New coral not sure of name

[MsBeanCtr]

I too am ignorant about this. Very sorry to hear about your problem but FWIW your info got out and educated a few folks.

[melosu58]

I`m sorry RYshark. That is just the most horrible thing I have ever heard. I might would have to picket with a sign outside his shop. That guy will go out of business before you know it.

[pat8you]

Wow i'm stunned. I'd never heard of this. I'm with fijiwiji, I would be in there raising ****. Not only is that unethical to deceive customers like that it also is terrible for the corals. If there are any phone poles around or something similar you should post up some pictures and a brief statement that the shop sells dyed corals and your experience so hopefully others see the signs before going in and buying anything else from those (your choice of profanity here). Lastly make a post in your Local area forums so others in that area are aware. Sorry to hear this happened to you.

[Innovator]

The question is, what did you ask before purchasing the coral and what information did he relay? Technically, you can file a charge against him under deceipt/deception, but I forget the process (It is out there!). In addition, he can be reported to the Better Business Bureau, whether he is a member or not. For now I would snap more pictures of the coral and save for future reference if needed. It is very difficult for a coral to make it through a dyed process, especially if it was internal.

[cmor1701d]

You should call the store and ask to speak to a manager or the owner. Let them know that you filed a charge-back claim with AMEX. That might be enough to get you a refund, or at least store credit.

[ryshark]

When I purchased the coral they told me the polyps were not out just because of the way it was incorrectly positioned in the tank. They mentioned NOTHING about the dye and called it a "yellow" cup coral. I did call the store earlier today and asked to speak with the owner or person in charge. I did speak with the owner and I gave that person a complete earfull. In the final part of the conversation I did get store credit as long as I bring the coral back in. I'm too busy tonight so I will take it back and then have to decide what to trade it in for tomorrow. Lesson learned.

[Innovator]

I would check with your city laws as a fraudulent sale usually requires full reimbursement and not just a credit. It would be worth your time invested.

[roka64]

That's very interesting! I didn't know they dyed inverts. I have heard and seen dyed fish. What a shame people/stores do that. It seems to me, that would interfere with the coral's ability to photosynthesize and produce food....

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by roka64

It seems to me, that would interfere with the coral's ability to photosynthesize and produce food....

Yup... you assume correctly.

I've never figured out why shops sell them, other than a quick buck. I mean... you have two possible outcomes: (1) coral dies because new owner doesn't realize it's died and doesn't photoacclimate or feed it appropriately, or (2) coral lives and returns back to it's normal non-dyed color. Either way... the customer isn't going to be happy. But I guess they got their money in the short term.

[ryshark]

After reading all of your posts I didn't want to settle for store credit. I went back to tha LFS today with the dyed cup coral. I told him the sale was disceptive, misleading, unethical and I do not want credit I want a complete refund. He agreed to the complete refund and credited my card. He told me that they sell a lot of those dyed corals, and I said yeah I bet to a bunch of people like me who didn't know better. His reply was that businesses do know and they buy it every month and then just replace it every month. Thats seems to me like a waste of $50 when some of the true artificial corals are very colorful and look real. But the bottom line is I went from them saying no refund at all to store credit to full refund. So it worked out ok, except for the poor coral I dont think it is going to make it.

Anyway, I took my refund and stopped off at a reef store on the way back to my house and picked up aToadstool Leather and 1-polyp of a Micro Balanophyllia for the same price as my dyed cup coral refund. Hopefully I don't regret getting the balanophyllia because of the night time target feeding. If so I should be able to trade it to some LFS.