Complete Bonus/Ultra Coral List - 2024 (REVISED AS OF 11/14/24)

[tribbitt]

For what it’s worth and I’m no professional aquarist or a leading vender that can create a fancy name behind a coral and sell it for 10x market value.

But I don’t consider ricordia as a bouncing coral. They already have the vesicles that tend to increase and decrease in size on a regular basis.

I look more towards Rhodactis and discosoma as bouncing variety.

No, ricordea can bounce. Mine are absolutely not, but they can bounce.

Same way that ricordea have those rough-textured vesicles but sometimes a few of those balloon up, ricordea have the same thing where some vesicles get multiple times the others’ size.

 

[DaddyHook]

No, ricordea can bounce. Mine are absolutely not, but they can bounce.

Same way that ricordea have those rough-textured vesicles but sometimes a few of those balloon up, ricordea have the same thing where some vesicles get multiple times the others’ size.

View attachment 60689
View attachment 60688

My point is that discosoma and Rhodactis don’t have the normal vesicles so when they bounce there is a clear indication as it is not normal.

Where ricordea already have those vesicles and normally increase and decrease in size and truly bouncing specimens don’t increase and decrease on a minute by minutes basis.

But as stated it’s just my opinion as bouncing has been around for a long time and is still indeterminate on why it trully happens. And only recently has been a desired look where it was thought to be bad and would usually get tossed.

 

[IOnceWasLegend]

Sorry for the delay on this, which I'm clarifying is on me.

SPS list is almost finalized thanks to a significant chunk of help from @derek_SR , who knows SPS far better than I do. Soft and LPS coral list should remain unchanged.

 

[IOnceWasLegend]

Lists have been updated. To give some insight into our rationale this time around, especially on SPS: we're trying to get more of those at the swap, given how few there were last time, and to generally distribute more coral throughout the club that fewer members have. For instance, I was approached about a zoa being reinstated on the list; after looking at general prices, and looking at activity in the club surrounding that coral being low over the last several years, I opted to reinstate it.

I'll make a more general announcement in the future about this, but something that may help us with these lists going forward is for people to provide lists of what they're bringing to the swap. Turns out there's a LOT of different corals, so it's hard to 'bin' everything (especially since everyone tends to focus on one subtype or another). Having a list of what people are bringing helps us figure out what's desirable, what's common, what we don't have a lot of, and what people want to see more of.

Thanks!

 

[MichaelB]

Lists have been updated. To give some insight into our rationale this time around, especially on SPS: we're trying to get more of those at the swap, given how few there were last time, and to generally distribute more coral throughout the club that fewer members have. For instance, I was approached about a zoa being reinstated on the list; after looking at general prices, and looking at activity in the club surrounding that coral being low over the last several years, I opted to reinstate it.

I'll make a more general announcement in the future about this, but something that may help us with these lists going forward is for people to provide lists of what they're bringing to the swap. Turns out there's a LOT of different corals, so it's hard to 'bin' everything (especially since everyone tends to focus on one subtype or another). Having a list of what people are bringing helps us figure out what's desirable, what's common, what we don't have a lot of, and what people want to see more of.

Thanks!

Total noob sps question. Is there a easy method to determine what type a acropora you have, post mentioned smoothskin and tenuis, there are probably other types? I always veiwed acros as acros. Therefor I have no solid understanding of the different classifications of them or how they differ.


Hopefully what I'm asking makes sense?

 

[IOnceWasLegend]

Total noob sps question. Is there a easy method to determine what type a acropora you have, post mentioned smoothskin and tenuis, there are probably other types? I always veiwed acros as acros. Therefor I have no solid understanding of the different classifications of them or how they differ.


Hopefully what I'm asking makes sense?

Acropora tenuis are thinner with prominent, cupped coralites, seen here:

Smoothskin acros are smooth; like lokanis:

Millepora tend to be 'chunkier' and much fuzzier:

 

[MichaelB]

Acropora tenuis are thinner with prominent, cupped coralites, seen here:

View attachment 60712

Smoothskin acros are smooth; like lokanis:

View attachment 60713

Millepora tend to be 'chunkier' and much fuzzier:

View attachment 60714

Thanks it helps a good bit some are easier to see those differences,

What category does vivid confetti fall into, the torts or say green skimmer. Slightly confused by their look.

Walt disney would be a tenuis from growth pattern I'm pretty confident.

Would pc rainbow be a millepora as it has longer tenticals?

 

[derek_SR]

Thanks it helps a good bit some are easier to see those differences,

What category does vivid confetti fall into, the torts or say green skimmer. Slightly confused by their look.

Walt disney would be a tenuis from growth pattern I'm pretty confident.

Would pc rainbow be a millepora as it has longer tenticals?

Acropora is a genus of coral, and there are a ton of specific species. Just like euphyllia is a genus that includes a bunch of different types. That being said, they are often re-classifying corals and many are difficult/impossible to identify without DNA testing.

Examples of smoothskin are echinata, granulosa, and lokani.

Tenuis are...tenuis. Josh's pics above are great examples of some acropora.

The vast majority of both smoothskin and tenuis are named - so you probably know if you have one.

Torts are...tortuosa. The green slimer is an acropora yongei, I think typically called a staghorn, or stag.

Not sure about the confetti, google says it's a cytherea. I know it's neither a smoothskin nor a tenuis.


If you aren't sure what something is - be sure to ID it before taking it to the swap, we don't want to be trying to identify corals at the checkout counter.

 

[IOnceWasLegend]

If you aren't sure what something is - be sure to ID it before taking it to the swap, we don't want to be trying to identify corals at the checkout counter.

I'm italicizing, underlining, coloring, and supersizing this.

We'll listen to requests/input/questions on bonus and ultra coral up to 5 PM the Friday before the swap (October 18th). Coral check-in is always the most hectic part of the swap and, even with extra volunteers, we do not have time to assess and decide on the spot.

 

[MichaelB]

Acropora is a genus of coral, and there are a ton of specific species. Just like euphyllia is a genus that includes a bunch of different types. That being said, they are often re-classifying corals and many are difficult/impossible to identify without DNA testing.

Examples of smoothskin are echinata, granulosa, and lokani.

Tenuis are...tenuis. Josh's pics above are great examples of some acropora.

The vast majority of both smoothskin and tenuis are named - so you probably know if you have one.

Torts are...tortuosa. The green slimer is an acropora yongei, I think typically called a staghorn, or stag.

Not sure about the confetti, google says it's a cytherea. I know it's neither a smoothskin nor a tenuis.


If you aren't sure what something is - be sure to ID it before taking it to the swap, we don't want to be trying to identify corals at the checkout counter.

Sorry, that's kinda what had me puzzled confetti and pc rainbow don’t look precisly like any of those in the pictures so not sure where they fell. Thanks hopefully I can find a site that can identify different types by name. That would help me get a better feel for what’s what. I googled them but only found them for sale not what specific type they were.

 

[tribbitt]

What happens if you misidentify acros? Sometimes they look quite similar.

 

[derek_SR]

What happens if you misidentify acros? Sometimes they look quite similar.

The sky falls and the world comes to an end.

Edit - in all seriousness, read that bold/red/italic/underlined bit again. We aren’t identifying corals at check-in, that’s your job to do before the swap. If you aren’t sure if something is a Tenuis or smoothskin, don’t expect to get a bonus ticket for it.

This is true for all corals - you identify them, we quickly confirm at check-in. A lot of coral frags are hard to identify when they’re brown and grumpy and in a little container - we all trust each other as members to not be lame or scammy, so do your best.

Mistakes will happen, this is not life or death.

 

[Darkxerox]

What happens if you misidentify acros? Sometimes they look quite similar.

Agree with what @derek_SR said above. As long as you're not being malicious it's fine. There is a problem if you say you have a bonus/ultra "lineaged" coral but in fact it's just a $10 acro you got from a frag sale. That's why it's good you put your name on the cup so the new owner can follow up with you with additional care information or just say thanks on the forum.

 

[JVU]

Don’t be the guy who shows up with completely unlabeled frags or in non-transparent containers or in a bucket. Don’t figure that the front desk guys can figure out what it is and container/label it for you.

If you aren’t sure what the coral’s fancy (or common) name is, label with what you do know. And your username.

One of the goals of revamping the bonus/ultra lists was to reduce the number of bonus tickets given out and the mad rush of the bonus rounds. So don’t feel like you need to bring bonus to be doing it right.

 

[tribbitt]

Agree with what @derek_SR said above. As long as you're not being malicious it's fine. There is a problem if you say you have a bonus/ultra "lineaged" coral but in fact it's just a $10 acro you got from a frag sale. That's why it's good you put your name on the cup so the new owner can follow up with you with additional care information or just say thanks on the forum.

Good point about the name. I've already labelled a bunch of lids with the corals I know i'll be bringing, almost forgot to add my name

 

[Arvin R]

God beast zoas and great owl zoas could be added to the ultra list if ya'll feel inclined.

 

[a.little.hypertonic]

I bought three polyps of these about 1.5 years or so ago, for approx 100 USD at Cali Kid at the time. I have no clue of their name and if this actually qualifies as bonus coral?

The picture is showing the original plug, which fell off a couple of days ago, but I have two rocks in my nano tank covered with another 50 polyps or so.

View attachment 56644

Look like Mindtrick Zoas IMO

 

[JVU]

Wanted to double check that the bounce rhodactis mushroom we have in the club that I named “ROYGBIV” counts as an ultra based on the “Bounce mushroom” category. It does make bounce vesicles but to me the intense coloration and texture are more noteworthy.

Cali Kid had what looked like the same for a while and they called it “CK Pangea Bounce”. It was priced at a few hundred dollars (price no longer showing).

It’s also one of the most in-demand items in DBTC:

DBTC: ROYGBIV Rhodactis mushroom

I just added ROYGBIV Rhodactis mushroom to DBTC. There are 1 frag(s) available right now. This thread was automatically created by BARcode

www.bareefers.org

 

[ReyDeFarts]

Don’t be the guy who shows up with completely unlabeled frags or in non-transparent containers or in a bucket. Don’t figure that the front desk guys can figure out what it is and container/label it for you.

I believe that the check-in folks should have the authority to refuse those entries. The rules have been posted and the expectations made clear. It's on us as members to have an understanding of what is clearly communicated. If it isn't clear, then ask in the threads and come to the swap prepared. It is not fair to expect the folks at the tables to do that for you.

Also, let's be sure to bring healthy corals, especially if we are going to be counting them as an ultra!

 

[derek_SR]

I believe that the check-in folks should have the authority to refuse those entries. The rules have been posted and the expectations made clear. It's on us as members to have an understanding of what is clearly communicated. If it isn't clear, then ask in the threads and come to the swap prepared. It is not fair to expect the folks at the tables to do that for you.

Also, let's be sure to bring healthy corals, especially if we are going to be counting them as an ultra!

100%. I’m working check-in with an iron fist!