An apple is an apple, but remember there are many different apples that go by different names... there are apples that look very similar that have different names even, just like there are corals that look very similar or even identical that have different names for the reasons I stated in my above post.

Well well known or hottest new piece on the street, if they can't prove that it came from x reefer that got it from y reefer that got it from the original namer of the piece then really it is not that named piece..... put it this way, they got a piece in wild from their wholesaler and man it looks identical to the named piece, but say it is from jakarta instead of indonesia where the original piece is known to have come from, and this vendor puts it up as "Z" named piece and man you lost your "Z" a few years back and are specifically looking to get another "Z", so you get this one and find out that it is not only not known to be from the originally named piece, but is from a different area as well.... and then it develops a different growth pattern or morphs a different color or anything like that.... is it still a "Z", and are you going to be mad at the vendor for calling it a "Z" when they knew it didn't come from a truly known "Z" colony?

 

[ritter6788]

If they posted it as a Superman for sale then someone would crush them for not having lineage. It's a no win situation.

 

[chort55]

If they posted it as a Superman for sale then someone would crush them for not having lineage. It's a no win situation.

Exactly!

 

[buddythelion]

This whole lineage thing is non-sense to me.

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck it must be a duck! Just because I can't really prove that it's a duck doesn't mean it isn't a duck.

For example, the zoas Lunar Eclipses. They are really well known morphs but mostly come in from wild colonies. Idk who made the name, but all the lunar eclipses coming in are still lunar eclipses because they look exactly the same. Why would it matter if there was lineage on it?

For SPS, the easiest one I can think of is the Strawberry Shortcake. FYI, a lot of places are getting these in and selling them as strawberry shortcakes. They're all not grown out from a single frag all linked back to one lineage of an old big mama strawberry shortcake. But if it looks like a strawberry shortcake, grows like one, then heck. It's a strawberry shortcake.

As for misnamed corals, I don't really care unless they're purposely naming a wrong coral, say a golden colored discosoma, and naming it with a big buck name like Jawbreaker just for a profit. Now THAT'S misleading, because hobbyist can know that the jawbreaker starts off as a golden-orange color and then gets the color pattern in. The golden disco is most likely some wild mushroom that the seller got for a few bucks, and now got to sell it for $80+ because someone thinks they're getting a jawbreaker. But too bad for the seller, a few years down the road it's still a golden disco. At that point, that is darn right shady. It's a good thing most corals already have a set pattern, and from there it's up to the buyer to know what they're getting them self into. If you're willing to spend the big bucks, it doesn't take more than a few minutes to confirm what you're buying through some quick googling.

 

[Pappy]

Honestly I think often times the vendors don't even know. I see zoas misnamed all the time. There have been several times I have sent a pm or email correcting them and they changed it.

 

[WesF]

For SPS, the easiest one I can think of is the Strawberry Shortcake. FYI, a lot of places are getting these in and selling them as strawberry shortcakes. They're all not grown out from a single frag all linked back to one lineage of an old big mama strawberry shortcake. But if it looks like a strawberry shortcake, grows like one, then heck. It's a strawberry shortcake.
.

The original named "Strawberry Shortcake" is a very nice acro. Then the market was flooded by vendors bringing in wild versions with similar colors and called them strawberry shortcakes. Most of them don't look a nice as the original. They kind of ruined the name because now the chances of actually getting the original strawberry shortcake is very slim. We were flooded with impostors. The color variant is pretty common but the original has an extraordinary boldness compared to the other versions.

This practice of bringing in similar looking wild corals and using an established aquacultured name bothers me. It is misleading the customer into thinking they are getting the original aquacultured piece.

Changing the name to something completely new doesn't bother me at all. Most people with any sense won't buy it and the price will come down.

 

[nayrgaijin]

This was said by a vendor on this board :(

"I have sold a few to other vendors so they may have a different name for it."

 

[Isoprene]

I hate coral names.....if it looks cool and the price is right for how cool it looks in your opinion...buy it. Screw naming corals willy nilly.

 

[WesF]

I think if a vendor grows and aquacultures their own corals, it doesn't matter where it came from they can put whatever brand they want in it. The market will determine what price it will sell at.

Knocking off the other guys "brand" because you found something that looks similar is much shadier.

 

[FishLipz]

Buyer beware! Do your research before you buy things people. Im so fed up with all of it, I'm about to drain my tank and start raising dart frogs in it. :squigglemouth:

 

[KJAG]

I think this only goes unnoticed with the more common and mid range pieces. Once you start getting into high ends, the crowd is way more savvy and informed to those kinds of shenanigans.

 

[Reef Pets]

From a vendors stand point, many of these named coral are all the same. One may be more vibrant than the other because of where it came from, meaning a more healthy system, better lighting and so on or due to PhotoShop skills. Some wholesalers have high tech equipment while others don't and as we all know, that makes a huge impact on coral coloration. I get in the exact coral as pieces known to be tyree and other big names because its a simple fact that all of our coral come from the same place, the ocean. But, I don't call them the same names because the first question that would be asked is if I have lineage.
A great example, Jason Fox had a forum a while back that showed him at a collection site in Indonesia. He was able to hand pick coral and bring it back to the USA. Any coral that he hand picked he put his name on which is how this hobby and there is nothing wrong with that. But, do you think that he was able to pick one of a kind coral from that site or do you think there were many other duplicates and those duplicates most likely made there way to other wholesales located in the USA?
My point it that named coral are not one of a kind. One person might have the ability to color them up better but in reality they are from the ocean and many are even from the same Indo divers. I know this for a fact, I know several USA wholesales that her their coral the the same collection sites as other USA wholesalers.

All in all, buy what you like. If you like names pieces then go for it. If you like coral and certain growth patterns then do that.

 

[WesF]

Since corals reproduce sexually in nature you don't know if you are going to find the same genetic clone of a "named" coral on the reef. It's possible but you never know for sure.

It's like comparing siblings to clones. My brother and I may resemble each other, but we are not genetic clones that will look exactly the same.

 

[Dog Boy Dave]

No. I dont feel this way at all.

I'm fed up with people or "coral companies" renaming named corals and putting a huge priced tag on them. I just went to a coral website and they renamed the superman monti and added at least $30 to the price. RIDICULOUS!! dont really care if you think i'm bashing or what not. just curious to see if anyone else feels the same way I do.

 

[Rabidgoose]

To me pretty much all corals are named, it is usually in a latin twang with "( )" around it. The names given by the hobby are just fluff. I have never seen a copyright on any of them so you must do your homework.