Oregon Tort(s?) Lineage Questions

[SDguy]

Does anyone know the story of where the Oregon tort came from? Also, how it relates to the ORA version?

I was at a friend's house the other day, and he has the ORA Oregon Tort, as well as another that came from a reefer that got it from Washington, I believe...

They are almost next to each other, and look different. The ORA has that slight dark turquoise/green tint to it. This is even visible on his specimens in a ULNS, so both have a lot of white "background" to them.

I currently have an OT I got from FragFarmer few years ago. I now want the ORA version to have next to it

 

[StrategicReef]

If I recall correctly.. ORA bought the original from the Oregon reefer (don't know name) around 2004 or so.

I have to question if there are different strains, because I have seen some have sphere like coralites and some have tube coralites. Also there is suppose to be an OT just all blue with no hint of green or purple (no I am not talking about the Cali) and the real OT might be solid blue.. It could be variations due to different aquarium conditions though.

I bought a "true" oregon tort from diver's den farmed by FHI.

 

[SDguy]

It could be variations due to different aquarium conditions though.

Even though all the ORA OT's I see have a different "sheen" to them than my OT, I always chalked it up to tank conditions as well. But after seeing my friends tank, with the two corals, side by side in the tank, both about the same size, I no longer think that.

 

[CleveYank]

I've never seen anything concrete written on this for corals. But in some plants you can grow cuttings from the originals and they change overtime to where they no longer look identical to the parent where the cutting is taken from. And this can be attributed to soil differences. It's not a constant but with some plants this can happen.

I wonder if tank conditions from cutting to cutting can change the appearance in the corals that they actually develop unique overtime and replication as conditions change that the new cuttings would be different. Just whipping that out there and I have -0- info that is the case. Just a maybe.

 

[SDguy]

Hmmm, that is an interesting concept!

 

[CleveYank]

Hmmm, that is an interesting concept!

Well think about it this way.

Joe has ORA frag shipped to him and it's like number 24.

And Harry gets number 102. He frags it and sells it to Sally.

Sally keeps better water than Harry and she runs ZEO.

She sells to to Tom and Tom's a doser and is heavy handed with the Manganese and Iron. Pigments change a tad. Tom sells it to Ricky.

Ricky and Joe are members of the same club.

Ricky is at Joes and asks what that is. Joe says ORA blah blah. Ricky says that's what I'm supposed to have but it's different than yours.

Maybe the pigments and changes down the road were/become permanent due to more Iron or whatever? Or a duplication degrading effect.

Just like the soil impacting the plant premise.

 

[madmike]

This coral started between Waves and Upscales in Portland OR. Its still debated who got it first, but they both grew it out and distributed it over the Pacific northwest and farmers like FHI and ORA

 

[coker98]

Bingo!!!!!!!

Hence the name: Oregon tort

 

[SDguy]

Any other opinions as to why ORA's is not as "pure" blue as other OT's? Are there actually non-Oregon tort "oregon torts" floating around?

 

[mgny]

Here is my colony. I got a 1/2 inch frag from Maximus many years ago. I nsee he is back in action so he may be able to go further back.

 

[mgny]

Forgot to mention that mine grew painfully slow for quite a while. Seems like it would'nt be a candidate for ORA because of the slow growth. The lineage thing fasinates me so i will be following along.

 

[sportzfish]

I thought the variety with the greenish tint was called Cali Tort?

 

[mgny]

And if they aren't the same ora should change the name. I think it's important to have lineage of all special corals . You need to be original if you are gonna name a coral.

 

[boodlefish]

Interesting info

 

[ros_sco]

Here it comes from one of two people that know the real story(me and shaun). Shaun received two frags of this coral around '93 atached to a piece of live rock. He kept one and gave one to me. He killed his. EVERY piece of Oregon tort out there is a daughter colony off of my coral. Soutas got his frags from me. He would actually send customers of his in to buy frags for him. My mother colony is about 9" x 6" and has probably been fragged three or four hundred times that is why it is not bigger or why I don't have a fleet of torts. I sell them as fast as I can frag them.
I have always told shaun that is good thing he gave me a piece of this coral or the Oregon blue tort would have never come about.

The real story.

Travis
Upscales

Where the original Oregon Tort came from - Quoted from a Reef Central post from 4 years ago. Click on the blue arrow next to UPSCALES REEF to see the whole thread.

According to Dustin from ORA (quoted from a different forum) "ORA didnt name this coral the ORA Oregon Tortuosa, we don't have it listed anywhere as such. It is just true Oregon Tortuosa. We traded some California Tort for 4 1" frags from a guy named Jim in Portland Oregon in May of 2004."

Hope that helps.

 

[SDguy]

I thought the variety with the greenish tint was called Cali Tort?

I am not talking about the cali tort, or the obvious greenish areas the cali tort gets.


I'm talking about an incredibly slight tint to the ORA oregon tort, which gives it a more blue with hint of dark turquoise color, as opposed to other oregon torts I've seen, which tend to be more blue with a hint of purple (like mine).

As I said in my original thread, this is an extremely subtle thing, and one that I would never even bring up, no matter how many times I've thought it, after seeing ORA Oregon Tort frags.

BUT, after finally seeing two corals, both in the same tank, right next to each other, both the same size, called OT (one being ORA) I DEFINITELY saw the color difference I was always thinking was there, so I brought it up

 

[SDguy]

Thanks for the link, Scott. That is just what I was looking for.

 

[eros]

How long have these 2 Tort's been in the same tank together? Perhaps after some time they will both adapt to the particular aquarium and end up looking the same? Or maybe one is not a true Oregon tort but a lookalike sold as such?

I am not talking about the cali tort, or the obvious greenish areas the cali tort gets.


I'm talking about an incredibly slight tint to the ORA oregon tort, which gives it a more blue with hint of dark turquoise color, as opposed to other oregon torts I've seen, which tend to be more blue with a hint of purple (like mine).

As I said in my original thread, this is an extremely subtle thing, and one that I would never even bring up, no matter how many times I've thought it, after seeing ORA Oregon Tort frags.

BUT, after finally seeing two corals, both in the same tank, right next to each other, both the same size, called OT (one being ORA) I DEFINITELY saw the color difference I was always thinking was there, so I brought it up

 

[drdoolittle]

Thats the exact story that i got from Travis when i visited him in Oregon@Upscales a few years ago. The mother colony beautiful, thick bodied with branches was coming out all around. I was lucky enough to get a few peices. It's by far one of my favorite corals..

 

[SDguy]

How long have these 2 Tort's been in the same tank together? Perhaps after some time they will both adapt to the particular aquarium and end up looking the same? Or maybe one is not a true Oregon tort but a lookalike sold as such?

Judging by their size, I'd say for a while. They were not new.

And that's my question. Is the OT supposed to have that color that the ORA one has? Maybe mine isn't a true OT then... but come on, are there really solid blue acro imposters floating around? You'd think they'd be maricultured to death by now if there were, considering the hardiness of this coral.

I just always read that the OT is the bluest coral around, and, at least to me, the ORA frags always looked to have a tinge of dark turquoise, so I just didn't know what to think.

I plan to get a ORA one and plant it next to mine, to see what happens...