Source for natural (less colorful) coral frags

[Christopher Marshall]

Greetings r2r community,

Apologies if there is a more appropriate forum for this thread...or it's already been covered - but I couldn't find one when searching the forums so thought I'd try and post one. If you know of another thread that is the same, please post a link to it below to direct this thread to it. thanks.

I've been doing marine tanks on/off for many years and had some success (and massive failures!). My husband and I are currently building up a new large tank for our living room. We are hoping to have the tank resemble (as best as possible) an actual reef -- like you'd see if diving/snorkeling. While we love the amazing vibrant colors available in the trade...(they are incredible) we want those to be mere accent pieces in our tank, and for most of the coral to resemble the type you'd actually commonly see.

I've sought 'drab' corals at few local coral stores, but they simply don't import them because -- well, you can imagine -- they don't sell very well (or at all) when placed next to a neon rainbow colored UV fluorescent thing...

I can't imagine that my desire to have a more subtly colored tank, that emphasizes coral shape/hue and polyp form is unique, so I thought I'd post a thread and see if others are also interested -- possibly in finding a source and sharing frags? I'm told that the importers can/would import common colonies (e.g., not colorful) but that pet stores don't do this because (as stated) there is no market once it arrives here...and why spend all the hassle, permitting, transportation costs to import a colony that won't sell. But that means when I try to find an acropora or brain coral or montipora that resembles a wild-type colony (most of which are brown with maybe a faint hue of color), they're simply not available...or if they are, I haven't found the vendor.

Anyhow, if there is a community of reefers here who are also hoping to make a tank that isn't a technicolor UV-glow explosion... please comment below, maybe together we can find some basic common looking corals to create natural looking biomes of actual wild reefs.

Thanks,
Chris

ps. and this is not a dig on the folks who have the incredible colorful reeftanks - I love those too - but that's not my goal for this tank. peace.

 

[homer1475]

Just throw some white lights on those crazy colorful pieces, and you have drab corals like in the ocean.

 

[T-J]

Wouldn't using more white light instead of blue achieve this? I know under whites even my most colorful corals (for the most part), look brown and colorless.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Hi.
Well a lot depends on what type of reef you want. By that I mean do you want the crest, lagoon, fore, drop off. Some reefs are naturally very colorful.
I think I know what you mean though. My tanks are similar to what you are describing. I go for flow and texture with hints of color.
Now, I have run gorg tanks similar to this and currently run a leather/nem tank similar to this. My lps has more color, but still not in your face blinding. But that has a lot to do with the photography, not the actual tank.
Take a look at my buildthread if you want to see my current tank. Go to page 7 to start seeing the tank if you are not interested in the dribble before that. I would completely understand.

Basically, I like lagoon/tide reefs.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Yes, lighting has a lot to do with the colors as does the photography/adjustments done after.

 

[samnaz]

I’m with ya. Off the top of my head I don’t have any specific vendors to recommend but something else important to consider is the light spectrum. Actinic makes those colors pop and glow. A coral under actinics maybe appear neon rainbow but under whites it’s plain ol brown.

 

[TMC1313]

As the others have said, use more whites and many corals (not all) of those rainbow colors you're describing will magically disappear and you should achieve the look you're going for.

 

[Christopher Marshall]

I agree with the comments above that it's certainly possible to use lighting to reduce the color and that some natural reefs can be more colorful than others. Again, I'm not busting the chops of folks who have spectacular actinic tanks. But, I think that's missing my point a bit in that I'd like to have some colors, but have the majority of corals not that colorful, so adjusting the lighting is not an optimal solution.

From my understanding, the wild colonies' chosen to export into the pet trade are the most vibrant, colored ones.. not the 'drab' ones, despite the fact that the reefs they are collected from are 99% drab ones. So my goal is not to buy colorful varieties and make them appear drab, but to find a source/place in the hobby for non-brilliant coral forms, or what might be called 'wild-type'. Other communities (like orchids and herpetological communities) have analogous offerings, and I'm wondering if the reef community might have a similar space for folks seeking to re-create authentic looking biotypes.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I image some importers get the less colorful ones. Maybe try contacting a few retailers and see if they can import them for you. May be worth the effort to find out. Just know where you are wanting them from and maybe type of corals you want.

 

[T-J]

I agree with the comments above that it's certainly possible to use lighting to reduce the color and that some natural reefs can be more colorful than others. Again, I'm not busting the chops of folks who have spectacular actinic tanks. But, I think that's missing my point a bit in that I'd like to have some colors, but have the majority of corals not that colorful, so adjusting the lighting is not an optimal solution.

From my understanding, the wild colonies' chosen to export into the pet trade are the most vibrant, colored ones.. not the 'drab' ones, despite the fact that the reefs they are collected from are 99% drab ones. So my goal is not to buy colorful varieties and make them appear drab, but to find a source/place in the hobby for non-brilliant coral forms, or what might be called 'wild-type'. Other communities (like orchids and herpetological communities) have analogous offerings, and I'm wondering if the reef community might have a similar space for folks seeking to re-create authentic looking biotypes.

I know you said adjusting lighting is not an optimal solution, but it still can be. You could use the white light on the whole tank, and then use spotlight style lights (like maybe a Kessil) with blue spectrum over the areas you want to highlight with color. Just a thought.

Also, I'm a big proponent to using aquacultured corals in our hobby. I hope you are open to those options as well, instead of just looking for importers that cut wild colonies from our oceans.

 

[Christopher Marshall]

I know you said adjusting lighting is not an optimal solution, but it still can be. You could use the white light on the whole tank, and then use spotlight style lights (like maybe a Kessil) with blue spectrum over the areas you want to highlight with color. Just a thought.

Also, I'm a big proponent to using aquacultured corals in our hobby. I hope you are open to those options as well, instead of just looking for importers that cut wild colonies from our oceans.

i'm also a big fan of aquacultured corals - in fact, I think they should all be aqua cultured... but, this is why I hope folks don't forget wild types varieties, which are beautiful too. It would be ideal if one could go to a coral store and see one or two tanks of wild type aquacultured frags... but you can't (or at least I've not found that source yet). They do not have to be wild-harvest, or even natural species, they could simply be selected for their resemblance to wild-type colonies.

I posted this thread because i don't believe I'm the only person who would be interested in this niche market... but I could be wrong. I see these as two overlapping but slightly different aesthetics, one focusses on highlighting the amazing extreme capacity of the phenotype/genotype in corals (it's almost incredible some of the patterns you see in the cultivated forms...truly mind-boggling!), but the other focusses on what natural selection supports in actual habitats.

 

[T-J]

i'm also a big fan of aquacultured corals - in fact, I think they should all be aqua cultured... but, this is why I hope folks don't forget wild types varieties, which are beautiful too. It would be ideal if one could go to a coral store and see one or two tanks of wild type aquacultured frags... but you can't (or at least I've not found that source yet). They do not have to be wild-harvest, or even natural species, they could simply be selected for their resemblance to wild-type colonies.

I posted this thread because i don't believe I'm the only person who would be interested in this niche market... but I could be wrong. I see these as two overlapping but slightly different aesthetics, one focusses on highlighting the amazing extreme capacity of the phenotype/genotype in corals (it's almost incredible some of the patterns you see in the cultivated forms...truly mind-boggling!), but the other focusses on what natural selection supports in actual habitats.

Totally get what you're going after! I'm a scuba diver, and I understand the "natural" colors you're talking about. Here's a few pics I took while diving. My camera has a red filter on it to take out the blue, and you can see just how brown most of the reef is. This was in the Exuma Islands.

 

[Christopher Marshall]

Totally get what you're going after! I'm a scuba diver, and I understand the "natural" colors you're talking about. Here's a few pics I took while diving. My camera has a red filter on it to take out the blue, and you can see just how brown most of the reef is. This was in the Exuma Islands.

exactly -- the corals beauty is in the variety of forms.. but often the true 'color' comes from non-corals (sponges, macro algae...and of course: fish/inverts). I'd bet that under a massive UV light..some of those corals would appear slightly different, but I'd also wager than very few (if any) of them will be brilliant green, orange or resemble the corals in your local pet store.

 

[Christopher Marshall]

it's the difference between growing varietal flowers in your garden or native species... the native species are simply not as striking... but more and more garden centers now have 'native' plant sections... and now that there is a market, there are nurseries that specialize on growing these plants so they're not wild-harvested....

theres still a huge demand for varietal plants -- and non-native ones -- but there are alternatives.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Hi! I've seen at least one thread on the topic of importing corals from the Caribbean, which I feel is probably what you're looking for. As far as I know, for the most part, stony corals are illegal to collect in the Caribbean. If you were to run only white lights or very little blue light, I think that you will find that many common, colorful corals are actually very natural looking. Depending on what you're looking to imitate (if it's the Caribbean, mostly SPS) there are a few corals/threads many of us can recommend so you can find what you're looking for. Many of the LFS in my area are willing to turn the lights white or bluer for you to get a better idea of what the coral looks like in lighting similar to your home tank's lights. Maybe asking your LFS to do something like that and running white lights in your tank will create the effect you desire, and if you want (for any reason) to turn on the blues (maybe as a neat party trick) and reveal the rainbow then that's totally cool too. Good luck with your tank, and this is a neat concept!

 

[Christopher Marshall]

yes, I saw some posts there too, but they weren't what I was asking about, they seemed more interested in how to obtain those specific species. Thats not the route i'm interested in, i'm trying to find normal, legally imported/available frags that resemble wild colonies found in reefs.

I've only been warm water diving/snorkeling in Hawaii and Caribbean, so that is the 'image' i have in my mind, but I'm sure many folks who dive elsewhere have different images of what a 'reef' should look like. In looking on the various coral store places, I see some that kind of have the look/feel but they tend to be too colorful. E.g. a green slimer coral looks a lot like a elkhorn coral from the Carribbean...except its bright green. If there were a yellow/brown sport of that coral I could find, then it would serve the role of an 'elkhorn' if someone were trying to imitate a western atlantic look.

but if you're a pet store owner...and are going to import one slimer coral..which do you import? Green or brown? I think you and I would both choose the green...

make sense?

 

[Joseph3]

Hey OP, did you ever find a source for natural looking corals? I also like that look. I know there are a couple “ugly” corals that are commonly available. There’s the ORA brown stuber stag and common orange plating monti has fairly muted colors. Tan gorgonians are also easy to get. Personally, I’d really like a brown-ish platygyra, but I can’t find any for sale.

 

[polyppal]

Liveaquaria has mostly… uhh… ‘natural’ looking frags in their selection

 

[Big E]

You can have it both ways........corals like green slimer, blue hoekis are magnificent in 6500k lighting as they are in the wild. Cryaola plana and many others offers some color in their native lighting.

The drab corals will mostly be all those corals that only look good under heavy blue lights only.
Most of those hyped tenuis are duds under 10k-14k lighting for example.

I think part of your journey will be experimental...........have fun with it. I think your plan is exciting and unique.

There are a ton of corals offered that will look natural under 10k lighting. If you want natural you would have to lean towards 6500k as that best mimics the sun.

Fish will for sure explode in the forefront color wise instead of being off color and only provide movement as a benefit.

 

[Doctorgori]

I used to grow corals under 6500k, it works just that they are brown….. btw, I think all TOTM photos should be under 10k lighting …
…. @footgal while we are at it, what’s the source for Carribean stuff (I keep asking )