CoralPedia.com! FAQs (frequently-asked questions)

^{Last updated 2006.08.04}
Please see the answer to this question in the FAQ about this site. This redirect is here for your convinience. The direct link is:


How do I submit my zoas to ZoaID.com?

^{Last updated 2006.08.04}
The main reason is that this is all done in our free time!


You'll see a week or so of no submissions and then typically a bunch of submission or email replies all at once! We wait for a bunch to build up and then upload them all at once. It's easier to do a bunch at once than one here - one there.


On **rare** occasion we'll miss a submission for whatever reason. But if you've made a submission, give us 10 days or so before worrying about it not making the site! If there's an issue with the submission (i.e. no flash shot submitted or it appears the same as a previous submission), then you'll hear back from us within those ~10 days as well.

^{Last updated 2008.10.24}
One of the major points of ZoaID.com is to demonstrate the true colors of a zoanthid in the best way possible. It is accepted in the zoanthid community that a bright flash-shot is the means to this end. Each picture submitted to ZoaID.com goes through human evaluation to determine if the shot best demonstrates the zoanthid's true colors. If a flash shot was not submitted, we'll kindly ask you to include one. Similarly, if we feel that an included flash shot does not, then we kindly ask for the flash shot to be retaken. There are several reasons that one may be asked to retake a flash shot. For example, perhaps the flash was on too bright, or too dim. Perhaps there was too much reflection off the glass or water surface. Or the coral still appears as though it is under heavy actinics or blue light even with the flash. There are other reasons as well, but these tend to be the typical ones. Upon the submission of another flash shot, ZoaID.com will be happy to reevaluate the submission of the zoanthid to the site!



An excellent example of a non-flash shot and flash-shot submission to demonstrate the difference that we are referring to is the cat eye shots:

non-flash

flash

^{Last updated 2007.01.30}
As ZoaID.com continued to grow, Zoas were being submitted that looked very similar to one another. Sometimes it's due to morphing (more on morphing in our articles section!) and other times it is just a submission that is obviously not identical to another named zoa -- but very close. In an effort to keep the ZoaID.com site consisting of unique Zoanthids and not have 20 names for *extremely* similar zoanthids, we adopted the notion 'Similar Morph'. Bare in mind that this decision was based upon feedback from the Zoanthid community requesting duplicate submissions and very similar submissions to be labeled as one. You asked, we listened! (Thank you RC and CZ!)

Perhaps it is best to describe pictorially. Let's look at an example!

Here we see "Fire and Ice":





And here we see "Similar Morph to Fire and Ice":





Both of these Zoanthids were in Superfishy's tank. (Thanks Superfishy!!) We can clearly see that they are not the same Zoanthid, yet we can clearly see an extreme similarity. Thus, the second submission was given the name "Fire and Ice - Similar Morph" rather than a unique name.

The problem with this system is that it is of course subjective - it is based upon looks! As we know, Zoanthids morph from tank-to-tank as well. ZoaID.com's council will do their best to objectively identify Zoanthids that are considered a "Similar Morph" to another. The council will always let the original submitter know of a "Similar Morph" decision and it is of course always an option to the submitter to discuss the decision further and/or decline the submission. We're always happy to discuss the possibility of a unique name and ask everyone to remember that we are deriving these conclusions by pictures submitted to us, not by being able to stare at your beautiful Zoanthid in person!

^{Last updated 2007.06.14}
Please note that if you are being directed to this question, it is **NOT** an accusation of bad intentions. This is merely an explanation behind the reasoning of this rule.

In attempts to ensure ZoaID.com is not used as a marketing tool, the ZoaID.com council came to the difficult decision of no longer allowing names such as "Jeremy's Nifty Wigwams" or "Local Fish Store Name's Nifty Wigwams". Too many Zoanthids were being submitted with a store name or vendor name in their title that we felt it best to draw a clear line in the matter.

Previous Zoanthids already in the system with a name in their title are grandfathered in.

And again, this is in place for the few, not the many. There are several reputable vendors who we buy from all the time that have submitted Zoanthids with their name in the title. But getting into gray areas of who can and who cannot do this is not in the true spirit of what ZoaID.com is all about.

Thank you for understanding!

^{Last updated 2008.06.23}
Similar to the term "Similar Morph" above, we use the term "Identical Morph" to describe morphs that we believe are identical but do not have lineage to the original. Here is an example:



It's a big ocean and obviously pieces will be spread throughout the world that were collected from the same coral. As these submissions and morphs come up, we do our best at ZoaID/CoralPedia to categorize them.

^{Last updated 2008.06.23}
Some submissions come in that are accepted, however clearly under VERY 20K lighting. Most of the time, we will kindly request another shot to be taken. But if it is an acceptable shot, and a flash shot is submitted as well, we may opt to label the photo as an "Extreme 20K" shot. This indicates that there appears to be extra saturation or blueness in the photo then what we feel will best represent the coral in real life. A lot of times, these are older and grandfathered-in submissions.