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jaa1456

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I see a lot of people on here swearing by the names from this place. Well one thing I noticed is that they named cetain polyps and corals names that really didn't exist when these corals were already in the trade. The sopranos poly's?? Come on these have been around for nearly 15 years and the show is what 6 years or so old maybe a little older. One pic had 3 different zoas in it and only one name listed. They were all clearly different Zoa's, People just because someone sets up a site and says this is the name now go by this name and this name only, Does not mean that is the actual true name. Coralpedia is not the same as the Dictonary or Encyclopedia. These findings where from a whopping 2 minutes that I was on there.
 

KathyC

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Barnum Island
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I think perhaps you are missing the 'spirit' of Zoaid. A peek at the FAQ's on there might help you understand more about the site.

As far as the 'Soprano' zoa...all those pics look the same to me. :) Do check the info under the pics where they note what lighting they were taken under and whether a flash was used (a flash pic is a requirement of the site as most zoas can look quite different under all that actinic lighting that people tend to take zoas pics under)

I'm certain there wasn't a nametag on them when they were first pulled out of the ocean. The person who first submits a pic of a zoa not already on the site is permitted the glory of naming it. So if someone didn't submit a pic to Zoaid until 2008, and bestowed that name upon it , nobody is saying it didn't exist until then, it is merely when it was first listed on there.

You can call them whatever you want and you will not be alone as many folks think corals should not have 'names' and many corals (and zoas) ARE called by different names.

Zoaid went through the trouble of pulling together a well done site to be used as a reference..not a bible...and many respect the site for what they have accomplished.
 

daaznmofo

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NHP
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that site is used for ID'ing different zoos.
there are so many different ones out there and it gets difficult when you want to trade or look for the ones you want without having a name.
just think about all the animals and plants in nature that have names.
zoos are a general term, like dogs and cats.
 

jaa1456

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Kathy I did not miss the point at all. You are missing the point. Zoas had names already for years before Coralpedia came along into play. Just because a new site comes along and starts naming things does not mean they are the true names. What I have noticed is within the last 5 years the number of hobbyist has gone up tremendously. With all these newcomers people start feeling the need to name things. For whatever reasons, Money being number 1 as I have noticed. So many of these Zoas are the same, just different Morphs. Where one Zoa grew with alternating tentacles and the other didn't could just be the nutrients around it. And you said yourself it was named in 2008(soprano) Yet I had those 16 years ago. I guess they didn't have a name 16 years ago and everyone was wrong then. Good thing all these new people came along and started giving everything new names. This is where the true confusion lays. New people giving new names to stuff that already had names.
 

E.intheC

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Suffolk County
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The only "true" name for corals is their actual scientific name.

I have to agree 100% with Kathy about the site. I think its helpful for reference purposes. Also, when you say you have a "soprano zoanthid" I know exactly what you're talking about. You don't have to say "I have this yellow and black and white colored zoa with a neat speckled pattern". FWIW, fish have all different kinds of names as well. It's annoying but it is what it is.

By the way jaa, if you have any more sopranos, send me a pm :D
 
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Brooklyn, NY
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"true names" ? None of these names are true names and they are all morphs of a very small handful of genera and species. With very few exceptions all the Zoas we in the hobby refer to are morphs of either zoanthus or palythoa. Beyond that, the naming is all arbitrary, made up, subjective, and IMO often ridiculous, but since the hobby is trending toward "collecting" and "lineage' morphs, there is little choice but to attempt to standardize ID's based on non scientific criteria. Personally, I prefer , " I like those green ones with the yellow centers, you know the ones I got from so and so at the last swap", but then again, I personally don't "collect" corals in that way. For those who do, what other option is there besides attempting to agree on made up names?
 
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Location
Huntington
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+1 Randy. It's not worth getting upset over. One of the most frustrating aspects of my job is when people come in and ask for a specific zoa or paly by their made up common name. Like they show up on every order sheet as anything other than "red" "green" "special (insert color)" etc. If you order something from a company selling it as such the cost gets ridiculous.
 

jaa1456

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What I'm trying to say is this, 16 years ago I bought what were called sunburst polyps(Coralpedia has them as Soprano). This is one example, that being said, The internet has changed a lot of names of theses zoas. Mostly so people can make money. A Zoa can look one way and 2 years later look completly different than it started. The nutrients chemicals even salts play a large role in this. 5 years ago most of these zoas had different names and most still do at LFS( the ones that have been around the longest). My point is the internet and newbies are making it confusing. I understand most fish have different names also but most go by some type of deveation of their scientific name.
 
C

Chiefmcfuz

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They are all Zoanthid Sp. If you want designer names go there. If not don't. Simple as that.
 

NYreefNoob

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Location
poughquag, ny
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i personally dont buy for a name, and a name, same as with sps or lps , it's a general name for people to identify a piece, alot use the name to make a price or raise a price. how many corals do people actually know the scientific name of them ? so what did you call the saprano's 1 yr's ago ?
 

OGGISPORTS

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bronx
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i personally dont buy for a name, and a name, same as with sps or lps , it's a general name for people to identify a piece, alot use the name to make a price or raise a price. How many corals do people actually know the scientific name of them ? So what did you call the saprano's 1 yr's ago ?

+1
 

jaa1456

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The reason I remember them is because I had them for 12 years and I fragged alot of them out. My tank had only a few Zoas in it and that was one of them. I do not buy for a name either, but rather for the looks and if I like them. I don't get caught up in the fads of corals. Right now it is chalices and scoly's. Last year it was acans. Next year will be something different. But I would like to get more of those as they were very nice polyps(sunburst) and they got a lot of comments. And the corals should have names like fish. You don't call an emperor angel a blue and yellow stripey. Or a queen angel a soprano or mellow yellow. So by coralpedias guidelines I can call clownfish something new. HMMMMM Orange sherberts????
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
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The reason I remember them is because I had them for 12 years and I fragged alot of them out. My tank had only a few Zoas in it and that was one of them. I do not buy for a name either, but rather for the looks and if I like them. I don't get caught up in the fads of corals. Right now it is chalices and scoly's. Last year it was acans. Next year will be something different. But I would like to get more of those as they were very nice polyps(sunburst) and they got a lot of comments. And the corals should have names like fish. You don't call an emperor angel a blue and yellow stripey. Or a queen angel a soprano or mellow yellow. So by coralpedias guidelines I can call clownfish something new. HMMMMM Orange sherberts????

How is the name "queen angel" any different than "soprano zoas" (BTW, I don't have any of those, can you send me some:lol2:). They are both names people made up to describe a live stock, so stupid people like me don't have to try to pronounce Latin names.
 

jaa1456

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It is different because the Queen angel name is established and accepted. You take a Zoa that had an established name and start calling it something else. That is why. If you drive a Dodge Ram are you gonna call it a Dodge Goat because you like it better? I don't think so.
 

Deanos

Old School Reefer
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Bronx, NY 10475
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Naming of differing zoanthid morphs is a new phenomenon to the reefing industry, probably less than 10 yrs unlike the common names of fish. Also species of fish don't vary wildly in coloration like zoanthids. Why would you make that comparison? :confused:

However, when the day comes that Queen angels enter the hobby with as many different morphs as zoanthids, I guarantee the 'naming' rush will begin.
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
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Hopefully this makes it easy for you to understand.

"queen angel" is a common name that's easy to remember, as the angel looks nothing like a "queen". I am pretty sure the fish had many common names before people adapted and started to use it to id the same fish.

Being the zoas have so many morphs, people started to create names that they feel is a representation of the particular morph of zoas. Does the names make sense? most of the time is no, but we know what zoas morph you are talking about once everyone adapts the same name. Zoaid is a pretty good tool to track and show what zoas people have claimed a name to.
 

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