Yet another discussion... is naming corals making the hobby less desirable?

Are Coral Names Getting In The Way Of You Enjoying The Hobby?

  • Yes

    Votes: 114 54.0%
  • No

    Votes: 97 46.0%

  • Total voters
    211
  • Poll closed .

Bapeluso

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 25, 2020
Messages
379
Reaction score
537
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I absolutely hate the naming. I get that it can help with identifying, but the hobby has turned more towards a branding. Back in the day, I worked with the most knowledgable person in the business I'll probably ever meet. He didnt know a single zoa name or other specialty. They were all "color coral type" like "green mushrooms" or "red zoas". He based pricing on a percent markup from what he got em for. Since moving back to northern ky, I go to a swap and it's all about the name. I used to be able to buy a torch colony with 8 heads and the size of a softball for 60$ and it was straight up a "torch coral". Not some $800 "indo mama jama BS torch". It was all about the beauty of the critter and the joy of the hobby, not the branding of the animal. I musta been fortunate when I still lived down south. There were barely any hobbiests using the branded names and vendors at swaps were there to get their company's name out there, not to see how much green they could get from you. Sorry, maybe I shoulda moved this to the "what grinds your gears" thread hahaha
 

Bapeluso

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 25, 2020
Messages
379
Reaction score
537
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I absolutely hate the naming. I get that it can help with identifying, but the hobby has turned more towards a branding. Back in the day, I worked with the most knowledgable person in the business I'll probably ever meet. He didnt know a single zoa name or other specialty. They were all "color coral type" like "green mushrooms" or "red zoas". He based pricing on a percent markup from what he got em for. Since moving back to northern ky, I go to a swap and it's all about the name. I used to be able to buy a torch colony with 8 heads and the size of a softball for 60$ and it was straight up a "torch coral". Not some $800 "indo mama jama crap torch". It was all about the beauty of the critter and the joy of the hobby, not the branding of the animal. I musta been fortunate when I still lived down south. There were barely any hobbies using the branded names and vendors at swaps were there to get their company's name out there, not to see how much green they could get from you. Sorry, maybe I shoulda moved this to the "what grinds your gears" thread hahaha
Love how B.S. got filtered to crap
 

Bapeluso

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 25, 2020
Messages
379
Reaction score
537
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I never buy a coral because of its fancy name. I dont care about "walt disney" or "bill murray" the name, i just care how the corals look. But its sad people anc companies are price gouging at the expense of reefers
Theres one flaw with the statement you just made. You cannot put "I dont care about" and "bill murray" in the same sentence together. Bill murray is a god. All corals are bill murray... because all corals are awesome hahaha
 
OP
OP
PerplexyHexy

PerplexyHexy

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Messages
1,560
Reaction score
1,970
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
All Im saying is... All my stuff is really starting to take off... I really am not into selling corals... I like to trade because if I ever lose something there is a possibility of me getting a piece back... also is nice meeting other locals... This was my very first time dabbling into the trading scene and It didn’t go so well, like I said... when multiple people are telling you that your listing a coral with a wrong name and then they get upset because they have been selling/trading that same exact coral as a more expensive named coral... it gets absolutely ridiculous... They start to panic because if their buyer finds out they bought a piece for $600 with X-name from them and they find out they got a Y-name which was $250 then it makes them look bad... which it should, but I think its sad that its got to this point... names or not... I don’t think there should be this much **** involved in trading...
 
Last edited:

Bapeluso

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 25, 2020
Messages
379
Reaction score
537
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
All Im saying is... All my stuff is really starting to take off... I really am not into selling corals... I like to trade because if I ever lose something there is a possibility of me getting a piece back... also is nice meeting other locals... This was my very first time dabbling into the trading scene and It didn’t go so well, like I said... when multiple people are telling you that your listing a coral with a wrong name and then they get upset because they have been selling/trading that same exact coral as a more expensive named coral... it gets absolutely ridiculous... They start to panic because if their buyer finds out they bought a piece for $600 with X-name from them and they find out they got a Y-name which was $250 then it makes them look bad... which it should, but I think its sad that its got to this point... names or not... I don’t think there should be this much **** involved in trading... Im gonna go with a few of your guys solid advice and just trade no names, take good non photoshopped pics and just do a legit transaction... I just cant believe some of the local dudes around here... sometimes I feel like I don’t fit in with the scene that’s currently going on in socal... especially in my area...
Either that or list it at the price you're willing to sell it for. It doesnt hurt to be honest in this case scenario. If you believe its coral X or was told its coral X, then just tell em that. Theres multiple names for the same thing. Just dont hype it up to it being something it's clearly not or jack up the price to get the extra bucks. I dont use the designer names. Sure I've got frags that have been called "utter chaos" or whatever, but in my mind its plain and simple: they're palys, I know how much I bought em for, this is how much I'd be willing to sell em for, this is what they like to have in order to thrive. If they find out or believe it's something of "higher value" it's a score for them. Maybe that's just me
 

S2G

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,407
Reaction score
2,137
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
All Im saying is... All my stuff is really starting to take off... I really am not into selling corals... I like to trade because if I ever lose something there is a possibility of me getting a piece back... also is nice meeting other locals... This was my very first time dabbling into the trading scene and It didn’t go so well, like I said... when multiple people are telling you that your listing a coral with a wrong name and then they get upset because they have been selling/trading that same exact coral as a more expensive named coral... it gets absolutely ridiculous... They start to panic because if their buyer finds out they bought a piece for $600 with X-name from them and they find out they got a Y-name which was $250 then it makes them look bad... which it should, but I think its sad that its got to this point... names or not... I don’t think there should be this much **** involved in trading...

Oh if that's the case. Sell it for whatever & let the cry babies cry. Your coral do what you want.

If your planning on playing this game take a FTS then write what's what. Then post it up for confirmation. Correct the pic if needed & call it a day.
 

Jordan Prather

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 21, 2018
Messages
311
Reaction score
307
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
All Im saying is... All my stuff is really starting to take off... I really am not into selling corals... I like to trade because if I ever lose something there is a possibility of me getting a piece back... also is nice meeting other locals... This was my very first time dabbling into the trading scene and It didn’t go so well, like I said... when multiple people are telling you that your listing a coral with a wrong name and then they get upset because they have been selling/trading that same exact coral as a more expensive named coral... it gets absolutely ridiculous... They start to panic because if their buyer finds out they bought a piece for $600 with X-name from them and they find out they got a Y-name which was $250 then it makes them look bad... which it should, but I think its sad that its got to this point... names or not... I don’t think there should be this much **** involved in trading...
Now see I'm petty so when they start crying because your underselling them and its gonna hurt they're sells I would just mark it down more out of spite lol. If you saw my other pictures you would see how the price was different for the same piece and we only paid 20 from a lfs. That's why I said a coral may have 20 different names and 200 different prices based on the name. So go with what it's worth to you and dont worry about everyone else.
 

Phycodurus

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
May 18, 2018
Messages
905
Reaction score
1,727
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Makes me wanna just tend to my own garden... lol

the horticultural world is a mess too. azaleas are a good example ... there are governing societies in the US and the UK and elsewhere but there’s still overlap distinguishing one cultivar from another ... following lineages gets you cross-eyed really quick.

botanical cultivars get patented all the time ... i often wonder if that’ll ever happen to corals. (o__O)’
 

Cell

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 20, 2019
Messages
14,116
Reaction score
21,727
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm fairly certain it's the opposite. People clamor for named corals.
 

NTKOReefer

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Messages
164
Reaction score
118
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What’s silly is that ten dollar Rasta frag in my tank sells for $40+ if you tack a WeChat, if, or BC in front of it but in my tank they all just look like a Rasta.
But hey Marine Needles, if you ever frag Bob I’d be in. Well, unless you considering renaming Bob, “MN’s Roberto”
 

tony'stank

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2012
Messages
283
Reaction score
316
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I find the fanciful naming of coral morphs irritating. These names tell me nothing about the genus, species or subtypes of the coral and therefore nothing about their care. The crazy names seem to exist only to make the coral frag more appealing and therefore more expensive. The
 

Sierra_Bravo

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Messages
1,896
Reaction score
4,036
Location
San Antonio, TX
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Names are crap and for bragging, arrogance, and to jack up prices. I drive a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a Mustang , a truck. They are all cars. I own two of the previous mentioned and my favorite is my rusty 15 year old truck.
Buy because you love it not because it has a designer label. Let’s face it, put two corals side by side and they look the same however one is 3X more because it has a name.
If you enjoy stuffing the pockets of the named coral sellers then it’s your choice. Me, I’ll stick with what makes me happy.

Inadvertently I think you made the case for why people tend to use names. You mentioned four specific sports car brands, instead of just saying "four cars and a truck" because you were trying to emphasize that those four cars were not your run of the mill ubiquitous vehicles you were trying to compare to your plain Jane truck.

If you and I are talking about an ASD Rainbow mille or a Jedi Mind Trick monti, I know exactly what color to expect. If you handed me a green millepora and a dull red monti after I gave you my money I know it's not the right ones. . .kinda like buying the Ferarri 458 and then they drive a Camry out and hand you the keys. :p

Lineage is a whole different beast, however. . .
 

Pickwun

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
247
Reaction score
620
Location
Jenks
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
im only new but i feel if you stick to the taxonomical names, you will get a lot farther than trying to sell it with kinda weird naming
update : i may be misinterpreting the conversation...idk im tired.
No, you're representing the exact reason why biologists are so zealous about using the taxonomy.
 

James w Lewis

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 29, 2014
Messages
239
Reaction score
100
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
They put names on every piece of good looking coral out there and charge a fortune for it. It’s ridiculous. I’m not going to pay 1200 for a torch coral I could have bought for 50 dollars a couple years ago.
 

Barnabie Mejia

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2019
Messages
565
Reaction score
1,035
Location
El Paso, Texas/ Chamberino, New Mexico
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Names are crap and for bragging, arrogance, and to jack up prices. I drive a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a Mustang , a truck. They are all cars. I own two of the previous mentioned and my favorite is my rusty 15 year old truck.
Buy because you love it not because it has a designer label. Let’s face it, put two corals side by side and they look the same however one is 3X more because it has a name.
If you enjoy stuffing the pockets of the named coral sellers then it’s your choice. Me, I’ll stick with what makes me happy.

I feel the same way, I don't really like the names of the corals thing. I would just rather know what KIND of coral it is, because really, everyone that comes to look at the tank doesn't care what the name of the coral is. heck, even when I tell them that they're looking at an Acan or a Duncan, they don't really care....

and when people as what I drive, I just tell them I drive a truck..... a 56 year old truck!
 
Back
Top