ID Please - Think I might have messed up???

ylmaya · 07-23-2003, 01:46 PM

OK - went in to buy a Colt and came home with this because it was pretty (aaak - I can hear the comments now).....but is it a carnation? If so - is it placed OK in the tank? Are they REALLY that hard to keep???????

(I wasted a birthday gift certificate on this one....or maybe it wasn't a waste??)

Doug1 · 07-23-2003, 02:23 PM

Ouch, it does resemble a carnation, its definatly not a colt, or one of the species that get that label in the trade.
FWIW dendronephthya have very distinct calcite slivers(schlerites) visible in the body. After you have seen close up pic they are easy to spot . Hope it goes well

ylmaya · 07-23-2003, 02:48 PM

OK - so if it is a carnation - now what - feed it some micro -food and hope for 6 months?????

Alice · 07-23-2003, 02:58 PM

That's either some species of Dendronephthya or Scleronephthya, probably the former and it sure falls under the common name of "Carnation."

Any possibility of taking it back to the store and trading it for something else? Id' push the store hard as the requirements are certainly alot different than what you thought you had purchased.

While some people do have success with these, they are few and far between. You can try feeding it phyto but I'd say your time table of six months is about the best to hope for.

Alice

Casey · 07-23-2003, 03:21 PM

wowee extremly hard to keep even phyto might not do it I would take it back.

ylmaya · 07-23-2003, 03:23 PM

YAY YAY YAY = I have faith in my local LFS (wow). I just called them and they said they would take it back and give me the colt I originally wanted. YA YA YA YAYAYAYAYAYAYA.

Whew- what a relief. I have a really hard time understanding why this industry continues to harvest ANIMALS that we can't keep alive when they are perfectly fine being alive in the OCEAN WHERE THEY BELONG!!!!!.

Ok - thanks everyone for the feedback. .....hopefully I just saved $30!

Alice · 07-23-2003, 04:18 PM

The reason they keep bringing these animals in is because they sell. They're pretty and people buy them. People who don't know better (or who go on LFS advice and not visit TRT

) still buy into the old adage that anything SW is hard to keep and they just keep replacing the dead animals over and over, so the LFS keep selling them, the importers keep bringing them in and the collectors keep collecting them. (My, I seem to be on a conservation bent today!)

Good for you, lmaya, for checking in here and caring enough to take it back...and for your LFS for taking it back. Now just convince them not to sell those anymore.

Alice

Doug1 · 07-23-2003, 04:26 PM

Glad they will take it back. Not all dealers order these, they sometimes show up as mscillanious or misnamed corals. Others will because they are pretty and sell even tho they are basically doomed

ylmaya · 07-23-2003, 07:37 PM

Funnily enough the young man that took it back for me says he is fragging them at home and so far has only lost 2. I find this hard to believe. Anyway - I got a really nice Colt instead.....I'll post pics once he is acclimated and in place.