what's with the funky names
- Thread starter smy168
- Start date
gflat65
New member
We just need a reference to know what someone is talking about. To say 'I have some larger polyped zoas with a green skirt and a purple oral disc and a green slit mouth' is much hard to type than 'I have PPE's'. They are all just descriptors. It can get a little more aggressive in the SPS realm. Lineage is key in many cases over there.
CoralNutz
In Memoriam
IMO lineage should be key for the zoa names too... But that's just my opinion. I guess if the names were just for fun...... But too many people use the names for hype to get more $ for their zoas.
I am not saying I hate the naming or anything. Just wish there was a more organized way of doing it. And I don't think each and every zoa needs to be named... I mean, brown polyps dont' need to be called chocolate thunder,,, lol just they're just brown polyps. :lol:
surfnvb7
Premium Member
i agree with ya coralnutz...100%!!!
if i remember correctly, back during the superman monti craze, and those wild look-a-likes coming in off shipments. people in the sps forum would say "if it looks like s**t, smells like s**t, it must be s**t" :lol: even if the colors are a couple of shades off.
i'm sure $$ in fragging is the driving force behind naming something that isnt of pure lineage, the same thing. why else would someone name a look-a-like? bragging rights? does bragging rights really matter in reefkeeping if you arent making any money off of it?
gflat65
New member
I understand and can appreciate the lineage thing, but at the same time those corals came from the ocean, so many other corals, likely from the same parent colonies will also come from the ocean. Just because it didn't come from Y's tank, that doesn't mean it couldn't be from the same natural colony. I have a few LE's, so i certainly appreciate the names, but it is more a guarantee of what it could look like. Most things (esp acros) cahnge color depending on the conditions provided. That can make it difficult to make a determination on wheher ornot the coral is what someone says it is. I bought a Marshall Island purple bonsai that is identical to the garf purple bonsai. I lost the MI bonsai in AEFW treatments, but I can compare skeleton from the MI to my garf PB's, and they are seemingly identical (as was the color). I wouldn't have sold the MI's as garf PB's, but I had no problem with it being called a purple bonsai. The burden of hype issue where someone posts some green zoas and says they are PPE's on ebay (seen it numerous times in the past) lays on the shoulder of the person buying. It may be unethical to sell something as something it is not, but people make a lot of money at it, so they will continue to do it. The person buying should really know what they are getting instead of buying something because it has a catchy name they've heard around. I laugh when i see something called something it is not, but ultimately, the buyer is responsible for knowing what they are getting.
I guess I'm torn. I don't mind the use of common descriptors for description. It lets me say, 'Hey, I may want to look at that'. If I lile, I may drop the money on it, even if it's not what it says it is. Until there is an organization that registers and documents the different corals and their origins (like the AKC or CKC in the dog world), you can only go on the word of the seller that it has the lineage. I've got a ton of zoas that look exactly like many of the zoas on Zoaid, but I know for a fact that they didn't come from the person who named them. I still like being able to use that descriptor as a way of telling someone what I have. Of course, I don't make money off of selling things at higher prices (the demand in my area wouldn't allow selling higher priced corals based on names and I try to trade for things instead), so that changes the way I feel about the topic. I'm prone to buy something more because of liking it's appearance than for a name (maybe because I know the name doesn't do me much good in my area). If it's a blue danae with red polyps, but doesn't have the lineage of a SM monti, but I like the look and am willing to pay the asking price, I'm likely going to get it. If I sold it, I would sell it is a SM 'lookalike', unless I knew it had the lineage, though (therein lay the ethics of the seller). When you're talking a 1/2" frag for $80, something can usually be called a 'lookalike' (and explicitely state no lineage to the LE originator) and sell for ~$55-65, so either way it's going to cost you. I see both sides. I guess I just kinda straddle the line. If you tell me it is an LE, I'd expect it to be, but can't call you out on it unless I can effectively play seven degrees of Steve Tyree
.
I guess I'm torn. I don't mind the use of common descriptors for description. It lets me say, 'Hey, I may want to look at that'. If I lile, I may drop the money on it, even if it's not what it says it is. Until there is an organization that registers and documents the different corals and their origins (like the AKC or CKC in the dog world), you can only go on the word of the seller that it has the lineage. I've got a ton of zoas that look exactly like many of the zoas on Zoaid, but I know for a fact that they didn't come from the person who named them. I still like being able to use that descriptor as a way of telling someone what I have. Of course, I don't make money off of selling things at higher prices (the demand in my area wouldn't allow selling higher priced corals based on names and I try to trade for things instead), so that changes the way I feel about the topic. I'm prone to buy something more because of liking it's appearance than for a name (maybe because I know the name doesn't do me much good in my area). If it's a blue danae with red polyps, but doesn't have the lineage of a SM monti, but I like the look and am willing to pay the asking price, I'm likely going to get it. If I sold it, I would sell it is a SM 'lookalike', unless I knew it had the lineage, though (therein lay the ethics of the seller). When you're talking a 1/2" frag for $80, something can usually be called a 'lookalike' (and explicitely state no lineage to the LE originator) and sell for ~$55-65, so either way it's going to cost you. I see both sides. I guess I just kinda straddle the line. If you tell me it is an LE, I'd expect it to be, but can't call you out on it unless I can effectively play seven degrees of Steve Tyree
.
surfnvb7
Premium Member
i'm not into the LPS stuff by any means, but i found this scenarious pretty funny.
i know a certain local, who's got deep pockets, and ALL of the LE stuff. he went on a mission to find a frag of the LE Watermelon Chalice. Well, after some digging around on different sites, on ebay, and RC. I think he ended up 6-8 different frags of this LE Watermelon Chalice. And ya know whats funny? They ALL look different, and are DEFINETELY not the same coral. They all have the colors, but in different arrangements and are definetly not the same. They are all cool looking, and I'd take any one and be happy with it. But it just goes to show, if it looks like the LE in some way or another, even by stretching the imagination, some people have no problem selling it as such b/c most people wont know the difference.
Does he regret getting all the different ones? Nope, he could care less and thinks its rather funny, but I guess he can live with himself cuz the pockets run deep. And thats just some pocket change that fell out in the couch. ;-)
i know a certain local, who's got deep pockets, and ALL of the LE stuff. he went on a mission to find a frag of the LE Watermelon Chalice. Well, after some digging around on different sites, on ebay, and RC. I think he ended up 6-8 different frags of this LE Watermelon Chalice. And ya know whats funny? They ALL look different, and are DEFINETELY not the same coral. They all have the colors, but in different arrangements and are definetly not the same. They are all cool looking, and I'd take any one and be happy with it. But it just goes to show, if it looks like the LE in some way or another, even by stretching the imagination, some people have no problem selling it as such b/c most people wont know the difference.
Does he regret getting all the different ones? Nope, he could care less and thinks its rather funny, but I guess he can live with himself cuz the pockets run deep. And thats just some pocket change that fell out in the couch. ;-)
surfnvb7
Premium Member
gflat, what do you think of these, compared to the ones you just got? http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=857772
smy168
Back to the habit
love love love this forum, nice to see so many responses from true enthusiasts. I personally think LE names are more about $$$s and less about anything else. I'm sure certain zoas come from very specific regions or bodies of water. Coralnutz is pretty on key to my thinking which is finding a better way to organize them by region, I figure zoas from FLA would be accustomed to different water quality than zoas from fiji and that would probably affect it's coloring and growth.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. Here's my zoa system:
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. Here's my zoa system:
Mr. Ugly
New member
Slightly off topic... but on the wild superman montis....
A lot of people in my area had been rolling their eyes at those, saying that they don't hold their color, or that they take forever to color up.
Picked up some recently that was totally browned out. Poop Brown Chocolate Thunder monti would have been an appropriate name for what it looked like
Took less than 2 weeks for it to color up, and I even had it in my sump under a fluorescent bulb for a couple days at first. Grows faster and turns blue sooner than the original superman.
Here's a quick pic. Hope that the polyps get brighter over time.
Here's a small piece of original superman after 2 months in my tank.
A lot of people in my area had been rolling their eyes at those, saying that they don't hold their color, or that they take forever to color up.
Picked up some recently that was totally browned out. Poop Brown Chocolate Thunder monti would have been an appropriate name for what it looked like
Took less than 2 weeks for it to color up, and I even had it in my sump under a fluorescent bulb for a couple days at first. Grows faster and turns blue sooner than the original superman.
Here's a quick pic. Hope that the polyps get brighter over time.
Here's a small piece of original superman after 2 months in my tank.
surfnvb7
Premium Member
still doesnt look the same as the "original lineage". i've seen the "original", some one in my club bought it from copps. it has a dark blue base, with bright red polyps.
you see alot of different morphs that have a slightly off blue base, with orange or maroon polyps being sold as the superman.
but as long as you are happy with what you spent on it thats all that really matters. its kinda hard to know the difference until you see the original side-by-side with a wild caught one. there is a very noticable difference IMO
you see alot of different morphs that have a slightly off blue base, with orange or maroon polyps being sold as the superman.
but as long as you are happy with what you spent on it thats all that really matters. its kinda hard to know the difference until you see the original side-by-side with a wild caught one. there is a very noticable difference IMO
Mr. Ugly
New member
Oh, I agree Al. The ones in both pics are still changing. I'm just saying that this particular wc one turned from brown to blue very quickly, where they typically are known for losing color.
The bottom pic is original superman that I got through Atlantis. Been waiting a while for it to get more blue and red.
The bottom pic is original superman that I got through Atlantis. Been waiting a while for it to get more blue and red.
