WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get.” On a coral listing it means one thing: the photograph is of the exact animal that will be packed and shipped to you, not a representative example of the type.
You have seen the acronym on every coral site, usually next to a price that is higher than the frag beside it. Here is what it does and does not promise, why it is a separate claim from “aquacultured,” and how to read a WYSIWYG listing so you get what you paid for.
The definition, precisely
A WYSIWYG coral is a single, specific frag or colony that has been photographed individually and listed as that individual. When you buy it, that piece — the one in the picture, with that polyp count, that pattern and that skeleton — is the one that ships. The listing is retired the moment it sells because there is only one of it.
The opposite is a representative or stock listing: a photo that shows what a type of coral generally looks like, sold in quantity. Buy a “green hammer frag” from a stock listing and you receive a green hammer frag from the batch. Nobody promised you the one in the photo, and nobody should.
Neither approach is dishonest. They are different products. A stock listing is how you buy a reliable, inexpensive frag of a common coral. A WYSIWYG listing is how you buy a particular animal because of how that particular animal looks.
WYSIWYG and aquacultured are not the same claim
The two words get glued together on listings until people assume they mean one thing. They do not.
| WYSIWYG | Aquacultured | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is a claim about | The photograph | Where the coral came from |
| What it promises | The pictured piece is the piece you receive | The coral was grown in captivity, not taken from a wild reef |
| Can a coral be one and not the other? | Yes, in both directions. A wild-collected colony can be photographed and sold WYSIWYG. A farmed frag can be sold from a stock photo. | |
| How to check | The listing shows one photo of one piece and disappears when sold | The seller can say where it was grown. In Florida that means a state aquaculture certificate |
So “aquacultured WYSIWYG” is two promises stacked: this exact piece, and it was farmed. Corals we list as aquacultured were grown in our Key West systems under Florida Aquaculture Certificate #AQ0254072; the rest are conditioned in those same systems before they ship. Every WYSIWYG listing we post is one specific animal photographed there. When a listing of ours says only one of the two words, it means only that one.
What the photograph does and does not tell you
A WYSIWYG photo is a promise about identity, not about color fidelity. That distinction saves a lot of disappointment.
- Lighting changes everything. Coral pigments fluoresce under blue light and look flat under white. Our photos are taken in our Key West systems under the lights those systems run. Under your fixture, at your spectrum and intensity, the same coral will look different — sometimes better, sometimes quieter. That is physics, not a bait-and-switch.
- Cameras cannot record fluorescence the way your eye sees it. Blues in particular oversaturate on a sensor. Any experienced reefer discounts blue-light photos a little for that reason.
- Shipping stress changes the look for a few days. A coral that spent a night in a bag arrives closed, pale or both. Judge it a week after it has settled in, not on the day it arrives.
- The shape is the reliable part. Polyp count, branch structure, the size of the mount — those do not change between the photo and your tank. If the listing says three polyps and shows three polyps, you get three polyps.
How to read a WYSIWYG listing in ten seconds
One coral in the photo, on a plug or a rock, not a rack of them. A size or polyp count stated in the text. A scale reference if the seller is careful — a plug is usually about 3/4″ across. And the listing should be gone once it sells. If it has been “in stock” for months with a quantity selector, it is a stock listing wearing the acronym.
Why WYSIWYG usually costs more
Every WYSIWYG piece has to be photographed, edited, measured and listed on its own. That is real labor per coral, and the listing serves exactly one sale. The premium pays for the certainty, and it makes sense when the individual animal is the point: a colony with unusual color, a torch with a particular pattern, a piece you want to build a tank around. It makes less sense for a common frag you want as a starter, where a stock listing will serve you fine for less.
WYSIWYG fish and invertebrates
The same rule applies to animals that are not coral. A WYSIWYG fish listing shows the exact individual — its size, its color at that size, any marks it carries. It is most useful for fish whose look varies a lot from one individual to the next, and for larger or older specimens where you are paying for a particular animal rather than a species.
See it in practice
Every piece in our WYSIWYG section is one animal, photographed here, gone when it sells. If you are new to buying coral online, this guide covers the rest of the decision — the parts that have nothing to do with the photo.
The Underwater Gardener grows aquacultured corals in Key West, Florida (FL Aquaculture Certificate #AQ0254072). Every WYSIWYG listing is one specific animal photographed in our systems. Livestock ships UPS Next Day Air every Tuesday and Wednesday.
Corals in stock right now
Photographed in Key West, in stock today. Packing and overnight shipping are charged per box, not per coral — a box typically holds around five small frags. Browse corals under $100 or beginner corals to fill one.
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