SPS ID - pearlberry?

Om84 · Oct 2, 2023

I got this piece labeled as Vivid's Rainbow Delight but I'm not sure if it is that or ORA Pearlberry. I got this piece this year in March (first pic) and then you can see what it looks like now (second pic). What's also interesting is that I got Tim Herman's (@therman) rainbow nasuta from Tim himself and they look very similar too. Therman's Rainbow Nasuta is the last picture (sorry it's kind of out of focus). They are both gorgeous nevertheless.

Macdaddynick1 · Oct 2, 2023

Hard to tell tbh. You need to give it more time, the real Pearlberry is kind of unmistakable once you give it time to grow. If growth pattern doesn’t change I don’t think it’s a Pearlberry and definitely not a VRD. VRD is a completely different acro. So my vote it’s neither.

Big E · Oct 3, 2023

I would say no..........the Pearlberry has more spaced out radial coralites. In person you can also see a pale blue branch skin that transitions to a soft green on the inner branches.

Yes, it looks similar to Therman's Rainbow.

Here's a closeup of my Thermans ,from Tim as well.

Om84 · Oct 3, 2023

Thanks guys! Looks like I got 2 beautiful colonies of therman nasuta. Beautiful piece!

Battlecorals · Oct 3, 2023

Yeah I agree that definitely looks like the Thermans

therman · Oct 3, 2023

Yes looks like therman’s rainbow. I’ve told people before, but my best interpretation of the situation with Pearlberry is that a local guy in Ohio purchased a large pack of corals from me back around 2008-2010. They included several un named pieces including what would become therman’s rainbow. He grew out all of those corals and called many of them ORA pieces even though they were not, and were not sold as such. He went on to sell many many frags of them on both here and RC. His sale threads were popular and his prices were quite cheap. This really polluted the market with incorrectly named pieces and I imagine there are hundreds of people out there to this day who have therman’s rainbow thinking it is ORA Pearlberry, and unwittingly pass it around as such.

I remember he did the same with a turaki he called ORA Hawkins (which it was not) and a few others that I can’t recollect.

Om84 · Oct 3, 2023

Tim,
That’s a very interesting story. Thanks for sharing. I happened to place both of these pieces next to each other and they look exactly the same. Therman’s Nasuta is a beautiful piece.

Now I need an original ORA Pearlberry lol

therman · Oct 3, 2023

Om84 said:
Tim,
That’s a very interesting story. Thanks for sharing. I happened to place both of these pieces next to each other and they look exactly the same. Therman’s Nasuta is a beautiful piece.

Now I need an original ORA Pearlberry lol

I have loads of the original ORA now if anyone needs it. Way more of it than I do "therman's rainbow" haha

jda · Oct 4, 2023

Folks also were saying that ORA had 2 versions of Pearlberry that they sold - one before and one after the hurricane. I have heard reliable people say it both ways, which does not help.

The version that Tim has now came from ORA on an ORA plug. I know that it is legit.

At one point, the ORA Pearlberry was likely the most expensive frag on the market sometimes being the same or a bit more than Tyree PM, and also likely the most faked. Perhaps only more faked was the Tyree Superman Monti where the OG is much more blue and much more red than the fakes.

Katemark · Oct 21, 2023

therman said:
I have loads of the original ORA now if anyone needs it. Way more of it than I do "therman's rainbow" haha

I want to get my hands on ora pearl berry.

Om84 · Oct 21, 2023

I got in touch with Tim who sent me a large colony of the OG Pearlberry. I will have to take a picture but there is clearly no confusion once you see the original.

jda · Oct 21, 2023

...something tells me that if you engage that number that you are going to be asked to send a cheque to a Nigerian prince whose records indicate that your car warranty is expired or about to expire.

Katemark · Oct 21, 2023

Om84 said:
I got in touch with Tim who sent me a large colony of the OG Pearlberry. I will have to take a picture but there is clearly no confusion once you see the original.

I once had a colony as big as a basketball. I want to get it back.

therman · Oct 21, 2023

Om84 said:
I got in touch with Tim who sent me a large colony of the OG Pearlberry. I will have to take a picture but there is clearly no confusion once you see the original.

Yes it is night and day compared to "my" "rainbow" haha

Om84 · Oct 21, 2023

therman said:
Yes it is night and day compared to "my" "rainbow" haha

Honestly, your Rainbow Nasuta is a beautiful acropora in its own right! Love the colors, growth pattern, and speed of growth. Is Pearlberry also a nasuta? Is the speed of growth similar?

therman · Oct 21, 2023

Om84 said:
Honestly, your Rainbow Nasuta is a beautiful acropora in its own right! Love the colors, growth pattern, and speed of growth. Is Pearlberry also a nasuta? Is the speed of growth similar?

Speed is similar, it seems to have a thinner growth form than things like therman's rainbow and aquadelight