Unethical, Wrong or Ok?

[KrisReef]

It is a green torch with white tips in blue light the tips look blue. The name has “blue tip” in it which implies to me that the tips are blue regardless of light. Therefore my dilemma.

I "get" your dilemma, and if I sold you a blue diamond you would be surprised to find a clear diamond too, right? The problem is ubiquitous in the reef hobby since lots of people want to see what the coral will look like under blue LED's and they seem to also be ok with the clear diamond.

That's the lesson for the day.

I try to buy corals with pictures in daylight if I can't get to the store. Otherwise, you have to train your eye to understand how the background light relates to the colors that are visible on the coral, clam, or frag shown in the vendor pics. It's maddening, but it is the game now.

 

[KrisReef]

Yes you are right. If enough people say it is wrong or unethical I will mention the name too.

This is why I am reluctant to purchase online. Not to say I don't, but the picture you have on the left shows a fuzzy area at the bottom with a strange glow on the rocks? Your picture on the right looks like the same coral without the blue saturation.

Edit, Oh yeah, that's a Clear Diamond-tip torch, aka a Blue-tip "Diamond" torch in the hobby. For some, it doesn't seem to be an ethics issue.

 

[naterealbig]

I would completely expect the color difference in your coral, when considering the marked difference in your lighting and the seller's. When I look closely, it appears the tips of your torch are light blue, so it does seem that there is some blue in there.

In my opinion, the seller has done nothing wrong, and neither have you. A good lesson for purchasing online, and the need for understanding your lighting better, definitely stands out to me. Moving forward, make sure you ask about the specific lighting setup - both for the photograph, and for normal photoperiod. This will help give you a better idea of what you are buying, and can help you plan better with regards to light acclimation, and long-term care.

If you are unhappy with the purchase, I would let the seller know, but I certainly wouldn't do it under the pretense of false advertising, or that the seller did anything wrong at all.

 

[Jfarooqpak]

I "get" your dilemma, and if I sold you a blue diamond you would be surprised to find a clear diamond too, right? The problem is ubiquitous in the reef hobby since lots of people want to see what the coral will look like under blue LED's and they seem to also be ok with the clear diamond.

That's the lesson for the day.

I try to buy corals with pictures in daylight if I can't get to the store. Otherwise, you have to train your eye to understand how the background light relates to the colors that are visible on the coral, clam, or frag shown in the vendor pics. It's maddening, but it is the game now.

Thank you but sorry I can’t accept “it’s the game now”. Wrong is wrong. At the very least it should be specified that the tips are blue only in blue light or the name should not be “blue tip”

 

[tehmadreefer]

If your u happy than contact the vendor. Use the vendor feedback section as well.

 

[Jfarooqpak]

I would completely expect the color difference in your coral, when considering the marked difference in your lighting and the seller's. When I look closely, it appears the tips of your torch are light blue, so it does seem that there is some blue in there.

In my opinion, the seller has done nothing wrong, and neither have you. A good lesson for purchasing online, and the need for understanding your lighting better, definitely stands out to me. Moving forward, make sure you ask about the specific lighting setup - both for the photograph, and for normal photoperiod. This will help give you a better idea of what you are buying, and can help you plan better with regards to light acclimation, and long-term care.

If you are unhappy with the purchase, I would let the seller know, but I certainly wouldn't do it under the pretense of false advertising, or that the seller did anything wrong at all.

Very interesting that you saw blue in my pic when I only had the white lights on.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Very interesting that you saw blue in my pic when I only had the white lights on.

Have to agree with that as well. In your pic there is a slight blue to the tips

 

[Sinibotia]

This is kind of like that "what color is the dress" meme but with corals. The blue light seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[Jfarooqpak]

Thank you everyone. I greatly appreciate everyone’s input. After reading everyone’s opinion I do believe the seller to be at the very least “misleading” if not completely wrong. That being said it is a good lesson learnt for a newbie like me. ............. always ask questions and get details.
once again thank you for all your input.

 

[Jfarooqpak]

This is kind of like that "what color is the dress" meme but with corals. The blue light seems pretty obvious to me.

Lol. Great response.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Thank you everyone. I greatly appreciate everyone’s input. After reading everyone’s opinion I do believe the seller to be at the very least “misleading” if not completely wrong. That being said it is a good lesson learnt for a newbie like me. ............. always ask questions and get details.
once again thank you for all your input.

This happens all the time you will learn quickly in this hobby that most vendors alter and photograph corals under heavy blues.

It's just the way it is and ppl accept it.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I hate this and will never order a coral without seeing it under white lighting. But with that being said it is the norm now to post pics under blue lights whether the coral is from an online vendor or just someone on Craigslist. So it is what it is I guess.

 

[naterealbig]

Very interesting that you saw blue in my pic when I only had the white lights on.

I was talking about the tips on the torch, not the color temperature of your light.

The color temperature of your lighting is the outlier here, not the vendors pictures. In fact, it is much less blue and saturated than pictures you will see on ebay, WWC, (I have purchased several times online from these vendors, and I would purchase again) etc. The pictures are more than fair, and represent a common lighting color temperature of hobbyists displays.

As you spend more time studying lighting and the colors in the corals, fish, and inverts you will better understand how to translate what you see in photographs to their appearance in your specific set up.

This is not a dig, just an observation - and a mistake many have made before. When the typical hobbyist setup is run under a 10,000 kelvin color temperature such as yours, I would suspect that the photographs from vendors will follow.

 

[Katrina71]

If you are enjoying the coral colors that really pop, you may want to explore different lighting for your tank. Something with more blue. The whiter lights you have are going to mute most coral like natural sunlight.

 

[Sump Crab]

Your lighting is so different than the sellers, how do you expect the coral to appear the same?

Buying corals online almost always leads to disappointment IME.

Have you put it under all blues yet?

 

[najer]

It is misleading but you will learn that vendors "exaggerate" to get a sale, most good vendors will say what light it is under.
As above, can you add more blue to your lighting?
What lights do you have?

 

[DSC reef]

I would try to add more blue as others have mentioned. That said, you will never recreate what the vendor posted due to the saturation level of the photo. There are good vendors that post realistic photos of corals, I would research before purchasing as many vendors post unrealistic pics of coral.

 

[madweazl]

I think it's shady at best and the fact that many are willing to accept it as the norm seems insane to me.

 

[DSC reef]

I think it's shady at best and the fact that many are willing to accept it as the norm seems insane to me.

I agree, it seems to be an acceptable among hobbyist. Some of the pics I see are just unbelievable.

 

[Sump Crab]

I think it's shady at best and the fact that many are willing to accept it as the norm seems insane to me.

I definitely agree that a lot of coral vendors are shady as heck. It is super shady when they use camera filters and photoshop.

In this case, though, I think the coral was just pictured under blue light. I just dont see a coral being photographed under blues as shady.