When we mean "encrusted"...

[uniquecorals]

Great job guys, really happy to see people taking the lead and getting away from fresh cut and glued nubbins. I really have to laugh when vendors brag over .5 inch to .75 inch frags as you are getting a deal. I will be placing an order soon, (excited for your chalice release) and will be adding some SPS. We will have to get you guys back out here to Jersey for another frag swap.

We're on the same page here... it's a fine line between having exclusive stuff at a fair price, and having exclusive stuff in tiny sizes at absurd prices...We just try to do things right! Being in L.A., it's harder for us to physically get to NJ, but who knows...!

 

[uniquecorals]

Those frags are beautiful...They remind me of the ones I used to get from Juicy Corals before Juice passed away....

We'll take that as a compliment!

 

[uniquecorals]

oh no... lol impulse buy might as well be my middle name lol

I'm gonna legally change mine first!
LOL

 

[VIPReef]

Very nice! and definitely one step above the rest.

 

[Paul C.]

Unique, U have taken it to a different level. We the hobbiest thank you for ur dedication. Just a lil education for me if u will.. Im not a stick guy, so, when someone says 1" frag, is this the vertical measurement or does that 1" include say the 1/2" horizontal growth plus the other 1/2 inch of verticle? Kinda like the guy with 14" rims saying he's rolling on 20's because there 6 inches wide??? Just curious.... Thanks, and keep raising the bar..Sooner or later we wont see the rest.

 

[revsgirl]

Very nice!

 

[uniquecorals]

Unique, U have taken it to a different level. We the hobbiest thank you for ur dedication. Just a lil education for me if u will.. Im not a stick guy, so, when someone says 1" frag, is this the vertical measurement or does that 1" include say the 1/2" horizontal growth plus the other 1/2 inch of verticle? Kinda like the guy with 14" rims saying he's rolling on 20's because there 6 inches wide??? Just curious.... Thanks, and keep raising the bar..Sooner or later we wont see the rest.

Thanks for the good vibes! We're working very hard to make our company, and your customer experience better every day. We have a lot of room for improvement, but the future looks bright!

What an EXCELLENT question! In fact, probably worthy of a whole post or article at some point! We go back and forth and agonize on stuff like this all the time. First, I honestly don't think that there is an "industry standard" frag sizing convention - unwritten or otherwise. There may be some generally accepted "approximations" or "assumptions", but I've seen things like misinterpretations of "frag size" create lots of debates, heated discussions, and vendor feedback disputes over the years in forums. Maybe it IS time for the industry to have some standards...Or perhaps at Unique, we should take the ball and run with it to more clearly define OUR size conventions, so you will have reasonable expectations of what to expect when you order from us! Yeah, I'll just stick to OURS..LOL

I can tell you that we are very concerned about "expectation management", including things like coral color (a HUGE "pet peeve"), quality (there is only one grade, IMO - "excellent", although we have an obsession with the word "Ultra" in our marketing, LOL) and size consistency. Each one of these deserves a huge article itself! But let's address your question- size. I can hear every coral vendor in the country groaning, waiting to see me hang myself and my company here, LOL. It's actually a tougher question than you might think it should be when you get right down to it, and one which no one really talks about. Again, I speak here for UC and no one else.

When we describe a frag as being " Approx. 1 inch", it is sort of species-specific, or at least "species morphologic"-specific, if you know what I mean...but your expectations should be that you will get a piece of coral that is 1" horizontally and/or vertically, depending on the coral's expected morphology. For example, a branching Acro frag that we list as "Approx.1" means (by our conventions) that the coral is typically about 1" VERTICALLY. We don't combine the vertical and horizontal measurements to get an aggregate total dimension. Of course, we are big on encrusting, but this is not taken into account when discussing size of a "vertically oriented" coral. The expectation should be that "Approx. 1" typically means 1" VERTICALLY. This is especially obvious on corals that don't encrust horizontally in any significant manner, such as Seriatopora ("Birdsnest"), etc.

On the other hand, corals that have more of a "horizontal" growth morphology (ie; encrusting or plating Montipora, Chalice corals, etc.) are a bit different. When we say you get, for example, a frag that's "Approx. 3/4", that means you will typically see a frag that is at least 3/4" horizontally (ie; looking top-down, it's 3/4" across) on at least one axis ("length" or "width"), but typically both. When we do special pieces, such as certain chalices, we will often say something like 1/2"x 3/8" if it's not a consistent dimension on each horizontal axis.

We could really get specific here and state that a coral with a "horizontal" growth morphology that we list as "Approx. 3/4" should be approximately 3/4" on both length and width - and in most cases, that's what you'll get. However, on occasion, we will cut something 3/4" long, but slightly less than 3/4" wide, for example, and market it as "Approx. 3/4". Although you are getting a coral that is 3/4" on at least one axis, it may not be exactly 3/4" on both...So are we morally correct in describing the coral frag as "Approx. 3/4"? This is where customer feedback and expectation is critical.

This is where communication is crucial. We, as a coral vendor need to do a consistently good job at communicating this kind of stuff, so that you- our valued customers- have reasonable expectations about what to expect from us.

And of course, there are some blatant abuses of size convention that we won't do: For example, if we list a horizontally-oriented coral as "Approx. 1" and mount it on a 2" frag plug, we will never call it a 2" frag! Seems obvious, but I've purchased frags like that before! Hey, you're not paying for the size of the frag plug! LOL

Anyways, I hope this answers (or at least, clarifies)your question!

Regards,

Scott Fellman
Unique Corals

 

[Paul C.]

Well thought out, and expressed. Again, Keep up the great work.

 

[dwilliams87]

Thank you for your commitment to this hobby. Vendors such as yourself is exactly what we need. I will definitely be doing some buisness with you in the future.

 

[uniquecorals]

Thank you for your commitment to this hobby. Vendors such as yourself is exactly what we need. I will definitely be doing some buisness with you in the future.

And thank you for the compliment...We promise to keep working hard to earn your business! Looking forward to serving you!

Scott and Joe

 

[Davesgt]

Thank you for being a A+ company in my book. I believe your website speaks for itself! everytime i get on there i Drool for hours lol

 

[uniquecorals]

Thank you for being a A+ company in my book. I believe your website speaks for itself! everytime i get on there i Drool for hours lol

Thanks! Remember to wear your bib when shopping on the Unique Corals...we are not responsible for damage to keyboards...

-Scott