Yellow Fiji Leather?

[Aaron Soliz]

Hello Friends! Happy New Years!

I wanted some confirmation on this leather I picked up for 40 bucks a week ago. I felt like it was a discolored yellow Fiji leather so i took the chance and spent the 40 bucks on it.

What do you guys think? Am I right or is it some other type of leather.

Thanks!

 

[Coolcasino]

It could be. All I know is when I did have my yellow Fiji I had to have it high in the tank to get the most light and to get it to display the yellow coloring if not it would just be a dull tan color.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

It could be. All I know is when I did have my yellow Fiji I had to have it high in the tank to get the most light and to get it to display the yellow coloring if not it would just be a dull tan color.

That’s good to know. Hopefully it likes where it it’s at now and i start to see a yellow color to it rather than a tanner cause i felt at the store it was a tan

 

[Uncle99]

Haven’t seen these much in the trade lately.
Good find.

 

[Harpo]

Where did all the fugi leathers go?

 

[kevgib67]

I hope it is but either way it is a gorgeous coral.

 

[Asagi]

Where did all the fugi leathers go?

They look bad under actinic lighting.

 

[DIYreefer]

I have a yfl (a few of them now, actually) and although I could absolutely be mistaken, I don't believe what you have is a a true yfl. To me, it looks to be one of the more common (these days) Tonga variants.

The variant from Fiji is a much more pronounced yellow and even when it's discolored it doesn't look like what you have. At least none of mine have, anyway.

Just my 2 pennies

 

[albano]

I have a yfl (a few of them now, actually) and although I could absolutely be mistaken, I don't believe what you have is a a true yfl. To me, it looks to be one of the more common (these days) Tonga variants.

I also have 5 or 6 (supposedly) FYL, each from different vendors and reefers, hoping that at least 1 will work out. Years (and I mean YEARS) ago they did well in my tanks, but these recent ones are not what I think they should be!
What lighting are you using ? Placement?

 

[Tcook]

That looks tanner than I remember. As mentioned they like a lot of light to really show the yellow. This one was at the top of my rockwork in a tank lit by 500 watts of MH and 440 watts of VHO.

 

[areefer01]

Who knows what it is. You purchased it on a hunch. This goes without saying but at best we only have what the seller lists it as. Even then unless there is some form of proof it is a crap shoot. As with some fish corals are mislabeled. Welcome to the hobby. The big question I have for you, regardless of what it really is, are you happy? That is all that matters at the end of the day.

To put this into perspective as many already noted here Fiji Leathers are rare these days. Getting back to proof most sellers have something from Tonga. The few I have seen are usually green in color and grow slow. As they mature they will brighten up and get more yellow that we are seeking. However they don't have the body or shape that the fine young lad above @Tcook posted the image of.

As to why they are not as readily available? Not sure as I've not followed it. Collection ban? Health? Hard to say. Similar to the "real" Japanese Weeping Willow leather or the ORA PearlBerry (just had to throw that one in for fun).

Give it some time and maybe it will shed some light on the real identity. For now love it and have fun.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I have a yfl (a few of them now, actually) and although I could absolutely be mistaken, I don't believe what you have is a a true yfl. To me, it looks to be one of the more common (these days) Tonga variants.

The variant from Fiji is a much more pronounced yellow and even when it's discolored it doesn't look like what you have. At least none of mine have, anyway.

Just my 2 pennies

Agreed with. I had Been looking for one for a while. It’s honestly not the nicest to look at lol but it’s starting to pop the polyps out now. Good sign to that it’s doing better in my tank than my reef stores. We shall see if it colors up over time. We shall see.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Who knows what it is. You purchased it on a hunch. This goes without saying but at best we only have what the seller lists it as. Even then unless there is some form of proof it is a crap shoot. As with some fish corals are mislabeled. Welcome to the hobby. The big question I have for you, regardless of what it really is, are you happy? That is all that matters at the end of the day.

To put this into perspective as many already noted here Fiji Leathers are rare these days. Getting back to proof most sellers have something from Tonga. The few I have seen are usually green in color and grow slow. As they mature they will brighten up and get more yellow that we are seeking. However they don't have the body or shape that the fine young lad above @Tcook posted the image of.

As to why they are not as readily available? Not sure as I've not followed it. Collection ban? Health? Hard to say. Similar to the "real" Japanese Weeping Willow leather or the ORA PearlBerry (just had to throw that one in for fun).

Give it some time and maybe it will shed some light on the real identity. For now love it and have fun.

Exactly. The shape i was looking for was from the photo above but i doubt I’ll ever find one like that being sold or close to it. It’s doing better. I guess over time I’ll find out but for now… leave where it’s at.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Loved mine when available. Years ago. Been a min tho. Good luck w ur new sarco.

Healthy coral. Hope it shines w some tlc.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Loved mine when available. Years ago. Been a min tho. Good luck w ur new sarco.

Healthy coral. Hope it shines w some tlc.

That’s so nice! That’s what i had been looking for

 

[DIYreefer]

I also have 5 or 6 (supposedly) FYL, each from different vendors and reefers, hoping that at least 1 will work out. Years (and I mean YEARS) ago they did well in my tanks, but these recent ones are not what I think they should be!
What lighting are you using ? Placement?

I keep my main colony near the bottom of my 125, but I have a LOT of light over that tank (LED, T5, and MH). I don't recall exactly what the PAR level is there but I believe it was in the 300 range. Flow is high, given that my tank is sps dominant. I also have a few growing in my growout system and it is lit by T5 and LED. That system is more of a "catch all" with a much smaller portion being SPS. So the lighting isn't nearly as intense. However, the frags still hold color just fine and seem to be growing at decent rate as well. It should be noted that this definitely NOT a blue light special coral. It's pretty drab under blues, actually. It really shines under a whiter/daylight spectrum.

I've had mine for many years. I literally pulled it out of the Walt Smith box myself. It came in as a tiny (like 1/4" tiny) little guy that was growing on a rock with a larger yfl colony. I thought it was cool so I scraped it from the rock and have had it ever since.

There was a period of about 4 years that while I still had a tank, and was technically "in the hobby," my tank was severely neglected. I had a lot of corals that you don't really see anymore but lost most of them. This yfl was basically stagnant the entire time, but it survived.

Fast forward to about 2 years ago, and I emerged from a rough patch in my life and decided to start taking care of the tank again. The yfl grew really well for about a year and a half. It went from roughly 2" across to nearly the size of a dinner plate in about 1 year.

I cut a few frags as it was encroaching on a couple of acro frags and proceeded to sell them here. Holy crap, the flood gates opened. To this day I have people messaging me nearly daily asking for a frag. I've distributed at least 30-40 frags since. It feels good to be able to contribute to the hobby, and help bring back something that was once common but is now rather scarce.

And before anyone asks, lol, no I don't have any frags available right now and I don't have a wait list. I tried the wait list thing and it was more of a headache than it was worth. I should have a few frags in a month or so and my suggestion is to simply follow me and watch for when I post them.

 

[DIYreefer]

That looks tanner than I remember. As mentioned they like a lot of light to really show the yellow. This one was at the top of my rockwork in a tank lit by 500 watts of MH and 440 watts of VHO.

Loved mine when available. Years ago. Been a min tho. Good luck w ur new sarco.

Healthy coral. Hope it shines w some tlc.

Both of these are definitely the real deal and good reference for OP in regards to what theirs should look like if it is in fact a Fiji sacro.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I keep my main colony near the bottom of my 125, but I have a LOT of light over that tank (LED, T5, and MH). I don't recall exactly what the PAR level is there but I believe it was in the 300 range. Flow is high, given that my tank is sps dominant. I also have a few growing in my growout system and it is lit by T5 and LED. That system is more of a "catch all" with a much smaller portion being SPS. So the lighting isn't nearly as intense. However, the frags still hold color just fine and seem to be growing at decent rate as well. It should be noted that this definitely NOT a blue light special coral. It's pretty drab under blues, actually. It really shines under a whiter/daylight spectrum.

I've had mine for many years. I literally pulled it out of the Walt Smith box myself. It came in as a tiny (like 1/4" tiny) little guy that was growing on a rock with a larger yfl colony. I thought it was cool so I scraped it from the rock and have had it ever since.

There was a period of about 4 years that while I still had a tank, and was technically "in the hobby," my tank was severely neglected. I had a lot of corals that you don't really see anymore but lost most of them. This yfl was basically stagnant the entire time, but it survived.

Fast forward to about 2 years ago, and I emerged from a rough patch in my life and decided to start taking care of the tank again. The yfl grew really well for about a year and a half. It went from roughly 2" across to nearly the size of a dinner plate in about 1 year.

I cut a few frags as it was encroaching on a couple of acro frags and proceeded to sell them here. Holy crap, the flood gates opened. To this day I have people messaging me nearly daily asking for a frag. I've distributed at least 30-40 frags since. It feels good to be able to contribute to the hobby, and help bring back something that was once common but is now rather scarce.

And before anyone asks, lol, no I don't have any frags available right now and I don't have a wait list. I tried the wait list thing and it was more of a headache than it was worth. I should have a few frags in a month or so and my suggestion is to simply follow me and watch for when I post them.

Awesome! I’m def gonna be keeping an eye out. Thanks for sharing

 

[ThaBeast]

I keep my main colony near the bottom of my 125, but I have a LOT of light over that tank (LED, T5, and MH). I don't recall exactly what the PAR level is there but I believe it was in the 300 range. Flow is high, given that my tank is sps dominant. I also have a few growing in my growout system and it is lit by T5 and LED. That system is more of a "catch all" with a much smaller portion being SPS. So the lighting isn't nearly as intense. However, the frags still hold color just fine and seem to be growing at decent rate as well. It should be noted that this definitely NOT a blue light special coral. It's pretty drab under blues, actually. It really shines under a whiter/daylight spectrum.

I've had mine for many years. I literally pulled it out of the Walt Smith box myself. It came in as a tiny (like 1/4" tiny) little guy that was growing on a rock with a larger yfl colony. I thought it was cool so I scraped it from the rock and have had it ever since.

There was a period of about 4 years that while I still had a tank, and was technically "in the hobby," my tank was severely neglected. I had a lot of corals that you don't really see anymore but lost most of them. This yfl was basically stagnant the entire time, but it survived.

Fast forward to about 2 years ago, and I emerged from a rough patch in my life and decided to start taking care of the tank again. The yfl grew really well for about a year and a half. It went from roughly 2" across to nearly the size of a dinner plate in about 1 year.

I cut a few frags as it was encroaching on a couple of acro frags and proceeded to sell them here. Holy crap, the flood gates opened. To this day I have people messaging me nearly daily asking for a frag. I've distributed at least 30-40 frags since. It feels good to be able to contribute to the hobby, and help bring back something that was once common but is now rather scarce.

And before anyone asks, lol, no I don't have any frags available right now and I don't have a wait list. I tried the wait list thing and it was more of a headache than it was worth. I should have a few frags in a month or so and my suggestion is to simply follow me and watch for when I post them.

You're gonna have a bunch of reefers stalking you lol

 

[Asagi]

You boys still talking about Fiji leathers huh