Out of control frag naming!

Very good article Mike.

 

I only posted it because "designer corals" are one of my biggest pet peeves of the hobby and I mention that in the article.

I agree with the OP's original statement 1000%. As a matter of fact I was on a site the just last night and saw a frag. The name of it was "you name it and get famous, maybe even rich". It really disgusted me.

 

+k a good read and much my thoughts as well.

Reminds me of the guy I was in line with at a St. Louis LFS. He was buying a MP40 and was genuniely impressed I had DIY built my algae scrubber. lol.

 

Amen khowst, it is like you frag it you name it lol. I seen the same type frag on 2 different sites and the names were totally opposite of each other.

 

If you took the time to frag corals, you can name it whatever you want and charge whatever you want. The issue is not the retailers charging an arm and a leg for livestock, the issue is the people that are willing to pay $1000 for a frag of a coral. If there is demand for the coral and they are willing to spend the money for it, charge whatever you want.

 

I'm against all naming beyond species. There doesn't need to be 1000 different names for zoas that just confuse people looking to get in to it. They should simply be displayed and labeled as zoanthids so people can pick the ones they want. If you didn't discover the species you have no rights to name it or market it as YOURS IMO. I have however noticed exactly why it's done and can't blame those who do it. Branding is a huge part of business, so when someone sees ORA in front of a coral name and likes it, they are naturally going to associate the name with good stuff and keep an eye out for it. It's really a double edged sword as naming corals makes it a bit of a pain for hobbyists, but it helps support the people who supply the hobby with so much amazing stuff. I personally have done some branding experiments by moving a zoa I knew the name of it to a different section, labeling it as such and marking up the price. Sells for double every time even if it was sitting unlabeled for weeks before. I guess my complete opinion is, it is what it is. Those of us with the knowledge to recognize a coral for what it is have a huge advantage, so research, research, research!

 

This can cause problems for retailers. You buy a zoanthid at inflated price. Then you have a stupid employee not knowing what it's worth selling it way below cost.

 

The naming of corals, used well, is a huge benefit to our community. I have no problem with adding the latin name; that would be helpful information. I do however think we miss the benefit of naming and marketing of corals. The ability to make a better profit on a premium coral encourages development of nicer corals. We also live in a hobby where the latin name is not all that helpful. Being able to distinguish the different color morphs is helpful. The naming and marketing of corals has been a huge boon to aquaculture. Our hobby and our ability to grow and maintain these corals has been, at least in part, driven by people who developed the techniques for profit.

I frequently buy ORA corals. I don't spend a lot on corals because I like to grow out from frags. I'd rather pay a premium and get corals that have been consistently great quality.

There is no doubt people who use names arbitrarily, or falsely represent themselves as being better than they are, cause a problem in the community. We should separate the growers who do provide us with quality products from the shysters who can give any practice or industry a bad name.

I also suggest we, as hobbyists, think about how we can develop a more useful taxonomy within our hobby. Many businesses subject themselves to independent quality analysts. If there was a third party out there who fairly evaluates which vendor is honestly naming and selling frags, that third party could become a self financing actor, selling the right to use the grading in advertising. There are other ways to accomplish the goal, but I think it is much more useful to think how we encourage marketing and how we make sure that marketing is done in a way that is helpful to us consumers than to try to hold back a flood.