Naming Acans

Agreed. I like how Zoaid is set up but there lps section lacks..

ReefdUp wrote: I'm sorry, but this naming thing is out of control. If you want to name colors of Acan's (like Zoaid.com already does) then fine. The problem I have is that everyone takes corals that look a lot like the "Tyree Icefire", start calling it the Icefire, and then start charging a ton...when the lineage is gone...and it's just another hacked up coral. Lineaged corals cost more for a reason - they maintain their color, are several generations old, etc. Please don't start using names companies already use on your corals if they don't have lineage as that breaks the lineage...and everyone thinks they have something more valuable than they do. My rant is over. And btw (sorry...apparently not over)...I'm going to call my favorite Acan the "razzle dazzle sparkly spazzle" acan because I feel like it. And that's all there is to it. Ok, now I'm done.

Lol! Same thought goes through my head when I see people asking for names on the corals they just bought at the LFS.

In the long run its always worth buying corals with lineage. Like Nikki said its know to last and keep its color hence the reason it costs more.

Nikki is spot on with this. When I started in the hobby there were very very few named corals. Hell you'd NEVER see a named coral in a fish store or vendor because they were so RARE and expensive. But then pretty soon EVERYTHING was getting named . . . it got out of control on Zoa's and then Acans and SPS. Recently I saw open brains and blastos with names! The brain coral was something you could pick up at any store in the nation for $30 but because it was "named" it was $70! Completely out of control.

There are a few stores and online vendors that sale corals by their latin names and if they have lineage they will specify that lineage to you. I only buy from these people because they think the name thing is as crazy as I do and they sell for half the cost.

A year ago some guy came to my house and saw the awesome Zoa garden I had. He couldn't believe I had these Pink Radical something or others! Wanted to pay me $10 a head! I had bought the entire rock for $15 with probably 50 heads . . . crazy. I had to explain to him that they were nothing special. He didn't believe me and thought I was the crazy one.

While we are ranting, remember when a colony actually meant something!!? (ok, I don't know if I do either!)   Seriously, if its not bigger than a frag plug or have more than a couple branches is it really a colony?   
Sorry for the off topic rant/hijack

I couldn't tell you the cosmetic/fancy name of a single one of my coral... I also think the whole lineage thing could be debated pretty hard.

ReefdUp wrote:     If I buy an orchid without lineage, I can't just throw a name on there as it could be a slightly different hybrid. At that point, it's just a pretty orchid.

Yep, and I'm just fine with that.

Biggest issue I have with coral lineage is first the validity of it, nothing is papered, registered, proven DNA, etc. Second is the intent of exploitation from the beginning. Lastly is; more so in other hobby, care and husbandry factor into the quality of the product. Just because there is a 10 time removed "joe bob's psychedelic purple eater" from the mother colonly that has been treated differently and through completely dissimilar environment variables means little to me.

Edited by rfoote - October 11 2012 at 7:04am

There should be a good article written about coral naming/lineage/etc and posted as a "sticky" in every forum. It really is a very confusing and misunderstood thing especially amongst new hobbyists.

wickedsnowman wrote: I agree completly with most of what has already been said. Here is my opinion on the lineage thing. jason fox, tyree , sexy corals etc release new corals all the time. Nikki you act as if they are captive raised from the begining. No they get their corals from the ocean the same as every other supplier. They are the problem not the solution. They are the ones slapping the fancy name and charging way more than the species is worth. Granted it frustrates me and most reefers when joe smoe buys something for a few bucks then copies the LE or signature name and tries to sell it for big$$. But in the same breath what gives these high end companies the right to name something anymore than joe smoe? I think the whole coral name game is a complete joke and only works because people like to feel like they have something nobody else has or can afford...

Couldn't agree more!

I've been planning to write on this topic on my blog for a while. I guess I should get on it.

I haven't kept up with Tyree and others in the last fee years, but in the old days, named corals were NOT just hacked out of the ocean and slapped with a cool name. Tyree travelled all over and would get small frags of amazing corals to grow out. If they were up to his standard, he'd name them then sell them. While he evaluated them, he would sell frags at a normal price since he wasn't sure how they would do in various captivity systems.

Now, what is wrong with that? He spent years sometimes evaluating corals to make sure they were perfect. That takes time!

Whenever I buy a lineaged coral, I keep the documentation, and I try to give copies of the documentation whenever I sell the coral. I also try to keep records of who I sell to so its easy to trace.

Now, of course, there are copycats in the vendor and hobbyist world who just take a new colony out of the ocean, hack it up and put a new name on it (strawberry shortcake anyone?) Yes, this is wrong. Buyers should not consider this worth as high of a price...or worth keeping lineage on.

And yes, there are people who just want what no one else has and are willing to drop the cash.

If we want this system fixed...get documentation on lineage. Give documentation. Don't buy hacked up corals for insane prices. Support places like ORA that grow out corals to ensure their health before selling. Be responsible.