Are Aquacultured Acros a lost art?

[acroholicreefer]

After seeing several changes in this hobby over the years, it makes me wonder if aquacultured acros are a lost art. It just hurts me to see starved and half dead wild acros being sold as frag packs. Several years ago it was nearly impossible to culture wild acros but it can now happen with the new changes in technology. The issue rises when wild acros are fragged up and sold as frag packs before they are adjusted to captive parameters.

I think we need to inform new sps keepers (less than 1 year of experience in growing acros) the advantages of buying aquacultured acros vs wild ones. Hobbyist that are new to acros tend to jump on wild acro frags because of the bright colors. Little do they know but they are purchasing frags that are half dead.

Any Thoughts?

 

[dvanacker]

Just to clarify.....by aquacultured you mean captive aquarium raised corals/frags. Many people considered ocean cultured corals aquacultured.

Being in a place where I see wild and mari/aquacultured all the time it took me many years to fully realize the success rate of proven captive raised frags is far better.

That is the thing with captive raised corals..... they have been proven to do well and be successful in many different tanks. They hold there colour well and have a very high success rate. That is why they survive and people want to frag them and sell/trade them.

When I go to a wild or aquacultured shipment....I see corals that are stressed from shipping (which may even make them look more enticing) but I also only usually find a couple of ones that really stand out in terms of species (and the colour may or may not be good), which means you have to be one of the first to show up at the shipment to cherry pick. Than you gotta take the 50/50 chance that it may not keep the colour or colour up.....and than another 50/50 chance on whether or not it lives and grows long term. A real crap shoot.

So ya....I for one know the importance of a proven, quality captive raised coral/frag. Also you got to feel good about growing something from a captive grown fragment and not taking from the ocean.

 

[Acronic]

couldnt agree more

 

[acroholicreefer]

aquacultured you mean captive aquarium raised corals/frags.

Right on. Although there is still a lot of variance in the definition of an aquacultured coral, I have found that acros are much healthier in our systems after it has been in captivity for 1 year (give or take some).

Some will say that it needs to be propagated 3 times before it is aquaculture and that may be true to a degree. The main thing is that the coral is able to prove that it can encrust and show new growth.

It is much harder for the acro colonies to grow in our aquariums with the type of water movement that we have (flow). In the wild, our oceans currents allow for nutrients to reach the polyps in areas where our aquarium currents cannot. The main reason why I have found that wild acros should be propagated is so that they can grow naturally in our flow patterns and eat the zooplankton in the water column.

 

[ganjero]

After seeing several changes in this hobby over the years, it makes me wonder if aquacultured acros are a lost art. It just hurts me to see starved and half dead wild acros being sold as frag packs. Several years ago it was nearly impossible to culture wild acros but it can now happen with the new changes in technology. The issue rises when wild acros are fragged up and sold as frag packs before they are adjusted to captive parameters.

I think we need to inform new sps keepers (less than 1 year of experience in growing acros) the advantages of buying aquacultured acros vs wild ones. Hobbyist that are new to acros tend to jump on wild acro frags because of the bright colors. Little do they know but they are purchasing frags that are half dead.

Any Thoughts?

You just joined this forum and I'm not sure how long you have been in the hobby but I believe is quite the opposite. Most people are keeping/want aquacultured frags since the are hardier. I'm not sure when was the last time I saw wild acro frags/colonies for sale (I'm not saying there aren't places selling them). I still see a lot of maricultured corals which are somehow wild and harder to keep but wild acros I only see a few every now and then.

 

[organism]

I think we need to inform new sps keepers (less than 1 year of experience in growing acros) the advantages of buying aquacultured acros vs wild ones. Hobbyist that are new to acros tend to jump on wild acro frags because of the bright colors. Little do they know but they are purchasing frags that are half dead.

+1, I think the issue is that most of the chop shop vendors either flat out lie and say they're farmed or just kind of imply it. It takes some hobby experience to tell the difference, but newer hobbyists just aren't going to know unless they ask. A good idea would be to have a list of which vendors sell fully aquacultured pieces and which ones are notorious chop shoppers. But then you've gotta hope the newer hobbyists actually read it, so back to square one...

 

[Logzor]

After seeing several changes in this hobby over the years, it makes me wonder if aquacultured acros are a lost art. It just hurts me to see starved and half dead wild acros being sold as frag packs. Several years ago it was nearly impossible to culture wild acros but it can now happen with the new changes in technology. The issue rises when wild acros are fragged up and sold as frag packs before they are adjusted to captive parameters.

I think we need to inform new sps keepers (less than 1 year of experience in growing acros) the advantages of buying aquacultured acros vs wild ones. Hobbyist that are new to acros tend to jump on wild acro frags because of the bright colors. Little do they know but they are purchasing frags that are half dead.

Any Thoughts?

Sounds like you are looking at the wrong vendors. Have you seen the stuff that Rocky Mountain Frags, World Wide Corals, Altantis Aquarium, Vivid Aquarium, etc etc carry?

All of those vendors have some top-notch aquacultured SPS.

 

[rmalone]

I agree completely that frags taken from healthy corals already doing well in a tank are far more likely to survive than frags or colonies right out of the ocean.

But there is not one single acro, or any other coral that wasn't originally wild. They didn't just appear in someones tank by magic. And if were going to continue to see new acros someone is going to have try wild ones.

 

[organism]

Sounds like you are looking at the wrong vendors. Have you seen the stuff that Rocky Mountain Frags, World Wide Corals, Altantis Aquarium, Vivid Aquarium, etc etc carry?

All of those vendors have some top-notch aquacultured SPS.

Every single one of those also chop shops wild colonies and sells them alongside their aquacultured frags. If we're not talking SPS then a good bit of what those sites sell is not aquacultured, chalices and thicker LPS are in the 75%+ not captive raised range. I'm pretty sure WWC never met a chalice they didn't chop shop. Like I said before, a lot of sites either flat out lie or, like these, kind of imply that they're all aquacultured when that's far from the case.

 

[acroholicreefer]

These are some great opinions and I appreciated everybody's feedback.

But there is not one single acro, or any other coral that wasn't originally wild. They didn't just appear in someones tank by magic.

I agree 100%. Importing new and rare acros should be left to the experts that can have the highest success rate.

Every single one of those also chop shops wild colonies and sells them alongside their aquacultured frags. If we're not talking SPS then a good bit of what those sites sell is not aquacultured, chalices and thicker LPS are in the 75%+ not captive raised range. I'm pretty sure WWC never met a chalice they didn't chop shop. Like I said before, a lot of sites either flat out lie or, like these, kind of imply that they're all aquacultured when that's far from the case.

Well said. It is nobody's fault but it is just economics. As long as there is demand....

 

[stagcrazy]

i agree with everyone aquacultured corals are the way to go but i have had great success with maricultured pieces as well. ive never owned a true wild piece so i cant give my 02. on that but then again maricultured pieces can be considered wild also imo.

 

[gasman059]

Every single one of those also chop shops wild colonies and sells them alongside their aquacultured frags. If we're not talking SPS then a good bit of what those sites sell is not aquacultured, chalices and thicker LPS are in the 75%+ not captive raised range. I'm pretty sure WWC never met a chalice they didn't chop shop. Like I said before, a lot of sites either flat out lie or, like these, kind of imply that they're all aquacultured when that's far from the case.

Every aquacultured coral came from a wild species at some point, its just a matter of the history and timeframe thet have been in systems:wavehand:

 

[acroholicreefer]

The main point that I wanted to make is that most chop shops are importing large colonies and cutting them into small pieces well before the acro has been adjusted to captivity. Then these frags are marketed as aquacultured, which is flat out wrong.

There is a fine line between maricultured acros and wild acros, which are both available on the market today. Maricultured acros adjust to captivity much easier but you don't get a whole lot of species diversity with maricultured peices.

 

[myzislow]

Sounds like you are looking at the wrong vendors. Have you seen the stuff that Rocky Mountain Frags, World Wide Corals, Altantis Aquarium, Vivid Aquarium, etc etc carry?

All of those vendors have some top-notch aquacultured SPS.

Yeah not doubt there are some great vendors out there offering hardy, proven aqua-cultured SPS...I would add battle corals to that list as well. With that said, all of the vendors you listed still import fresh and chop....It's those vendors that specialize in nothing but the art of chop shop that I have an issue with....like wet thumbs raping the ocean for "rare" or "never seen before" SPS as they call it.. It seems they chop them as fast as they come in...The stuff they post is a straight up joke for a multitude of reasons...

 

[Logzor]

Yeah not doubt there are some great vendors out there offering hardy, proven aqua-cultured SPS...I would add battle corals to that list as well. With that said, all of the vendors you listed still import fresh and chop....It's those vendors that specialize in nothing but the art of chop shop that I have an issue with....like wet thumbs raping the ocean for "rare" or "never seen before" SPS as they call it.. It seems they chop them as fast as they come in...The stuff they post is a straight up joke for a multitude of reasons...

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

[acroholicreefer]

Couldn't agree with you more.

+1

It is sad since the real losers are the hobbyist that are new to keeping acroporas, which in the long run hurts the hobby.

 

[organism]

Every aquacultured coral came from a wild species at some point, its just a matter of the history and timeframe thet have been in systems

And that time frame is the difference between chop shop and aquacultured isn't it. I really have no idea where you were trying to go with that one...

The main point that I wanted to make is that most chop shops are importing large colonies and cutting them into small pieces well before the acro has been adjusted to captivity. Then these frags are marketed as aquacultured, which is flat out wrong.

Too true, and I think a lot more shops are doing it than people realize.

 

[gasman059]

Agree- chop chops are by far more prevalent- thus the old saying buyer beware~!

 

[organism]

Agreed, sometimes I get the feeling there's a little too much buyer beware in the hobby these days

 

[REEF SMAC]

it took me many years to fully realize the success rate of proven captive raised frags is far better.

That is the thing with captive raised corals..... they have been proven to do well and be successful in many different tanks. They hold there colour well and have a very high success rate. That is why they survive and people want to frag them and sell/trade them.

Than you gotta take the 50/50 chance that it may not keep the colour or colour up.....and than another 50/50 chance on whether or not it lives and grows long term. A real crap shoot.

^^^^This pretty much summed it up for me.

Someone, at some time, had to sort through a lot of turds to find those diamonds that are what everyone refers to today as "proven captive raised".

Unless I'm standing in the LFS seeing that coral fully encrusted into their display tank, (or a fellow hobbyists tank) then it not "proven" to me yet. So pretty much everything else they're selling I just assume is that crap shoot stuff.

I at least want to see it encrusting onto the frag plug.

Some of my favorites actually came from Wet Thumbs, so what do I know?