How do you know if a coral has been dyed

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I have purchased some pretty awesome colored LPS corals before with
neon pink soft tissue coloration. I was told by some that such corals
had been dyed, but they retained that coloration for nearly a year,
till a tank crash killed most corals in my tank. Therefore I assume
that the neon pink coloration was a true color morph of that particular
open brain coral.

I recently came across a bright red/pink colored lettuce leather on
Ebay which I won via auction at a high price. I had never seen such
coloration previously, but someone had asked the seller if this coral
was dyed, and they stated no. Further the seller had hundreds of sales
with a very high positive feedback rating.


On arrival the water in the bag was purple/red which immediately made
me suspect that the coral had indeed been dyed and the dye was being
released into the bag water during the hours of transport time. I have
never seen such color in a shipped coral bag previously. Another thing
that made me suspect was that the coral looked basically as bright
red/pink after shipping as in the auction photo. I have never had a
coral that did not fade a little from the shipping stress. Especially
leather corals in my experience turn grey from the darkness and stress
of shipping.

Anyone who can tell me how you actually know if a coral has been dyed.
I guess my suspicions will be supported if the coral gradually
continues to fade in the coming days and weeks.

[Marc Levenson]

I almost wonder if they shipped it in dye!

Marc


wrote:
> I have purchased some pretty awesome colored LPS corals before with
> neon pink soft tissue coloration. I was told by some that such corals
> had been dyed, but they retained that coloration for nearly a year,
> till a tank crash killed most corals in my tank. Therefore I assume
> that the neon pink coloration was a true color morph of that particular
> open brain coral.
>
> I recently came across a bright red/pink colored lettuce leather on
> Ebay which I won via auction at a high price. I had never seen such
> coloration previously, but someone had asked the seller if this coral
> was dyed, and they stated no. Further the seller had hundreds of sales
> with a very high positive feedback rating.
>
>
> On arrival the water in the bag was purple/red which immediately made
> me suspect that the coral had indeed been dyed and the dye was being
> released into the bag water during the hours of transport time. I have
> never seen such color in a shipped coral bag previously. Another thing
> that made me suspect was that the coral looked basically as bright
> red/pink after shipping as in the auction photo. I have never had a
> coral that did not fade a little from the shipping stress. Especially
> leather corals in my experience turn grey from the darkness and stress
> of shipping.
>
> Anyone who can tell me how you actually know if a coral has been dyed.
> I guess my suspicions will be supported if the coral gradually
> continues to fade in the coming days and weeks.
>

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[RicSeyler]

Isn't there a oxygen/anti-amonia additive that will color the water,
some use for shipping?
<thinking I read something on this a long time ago, could be completely
wrong>

Marc Levenson wrote:

> I almost wonder if they shipped it in dye!
>
> Marc
>
>
> wrote:
>
>> I have purchased some pretty awesome colored LPS corals before with
>> neon pink soft tissue coloration. I was told by some that such corals
>> had been dyed, but they retained that coloration for nearly a year,
>> till a tank crash killed most corals in my tank. Therefore I assume
>> that the neon pink coloration was a true color morph of that particular
>> open brain coral.
>>
>> I recently came across a bright red/pink colored lettuce leather on
>> Ebay which I won via auction at a high price. I had never seen such
>> coloration previously, but someone had asked the seller if this coral
>> was dyed, and they stated no. Further the seller had hundreds of sales
>> with a very high positive feedback rating.
>>
>>
>> On arrival the water in the bag was purple/red which immediately made
>> me suspect that the coral had indeed been dyed and the dye was being
>> released into the bag water during the hours of transport time. I have
>> never seen such color in a shipped coral bag previously. Another thing
>> that made me suspect was that the coral looked basically as bright
>> red/pink after shipping as in the auction photo. I have never had a
>> coral that did not fade a little from the shipping stress. Especially
>> leather corals in my experience turn grey from the darkness and stress
>> of shipping.
>>
>> Anyone who can tell me how you actually know if a coral has been dyed.
>> I guess my suspicions will be supported if the coral gradually
>> continues to fade in the coming days and weeks.
>>
>

--
Ric Seyler

[[email protected]]

First day with pink lettuce in tank, skimmer output is red/pink. I
feel pretty sure that this coral was dyed. When I proposed a 60 day
period to see if the coral would fade to the seller, they got very
defensive, and said that if I was not happy with the coral, I must send
it back immediately. Well that was not even possible, since I was out
of town. Further their return policy of immediate return applied to
"DOA" corals, not corals that had potentially been dyed, and for which
I paid top dollar for a supposedly non-dyed coral.
Anyway, I guess this simply points out the well-known saying, "buyer
beware." They did have an exceptional feedback record on Ebay with
only one negative in over 600 sales.

[Nappy]

wrote:
> First day with pink lettuce in tank, skimmer output is red/pink. I
> feel pretty sure that this coral was dyed. When I proposed a 60 day
> period to see if the coral would fade to the seller, they got very
> defensive, and said that if I was not happy with the coral, I must send
> it back immediately. Well that was not even possible, since I was out
> of town. Further their return policy of immediate return applied to
> "DOA" corals, not corals that had potentially been dyed, and for which
> I paid top dollar for a supposedly non-dyed coral.
> Anyway, I guess this simply points out the well-known saying, "buyer
> beware." They did have an exceptional feedback record on Ebay with
> only one negative in over 600 sales.
>
Have you gone to Reef Central and posted feedback there? Quite a few
people who are there don't seem to be reading usenet. You may get some
advice that could help, and also help other reefers from getting taken
by unscrupulous individuals.
Kevin

[Marc Levenson]

I guess this would make two negative feedbacks.

Marc


wrote:
> First day with pink lettuce in tank, skimmer output is red/pink. I
> feel pretty sure that this coral was dyed. When I proposed a 60 day
> period to see if the coral would fade to the seller, they got very
> defensive, and said that if I was not happy with the coral, I must send
> it back immediately. Well that was not even possible, since I was out
> of town. Further their return policy of immediate return applied to
> "DOA" corals, not corals that had potentially been dyed, and for which
> I paid top dollar for a supposedly non-dyed coral.
> Anyway, I guess this simply points out the well-known saying, "buyer
> beware." They did have an exceptional feedback record on Ebay with
> only one negative in over 600 sales.
>

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com