I was at a local coral “chop shopâ€Â a while back (yeah, they exist here in SoCal), perusing the raceways chock full of ½†frags of “LE†corals , when I saw it: A brilliant, neon- green, orange-tinged flash- aTrachyphillia- 最常见的是所谓的“ lps”珊瑚。普遍 - 但是stunning呢我和wasna€™t唯一的一个who noticed it. A couple of other  “frag hags”, perhaps somewhat jaded by the now “typical†selection of  expensive and rareMICROMUSSA，scolymia, andÂAcanthastrea.,were ogling at this coral themselves..I mean, this coral was positivelyoutrageous– and only about $35.00! Imagine-a really beautiful coral that you could actually afford to buy and still make the mortgage payment next month呢当然，它没有携带“ Acans”的“ cachet”，但谁在乎呢？它是热的！！实际上，珊瑚如此诱人，以至于这两个铁杆礁必须决定谁能带回家！我看到的是多么奇怪的奇观 - 或者是吗？
它让我思考：更酷的是一个真正稀有珊瑚的体面标本，例如MICROMUSSA– or a stunning specimen of a common coral, like this “pedestrian†Trachy? I mean, a coral does not have to be rare, scarce, or a “limited edition†to be desireable! It simply has to be attractive. So why not seek out amazing specimens of common corals? I know, I know. The first thing you think of when you hear the words “common corals†are those government-issue translucent pinkCaulastrea或无聊的浅绿色星息肉或暗淡的桃红色Nemenzophyllia.足够的污垢 - 棕色Palythoa,OD greenAcropora gemmifora ,和Puke-GreySinularia！How about looking for those outrageous fluorescent colors and interesting growth morphologies in the most commonly available corals? They are out there- and they are rare, too…Ya know why? Because there is a small subculture of hardcore reefers that is looking for them, too! You’ll have to go the extra mile to find them. You might have to do the same thing you do when you stumble on that specimen of ORA “Miami Orchid†in your dealer’s display tank- you’ll have tobeg对于碎片！想象一个富有模糊的棍子的收藏家在他或她的lfs身后恳求一个笨拙的棍子收藏家。Capnella他在退房柜台上监视了小纳米坦克吗？您必须愿意将所有内容放在桌面上！这些交易总是不便宜或简单！您是为了“ le le”的Zoanthid，对吗？我至少知道一个当地的冷藏片，必须交换他珍贵的脆弱的脆弱Acropora hoeksemaifor an amazing yellow-and chocolate-brownCaulastrea呢双方都认为他们也有更好的终点（我知道，因为我从“ em！）中听到了这一交易的声音！）
What I have noticed about many excellent reef tanks that I’ve visited is that these aquariums almost always contain a coral or two that makes you think, “Wow- what is that?â€.Inevitably, the owner points out that it was just a ÂMontipora digitata或一个Acropora Chesterfieldensisthat took on an aberrant color. It was the sharp eye and dedicated heart of the hobbyist that brought that coral into the fold. And the real beauty of that sort of thing is that the hobbyist put his/her prejudices aside and acquired the coral because he or she喜欢它的外观，不是因为这会使他/她在下一次坦克之旅或碎片交换中使他/她凉爽！我的拙见，这是一种将业余爱好者提升到一个新的水平的精神步骤。愿意走自己的道路，无视当时的普遍趋势！�真的有远见的人。确实是一位罕见的业余爱好者！
因此，下次您要进行珊瑚购物和那个美丽的橙色Fungiascreams at you from across the store to take it home, answer the call. Make it yours. Love it,. Own it. Treasure it. Share it. Because one day, that “common coral†might just be banned from wild collection, or might be forgotten by the masses, leaving future generations of reefers without the opportunity to enjoy what was once a “common†coral. A simple idea, perhaps- but that’s how the hobby progresses. Keep an eye out and your mind open , because awesome things happen when“ Common”真是太神奇了！
保持潮湿。
Scott Fellman
