What defines a colony?

[leoskee]

Okay, call me ignorant, but I dont think that a frag that has grown a few branches is considered a colony.

Everyday I see people posting on different reef related sites that they are selling frags from their mother colony. When they post a pic of their "mother colony" it is nothing more than a frag that has branched out a bit. The coral itself is still ony an inch or two in size. This also applies to LPS corals. There are sooooo many poeple who have acans and chalice colonies that only have 4 or 5 heads.

Is it just me or am I missing something? Can someone elaborate a bit more?:banghead:

 

[ssmtcarlo]

id say baseball size would constitute a colony in my opinion

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Colony

Now this is a colony.Just got it yesterday.

 

[Deanos]

"To each his own"

 

[sweetsop]

colony

from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

5 entries found.

Main Entry:col?o?ny Pronunciation: \ˈk?-lə-nē\ Function:noun Inflected Form(s):plural col?o?niesEtymology:Middle English colonie, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin colonia, from colonus farmer, colonist, from colere to cultivate ? more at wheelDate:14th century 1 a: a body of people living in a new territory but retaining ties with the parent state b: the territory inhabited by such a body2: a distinguishable localized population within a species <a colony of termites>3 a: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium b: the aggregation of zooids of a compound animal4 a: a group of individuals or things with common characteristics or interests situated in close association <an artist colony> b: the section occupied by such a group5: a group of persons institutionalized away from others <a leper colony> <a penal colony>; also : the land or buildings occupied by such a group

:splitspin

 

[grundig5]

<-- Guilty of selling frags of frags

When you get that sweet 3/8" nub and it grows 3 tiny branches over 1.5 years, you certainly feel like its a colony!

 

[masterswimmer]

I believe that people are just using the vernacular of mother colony as a reference to the parent of the frag they are offering. I don't believe they are actually referring to it as a huge piece of coral.

If I have a 3" round piece of coral (a baby in my book) but I frag a 1" piece off of it, the larger remaining piece is still considered the mother colony of the frag. Even though the 'mother' of it is not technically a colony, it is only a larger frag.

Just my $.02

swimmer

 

[leoskee]

I just wanted to post it out there to see what other people had to say. I have to agree with ssmtcarlo and zanymaster.

 

[leoskee]

I believe that people are just using the vernacular of mother colony as a reference to the parent of the frag they are offering. I don't believe they are actually referring to it as a huge piece of coral.

If I have a 3" round piece of coral (a baby in my book) but I frag a 1" piece off of it, the larger remaining piece is still considered the mother colony of the frag. Even though the 'mother' of it is not technically a colony, it is only a larger frag.

Just my $.02

swimmer

Okay. I see your point to the colony referrence in your example. In my book Ive always thought of a colony as a large, well developed coral.

 

[rgun2515]

IMO...

It depends on the size of your tank. Someone with a 1,000G tank may consider a softball size piece a frag. "love to get some frags from them."

The definition of a colony is, "A group of the same kind of animals, plants, or one-celled organisms living or growing together." So if a group is 2 or more, then all those frags we get are really colonies.

As long as it does well, and grows to the size you like, does it really matter? If you frag a frag does it not grow?

 

[Wes]

there is no magic number for the amount of branches, polyps, heads, or people needed to be a colony. It's simply a term used to describe a multiple number of the same thing.

So if you want to call it a colony, mini colony, mother colony, or large frag it doesnt really matter. If it's big enough to frag than some would consider that a "colony"

 

[ming]

next time i frag some tiny sticks, I'll start posting "colony for sale" :lol2:

 

[BZOFIQ]

Colony is a group so a group of polyps even in smallest size is a colony.

"Frag" refers to a Fragment, regardless of size. So a fragment whether .5" or 5" would be considred a colony when it comes to SPS.

Mother colony does not signify a coral being large (in hobby referred to as show size), it simply shows the original colony the frag was broken off of.

Technicaly, even if you have a 4" SPS coral and you brake off a dozen of frags, each measuring .5" the leftover colony no matter how small (after being destroyed) is considered a mother colony.

The terms are simpy loosely misused in the hobby; that's all.

 

[prattreef]

Colony is a group so a group of polyps even in smallest size is a colony.

"Frag" refers to a Fragment, regardless of size. So a fragment whether .5" or 5" would be considred a colony when it comes to SPS.

Mother colony does not signify a coral being large (in hobby referred to as show size), it simply shows the original colony the frag was broken off of.

Technicaly, even if you have a 4" SPS coral and you brake off a dozen of frags, each measuring .5" the leftover colony no matter how small (after being destroyed) is considered a mother colony.

The terms are simpy loosely misused in the hobby; that's all.

I agree with this. Let's not confuse hobbyist hair splitting with biological realities.

 

[ssmtcarlo]

next time i frag some tiny sticks, I'll start posting "colony for sale" :lol2:

I colonyed my frag HAHAHAHA

 

[Josh]

Technically, it's anything more than 1 polyp. There is no standard within the hobby as to what is or isn't a colony.

 

[leoskee]

Guys, I wasnt looking for a definition of the word colony or the definition of the word frag. My question was based on the fact that many hobbyiest lable a small piece of a coral as a mother colony. I was looking for insight from other reefers as to why people do this and why it is accepted in the hobby.

Please dont post any more definitions. Especially if you have to google the definition before posting it. rangehat

 

[reefman]

as long as i'm happy with the frag size, they can call it godzilla

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

Our "MOTHER" colonies are about 8"-10" Diameter

Our "colonies" for sale, are about the size of a baseball or larger.

Our "frags" are at least 1" or more.

But as Deanos said, to each his own