How do keep track of your expensive "named" frags?

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ScottB said:
It must be unusually difficult to grow as the pricing has not really softened at all that I have seen.
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The price has definitely softened considerably, but it is a sensitive one.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
ScottB said:
Yet to pull the trigger on HW myself. If I saw some for $175 though I would probably jump on it. It must be unusually difficult to grow as the pricing has not really softened at all that I have seen.
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You can find them for $100 in our neck of the woods
 
when i got up to about 60 frags in my 180G tank (those live sales lol!), i started toying with an “XYZ” mapping system (“point 0-0-0” was the left front corner). units are inches.

i kinda liked it for the fact that it made me think about reasonable distances between frags so i could keep aggressive ones adequately apart.

marking or labeling frag plugs becomes problematic if coralline algae starts growing over the plug.

still doesn’t stop my urchins from knocking over plugs. ;Hilarious

in-tank frag racks are a separate list.
 
who else using the aquarimate app ? worth the ten bucks.. not a big deal.. but just hate to waste $$$ on apps i use only one time.. been there to many times..
 
dtruitt said:
I was talking about this with a guy I swap frags with recently.

A lot of these high end pieces aren't strictly "difficult" to grow, the price points just make it untenable for enough hobbyists to buy enough small frags or large enough colonies to a) ensure reasonable odds of success and b) grow out frags fast enough to drop the price.

Very few hobbyists will drop the hundreds or thousands of dollars to get a good chunk of any of the "high end" acroporas or zoanthids or chalices. So we end up with nubs that are decidedly more touch and go than a good sized frag or mini colony.

Then, even if you get your top shelf specimens through that dodgy period where they are far more prone to melting than they need to be, it'll take a lot longer to hit that sweet spot on the exponential growth curve where you can keep up with demand.

One guy I buy my high end SPS from cuts his acros super early. I know he buys a lot of his frags directly from premium online vendors, so he's understandably eager to recoup his investment. The problem is, when youre cutting fingernail sized nubs from golf ball "colonies," it's very hard to get a big enough colony to keep up with demand.
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Thanks for sharing that explanation. I agree "nubs" are decidedly less robust than something with a branch or two, so this would explain the meager number of vendors & supply.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
chicago said:
who else using the aquarimate app ? worth the ten bucks.. not a big deal.. but just hate to waste $$$ on apps i use only one time.. been there to many times..
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I use it to both track livestock as well as my testing parameters. I like it but never used anything else either. I dont pay for the subscription just the one time app cost. Believe if you pay the sub fee you can access it from any device instead of the device its installed on.
 
ScottB said:
So I crushed POTO's latest coral auction, winning every little stick I bid on (15).

When they are this size, their visual characteristics are not terribly distinct. A few are, but not distinct enough for me to memorize. Now they are going into a system with another 100 frags. Invariably they will get blown around and intermixed.

How do you manage/label/track your frags to maintain their identity and lineage?

I have some beautiful colonies that were once little 1" pieces but have no idea what their "names" are anymore.
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You are asking how do I manage / label / track your frags to maintain their identity and lineage....

Now if you are asking me about my wine collection that is a no brainer. I buy a bottle to drink and a few bottles or a case to age :) Those get tagged with purchase date, year 1 date, and year 5 date. I also have a notebook by the wine frig in case I forget (and I usually do). Not all bottles are treated this way but the few that I collect or splurge on get this treatment or my favorites and hidden gems.

Back to coral though. I don't. Then again I do not buy or collect named corals or corals with any lineage. Why I am replying though and maybe it is something you have considered is this. Log book, receipt, and photo of placement. This way you have purchase date, name, placement location, and a photo for growth and color patterns. I do this with my corals even though they are no names.

I save the package slip, order, dates, photo of tank before placement, after, and that is my source of record. It has helped a few times as a couple corals I purchased came in one way (which is why I bought them) but changed color (primary full color and secondary color of polyps) under my lighting and water conditions. In once example I picked up a pearl white bubble coral and now it is a dark tan and cream. Amazing change but light related I'm sure.

Anyway best I can suggest is log book, order slip, and photos. I think that will get you there. All the best!
 
Deltec
Take a colored picture of where the frags are located.
Print it out, date it and then circle the frags and write the names down on the printed pic
 
I also use aquarimate to track corals in the display, but in doing so I end up memorizing it. I pay the subscription so o can edit everything in the desktop, as well and it is well worth it.
However, I still don't have a good solution for the frag tank. Frags move around frequently , change colour and morphology and some become difficult to identify.
 
Tidal Gardens
ScottB said:
So I crushed POTO's latest coral auction, winning every little stick I bid on (15).

When they are this size, their visual characteristics are not terribly distinct. A few are, but not distinct enough for me to memorize. Now they are going into a system with another 100 frags. Invariably they will get blown around and intermixed.

How do you manage/label/track your frags to maintain their identity and lineage?

I have some beautiful colonies that were once little 1" pieces but have no idea what their "names" are anymore.
Click to expand...
I use Pocket Marine app. Has a lot of corals, fish, and CUC listed in it with pics. You can also upload your photos and make new ones that aren’t there. I also use it to track parameters and maintenance. It’s cheaper than others at about $3.
 
chicago said:
who else using the aquarimate app ? worth the ten bucks.. not a big deal.. but just hate to waste $$$ on apps i use only one time.. been there to many times..
Click to expand...

I been using it for years for all my maintenance reminders. Highly recommend it.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
OK here is my update. Dipped yesterday morning with potassium chloride and everything was clean.

With the silly $9 labeling/embossing toy, I created plastic tabs and glued them to the underside of each plug face down. Then lined them up on the rack (the Beach bum is out of order but that one is easy enough) and shot this lousy iphone photo. And no, beach bum is not bleached, it is a just light reflection.

Then a google sheet with the vendor, date and inventory of the shipment.


11/11/2020Pieces of the Ocean
1PC Rainbow
2POTO Blue Gomezi
3POTO Goku
4POTO Rainbow Dash
5POTO Rose Milli
6POTO Superbad
7POTO Tinkerbell
8POTO Treasure Island
9POTO Tweedy Bird
10Sunset Milli
11Tyree's Pinky the Bear
12ASD Rainbow Milli
13Indo Sunrise Milli
14JF Beach Bum
15ORA Pearlberry
16Passion Milli

POTO Nov 2020.JPG IMG-4773.jpg
 
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