Juat a question about WYSIWYG

[Jennduhh]

Hi all,
Back again with silly newbie questions.
I ordered a Battlestar Galaxea coral from a large site & feel.like I may have gotten jipped.
The one ordered was either a cut-to-order or an Almost WYSIWYG, I don't remember exactly. Both descriptions state that the photo isn't an exact, but that the frag received would be similar in size & coloring to the picture coral.
That being said, the one I actually received was a fraction of the size & while still very pretty, it just doesn't have the same POP as the one pictured.

The first image is the photo from the listing, as well as the description.
The latter photos are the physical coral. I thought maybe it just wasn't extending completely, but It's been in the tank 3 weeks & everything else has fully extended but this one just doesn't get any bigger than this.

I know the photos of the actual coral are a bit hard to see. It was difficult to get an accurate photo thru the glass lol For reference it's about the size of a brand new #2 pencil eraser

Am I wrong to feel like I kinda got shorted?

 

[PotatoPig]

Both descriptions state that the photo isn't an exact, but that the frag received would be similar in size & coloring to the picture coral.

Retailers are really good with their lights to get corals to pop.

Even in person at the LFS it’s hard to really gauge what a lot of corals will look like back home, partly as they have the ambient light also set low, and I suspect the UV set a little high, among other tricks, so the coral colors really really show.

IMO it’s even worse online - even live sales can be tricky as they have the lighting all set up and a huge zoom, so it’s hard to really gauge size. Sales from photos… they’ve don’t lights, lenses, zoom, filters, the works.

It possibly is the coral they had pictured, or functionally identical to it, just getting the lights the same is an art - and you flatly won’t get there if they did any post-processing on the image.

My 2c: If you’re new and there’s a decent LFS near you then I’d start out buying in person.

 

[Saltfishlover]

Hmm wow! Honestly I feel like the seller should have indicated to you this would be for a single polyp. I can't speak for all vendors, but i think if they were selling such a small piece it would have been noted. I would not be happy either. Lighting is a tricky devil and you can really make pieces pop. Some even use filters to make it look nicer.
The last galaxea I got the vendor said it come on a 3/4 inch frag plug with 5-6 polyps per frag. I also purchased an encrusting style that was sold by the inch square. Sorry that's what you got.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hi all,
Back again with silly newbie questions.
I ordered a Battlestar Galaxea coral from a large site & feel.like I may have gotten jipped.
The one ordered was either a cut-to-order or an Almost WYSIWYG, I don't remember exactly. Both descriptions state that the photo isn't an exact, but that the frag received would be similar in size & coloring to the picture coral.
That being said, the one I actually received was a fraction of the size & while still very pretty, it just doesn't have the same POP as the one pictured.

The first image is the photo from the listing, as well as the description.
The latter photos are the physical coral. I thought maybe it just wasn't extending completely, but It's been in the tank 3 weeks & everything else has fully extended but this one just doesn't get any bigger than this.

I know the photos of the actual coral are a bit hard to see. It was difficult to get an accurate photo thru the glass lol For reference it's about the size of a brand new #2 pencil eraser

Am I wrong to feel like I kinda got shorted?

So here is the thing I notice. How big did they say the coral was or how big are the grate squares under? Sellers like to make it seem like the frag is huge but it actually could be that small in their picture too

 

[softiesplease]

From my experience with TSA this is the size I'd expect on almost WYSIWYG from TSA like that, similar to what I got for almost WYS Duncans (1 small polyp). Also same for almost WYS zoas and clove polyps I've ordered, but it always comes in nice condition. That said even though it's been 3 weeks it could still be settling in. Pretty sure the egg crate is the standard size in TSA pictures unless otherwise stated. You could always email them see what they say, I always have good experience with TSA customer service if I had questions. Hopefully it continues to grow for you.

 

[Coral Your World]

Avoid these goofy online retailers that sell booger size frags when possible. Buy from local hobbyists if thats an option. Hope you didn’t pay more than a buck for that coral lol These retailers are generally great at making things look really nice, but the pieces seldom match what’s advertised once they’re in your tank, often times, even under similar lighting conditions.

 

[VintageReefer]

The give away for me is that frag plug. I know them. They are smaller than average. You need to keep scale in mind. A standard frag plug is 1-1.25”
Those dark ones with the grain lines are .75”

So take a .75” frag plug and center an object on it. Listing picture shows the “almost wysiwyg” is not a fully encrusted plug. There is a border around the entire coral. Keeping in mind the plug size, that outer gap/border is probably 1/4”.

1/4” on left and 1/4” on right combined is 1/2 inch of empty space leaving a center area of 1/4”. Pencil eraser

Standard plugs
Medium square plug
Those 3/4” black ones

 

[littlefoxx]

Avoid these goofy online retailers that sell booger size frags when possible. Buy from local hobbyists if thats an option. Hope you didn’t pay more than a buck for that coral lol These retailers are generally great at making things look really nice, but the pieces seldom match what’s advertised once they’re in your tank, often times, even under similar lighting conditions.

Booger sized frags LOL!!

 

[Jennduhh]

Retailers are really good with their lights to get corals to pop.

Even in person at the LFS it’s hard to really gauge what a lot of corals will look like back home, partly as they have the ambient light also set low, and I suspect the UV set a little high, among other tricks, so the coral colors really really show.

IMO it’s even worse online - even live sales can be tricky as they have the lighting all set up and a huge zoom, so it’s hard to really gauge size. Sales from photos… they’ve don’t lights, lenses, zoom, filters, the works.

It possibly is the coral they had pictured, or functionally identical to it, just getting the lights the same is an art - and you flatly won’t get there if they did any post-processing on the image.

My 2c: If you’re new and there’s a decent LFS near you then I’d start out buying in person.

I buy in-person as well but the closest coral shop near me is a 2hr drive, so not always possible.

Tbh, the coloring isn't really an issue, I know there's a lot of factors that play into coloring, but the size. Just comparing it to the frag plug alone, it looks 3x bigger than the one I received

 

[Jennduhh]

Avoid these goofy online retailers that sell booger size frags when possible. Buy from local hobbyists if thats an option. Hope you didn’t pay more than a buck for that coral lol These retailers are generally great at making things look really nice, but the pieces seldom match what’s advertised once they’re in your tank, often times, even under similar lighting conditions.

Bout $40 before shipping lol

 

[Jennduhh]

The give away for me is that frag plug. I know them. They are smaller than average. You need to keep scale in mind. A standard frag plug is 1-1.25”
Those dark ones with the grain lines are .75”

So take a .75” frag plug and center an object on it. Listing picture shows the “almost wysiwyg” is not a fully encrusted plug. There is a border around the entire coral. Keeping in mind the plug size, that outer gap/border is probably 1/4”.

1/4” on left and 1/4” on right combined is 1/2 inch of empty space leaving a center area of 1/4”. Pencil eraser

Standard plugs
Medium square plug
Those 3/4” black ones

You're awesome, thank you for this comparison!

 

[Nomadic1]

NAME AND SHAME that vendor. That's preposterous what they sold you as a "frag." That's a single polyp. I can't get over what passes for coral frags these days, being in the hobby for over 20 years now.

 

[Coral Your World]

Bout $40 before shipping lol

On behalf of this vendor, I apologize lol

 

[TopShelfAquatics Verified Sponsor]

Hi all,
Back again with silly newbie questions.
I ordered a Battlestar Galaxea coral from a large site & feel.like I may have gotten jipped.
The one ordered was either a cut-to-order or an Almost WYSIWYG, I don't remember exactly. Both descriptions state that the photo isn't an exact, but that the frag received would be similar in size & coloring to the picture coral.
That being said, the one I actually received was a fraction of the size & while still very pretty, it just doesn't have the same POP as the one pictured.

The first image is the photo from the listing, as well as the description.
The latter photos are the physical coral. I thought maybe it just wasn't extending completely, but It's been in the tank 3 weeks & everything else has fully extended but this one just doesn't get any bigger than this.

I know the photos of the actual coral are a bit hard to see. It was difficult to get an accurate photo thru the glass lol For reference it's about the size of a brand new #2 pencil eraser

Am I wrong to feel like I kinda got shorted?

Please reach out to us. There must be some confusion as we would never purposely send a frag/coral that small out.