I purchased 2 pieces of Acropora Tenuis on Friday from Liveaquaria.com.
This is my first time ordering from them, though I have had great success with orders in the past from saltwaterfish.com and vividaquariums.com.
The first item was a 3" blue and purple piece for $149.99. The second was a 3" neon green with light purple tips and green polyps for $129.99.
When I received the items on Saturday morning there was no heating packs inside the box and the bags of water were measuring 55 degrees. This alone worried me. When I ordered from other vendors online, my specimens always arrived in a foam cooler with heating/cooling packs. My order from liveaqauria was recived with just the two specimen bags sitting in a cardboard box with packing peanuts!
But after a 2 hour drip acclimation and adding them to my tank they immediately showed good polyp extension.
However there is a major issue with the coloration of the color.
Before I go into detail, I want to point out that I am running a double ended 150w 20k Ushio bulb on HQI ballast. They state their photos are taken under 400w 20k MH bulbs.
Everything else in my tank including my other SPS show exceptional color.
The first piece I received (blue/purple) has absolutely no blue whatsoever and only the very slightest of purple on the tips, the rest is white to tan. The polyps are brown. This is in no way close to the image listed on the site.
The second piece I received (neon green) is a very light yellow/white. No trace of the green body or light purple tips. It does have bright green polyps. Aside from the polyp color this is also no where close to the image listed on the site.
I do understand that an exact color match is not possible nor is it expected. But somewhere close to what was pictured is expected. That is why I spent $300 on these 2 pieces. In hopes I would get a blue/purple and green piece.
As you can tell other than the skeletal structure in the coral I received they bare very little resemblance to what was listed.
I dont know if being in cold water for extended time forced the loss of color or if their photos online were were doctored.
Again I did not expect the color to be an exact match to the picture, but I did expect to receive coral with SOME color.
These pictures were taken on the second day after receiving them.
I sent them an email about the issue and I am currently awaiting a response.
Does anyone know if they will color back up? Or is this common practice with liveaquaria?
Below are the comparison pics.
Thanks in advace.
<a href="http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/MrPl0w/media/blue-compared_zps6g6coyqj.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah94/MrPl0w/blue-compared_zps6g6coyqj.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo blue-compared_zps6g6coyqj.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/MrPl0w/media/green-compared_zpspb0lctni.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah94/MrPl0w/green-compared_zpspb0lctni.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo green-compared_zpspb0lctni.jpg"/></a>
This is my first time ordering from them, though I have had great success with orders in the past from saltwaterfish.com and vividaquariums.com.
The first item was a 3" blue and purple piece for $149.99. The second was a 3" neon green with light purple tips and green polyps for $129.99.
When I received the items on Saturday morning there was no heating packs inside the box and the bags of water were measuring 55 degrees. This alone worried me. When I ordered from other vendors online, my specimens always arrived in a foam cooler with heating/cooling packs. My order from liveaqauria was recived with just the two specimen bags sitting in a cardboard box with packing peanuts!
But after a 2 hour drip acclimation and adding them to my tank they immediately showed good polyp extension.
However there is a major issue with the coloration of the color.
Before I go into detail, I want to point out that I am running a double ended 150w 20k Ushio bulb on HQI ballast. They state their photos are taken under 400w 20k MH bulbs.
Everything else in my tank including my other SPS show exceptional color.
The first piece I received (blue/purple) has absolutely no blue whatsoever and only the very slightest of purple on the tips, the rest is white to tan. The polyps are brown. This is in no way close to the image listed on the site.
The second piece I received (neon green) is a very light yellow/white. No trace of the green body or light purple tips. It does have bright green polyps. Aside from the polyp color this is also no where close to the image listed on the site.
I do understand that an exact color match is not possible nor is it expected. But somewhere close to what was pictured is expected. That is why I spent $300 on these 2 pieces. In hopes I would get a blue/purple and green piece.
As you can tell other than the skeletal structure in the coral I received they bare very little resemblance to what was listed.
I dont know if being in cold water for extended time forced the loss of color or if their photos online were were doctored.
Again I did not expect the color to be an exact match to the picture, but I did expect to receive coral with SOME color.
These pictures were taken on the second day after receiving them.
I sent them an email about the issue and I am currently awaiting a response.
Does anyone know if they will color back up? Or is this common practice with liveaquaria?
Below are the comparison pics.
Thanks in advace.
<a href="http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/MrPl0w/media/blue-compared_zps6g6coyqj.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah94/MrPl0w/blue-compared_zps6g6coyqj.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo blue-compared_zps6g6coyqj.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/MrPl0w/media/green-compared_zpspb0lctni.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah94/MrPl0w/green-compared_zpspb0lctni.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo green-compared_zpspb0lctni.jpg"/></a>
