Let's play "match that coral"

[Lugnut]

I received an order today from the good Drs at LiveAquaria.com - by far my favorite mail order fish business, by the way. My mandarin was DOA, but all the rest of the order looked good and healthy.

Let me preface this by stating I much prefer to order captive grown corals rather than wild caught. My experience is that they are healthier and adapt better to home aquaria. But one of the main reasons I prefer them is I have a much better idea of what I am going to get. Instead of ordering a "colorful Acropora species from Fiji" that always turns out to be greenish brown, I can pick what I want. I know it's not the Diver's Den, but in the past I have always received something that closely matched what I expected.

With that in mind, I want to play "match that coral". I received 4 captive grown corals today.

What I ordered was (with pictures from LA.com):

SE -80806 CF - Turquoise Staghorn - Aquacultured ORA

SE -89428 CF - Blue tortuosa - Aquacultured (ORA)

SE -80923 CF - Blue Acropora millepora - Aquacultured

SE -46101 CF - Purple Haze Acropora Coral - Aquacultured

OK, now on to my question - please match this one that I received with one of the above:

To make it easier, here's the other three I received (all of which I am quite happy with):

Now like I said, I know I am not ordering from Diver's Den, but come on now - something's not quite right here, eh? :eek2:

Happy reefing,
Kevin

 

[etrigo29]

i vote for the first one??

 

[purebullet417]

its a purple haze that needs a couple of days to color up. thats my guess

 

[dfs/la2]

Lugnut,

Thank you for the nice compliments. We appreciate your kind words. We truly apologize for the loss of the Mandarin please contact us with your order information so we may credit you. The coral you are wondering about is a Purple Haze Acropora Coral that is in the process of acclimating. This coral has a 30-day warranty and should color up beautifully in a couple days. We apologize for any inconvenience.

We would like to add a few more comments regarding the acclimation of your coral. If you are adding a new coral to a well-established aquarium with existing corals, we recommend placing 5 to 10 layers of the screening material above just the one or two new corals during the first few weeks. (Please place the new arrivals at the bottom, or bottom corner of your aquarium.) You would then remove one layer a day until the coral displays full coloration and appears to be fully expanded. You may then slowly inch the coral to its preferred location over the next month or so. This will ensure the existing corals in your tank will not become distressed and still allow you to acclimate your new arrivals slowly to their new lighting system. We look forward to hearing from you regarding your order information so we can properly compensate you for the Mandarin. Please contact us via PM or call us at 1-800-334-3699.

Stacie R.
Technical Support
Drs. Foster and Smith, Inc

 

[danfrith]

I also was a little disapointed when I received my north woods tricolor. It looked EXACTLY like the coral in question except minus the green polyps. The polyps have colored up to a light green but it looks nothing like the picture on your website.

 

[dfs/la2]

danfirth,

We apologize that you were not satisfied with the purchase of the Northwoods Tri-color Acropora Coral. The Drs. Foster & Smith Certified Captive Grown Coral arrives with a Certificate of Authenticity & a 30-Day Arrive Alive, Stay Alive®, Risk-Free Guarantee. This guarantee includes your 100% satisfaction. If you are disappointed with the coral you are able to contact us within the warranty period and we will compensate you for the item.

If we are able to further assist you please feel free to contact us.

Joyce F.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith