Post your Oregon torts!

[Travis]

I find it strange that this is an Oregon tort thread but I've seen at least 4 torts posted (not counting tommy's post) that were not the Oregon and look to be the Cali/ORA. Maybe this is why people go to buy a frag thinking they are going to get an Oregon tort and end up getting one that is less desirable. I'm not sure if the posters are aware that their torts are not the Oregon or not. I'm not going to name names and I'm not trying to be rude but I feel it is pretty obvious that some of the torts posted are not the Oregon tort.

 

[steveweast]

I agree...they're are a few pics in this thread that are not OBT's. The OBT tends to grow a few branches....then thicken up....then sprout a few more branches....then thicken up...etc. This guy came from Upscales about 4 years ago now....he started as the typical one inch frag.

 

[steveweast]

Here's a second colony of mine that's about 3 years old... started from the first colony. Notice how even in different flow and light, it still grows in more of a ....rather than long branches like a cali tort.

 

[t0mmy108]

OMG, It's gonna take me 4 years to have a full colony? Travis took 8 years to get to where he is with his. I hope my tank holds out that long. And for sure I won't be fragging this fellow. Also, my fouth picture down is supposed to be an OBT too. It won't branch out like the Cali torts do and doesn't have any green on it. It just thickens as you say.

 

[waterfaller1]

Sorry for interrupting your thread with my inferior tort..I see the difference now.:sad1:

 

[corro]

Well this thread has gotten me wondering if mine is a 'real deal' OBT ... The person I got it from said they got it from Reefstuff, any opinions?

I can take a better pic.

 

[acroconut]

waterfaller1.....Why the sad face? That is an awesome tort, and I'd buy a frag of that in a heartbeat. Just because you're not sure whether it has a name or not, doesn't make it any less special.

corro, I'm doing the same thing you're doing....questioning. I bought mine off of ebay. It was sold to me as Oregon tort, the guy I bought it from is from Oregon City, Oregon. I've contacted him to find out where/who he got his starter frag or mother colony from. I'm curious to see if they reply, as he and his brother-in-law have a small website and still sell frags on ebay. The only thing I can say for sure is I have 3 other ORA/Cali's and there isn't any comparison to the color of the one I posted here as my Oregon tort. This is about my favorite sps in the tank right now. I've got many small and medium colonies of sps growing out. Oddly my frag of what I think is Oregon blue is only 1" tall, and it's the one sps in the tank that everyone points to and inquires about. So if it's not the Oregon Blue, that's fine by me as it's still one my absolute favorites. I do think that people shouldn't be passing off imposters as Oregon Blue, more so if they know that's what they're doing. I think some measures should be taken to see it gets stopped, and other people don't get duped. Which is the reason I'm checking. I wouldn't want to frag it and sell it to someone else as Oregon Tort if in fact it isn't.

 

[Maximus]

Well said acroconut.

 

[ridetheducati]

It really does not matter if you have the real thing. Just enjoy your corals.

Have you hugged your corals today?

 

[Travis]

steve, thanks for posting your OBT. I start drooling every time I see it. Since you have successfully kept yours fairly long-term now is there any advice you can give the rest of us about its needs. For example, have you noticed if it likes higher light or lower light... higher or lower flow... 10k vs 20k... chicken or steak... etc...?

waterfaller1, your cali tort is very beautiful. In fact, it is deeper blue than most of the cali torts I've seen.

corro, I'm not sure if yours is the real deal or not. It certainly does have potential.

acroconut, I'm no expert but I would say the tort you posted IS the OBT.


One of the things that I think makes it easy to distinguish the OBT from other torts, mainly the cali tort, is the growth tips. The growth tips on the cali torts are very often pale colored, typical of acroporas. They are also often blunt shaped and smooth with few radial corallites growing around the tip of the axial corallite. However, what I have noticed with the OBT's is that it is nearly impossible to distinguish the growing tips from the rest of the colony. The growing tips are slightly "paler" than the rest of the colony but they still have nice "rich" color. I think this has a lot to do with how slow it grows. Since it doesn't grow very fast, the zooxanthellae and other pigments are able to keep up.

 

[Maximus]

Very interesting hypothesis on the growth tips. I have the Cali and Oregon and they matched your definition to a tee. The Oregon torts tips are solid and vibrant blue versus the Cali's pale coloration. I am still 100% convinced I have the Oregon.

 

[Travis]

Here is mine 2 months ago:
<img src=http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17792Oregontort2-18-05.jpg>

Here it is today:
<img src=http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17792OBT_4-25-05__Small_.jpg>

You can see what I mean about the growth tips.

 

[corro]

I wouldn't want to frag it and sell it to someone else as Oregon Tort if in fact it isn't.

I agree w/ this 100% .. I wouldn't want to trade or sell to someone thinking they were getting a OBT and they were not.


I took a look and the growth tips are a nice dark solid color. Wait and see I think maybe the color on mine is a little darker under 20Ks.

Travis: nice growth and color.. thanks for the info!

steveweast: That is fantastic! Nice job.

 

[TexasTodd]

Travis, good key point on the tips.

That looks like pretty good growth you're getting for this coral.

Tommy, I'm not fragging the MPB for a while. I have promissed a frag to the person who started the MPB thread a while back if he doesn't find one first.

Great thread here. I'm interested in Steve's input on placement, lights, flow etc.

Whoever it was that posted about the polyps not being out during the day..........that's another attribute of this "tort".

Todd

 

[TexasTodd]

One other thing. This tort CAN actually get some green on it under super low 20kk light. Yi-Kan up in Austin has it under 150HQI 20kk and it's blue and green.

TT

 

[steveweast]

Some of my observations.....

Flow: I don't think this coral needs the high flow that some of our other sps do. The fact that is thickens...then branches....then thickens some more..... never gives the coral the opportunity to create deep crevises that needs high flow. In fact, my main colony was doing OK...but, the colony that was created from it was growing much faster....to the point that the two were nearing the same size. The faster growing colony was near the bottom....so, it was receiving a little lower light and certainly lower flow. The main colony also completely stopped growing on the side that had a high/moderate flow hitting it. The leeward side of the coral was still sending out numerous branches....but, not the windward side. I have since relocated it in a lower flow area.

Light..... I use a combination of 400w 10K, 14K, 20K's. I would say that both my tort colonies color best under my 20K's. I have a richer blue than Travis @Upscales. His is under 10K's plus actinic vho..... but, he recently went to 14K's....so, we'll see what happens. Under lower light, this coral loses the deep blue color in favor of a muted purple and even develop green tones.

Definitions.....high flow (flow hat I can feel with my hand) ....... Lower flow ( flow that I can see particles moving in; but, I can't feel the flow with my hand)

 

[maoiwowie]

Here is mine
July 04

today

 

[Kip]

whats mine? (yeah...a little damage on that one tip from a change in flow)

 

[acroconut]

Thanks for your observations Steve. I think I'll try moving mine into just a little less flow, and see what happens.

 

[Travis]

TexasTodd, Mine polyps out during the day also. However, there is much greater polyp extension when the lights are out.

Steve, thanks for sharing that valuable information. Very interesting about the flow. I would have thought the opposite just because it grows so thick. One of the "sps keeper's rules of thumb" has been that thicker growing corals are from higher energy environments. But that is also like saying you need x watts per gallon or x turnovers per hour. Point being, you can't apply the rule to everything.

maoiwowie, that is some amazing growth you have had on yours. Thanks for sharing that picture. The coloration on that top down shot is quite stunning, even if it isn't blue. Your colony seems to be branching out more than what is typical of others I have seen pictures of. What type of flow is yours in? Also, what lighting do you have?

Kip, I'm really on the fence with yours. It seems to have all the typical characteristics of the OBT but I do see some tips that look more typical of the cali. Was it sold to you as an OBT? If so, then I would think there is no reason to doubt its validity.

Keep those pictures coming. This is my favorite coral. The one thing I really like about it is that people haven't price-gouged the heck out of it, despite how slow it grows and how beautiful it is. With the way the sps market is today I would say that a 1" frag should demand nothing less than $100 to be even with the rest of the "exotics" on the market, but that isn't the case. I think we can thank all of those kind folks up in Oregon for keeping the prices reasonable, yet still making sure this coral gets spread around. It seems to have been spread around well as it is typical for most collectors to have one in their collection. And even though it is becoming more common, it is still one of those corals that everyone wants, and probably always will be, because nothing can come close to comparison when it comes to the blue coloration it develops. It is also a pretty much "bullet proof" coral and is very easy to bring out its colors.

Does anyone know if Travis from Upscales has a picture of his colony floating around anywhere? That is one that I would love to see, since it is pretty much the "mother load".