NERAC Report

[SteveL]

Just back from Atlantis Marine World and the NERAC conference. What a great meeting. Once again got some good ideas. Great talks by Sprung, Calfo, Todd Gardner and Ron Hessing. Anyone going to IMAC should take in Anthony Calfo's talk on coral farming - very inspirational and I thought I'd heard it all.

Huge congrats to Joe and the staff at Atlantis - if you guys have not seen this aquarium I thoroughly recommend it. I've seen a lot of public aquaria in this country, Europe and Australia but Atlantis still amazes me. The thought and consideration that has gone into building the ocean experience is second to none. And it has the biggest live reef aquarium in North America at 20,000g. We watched flassher wrasses, hippo tangs and others spawning last night while enjoying a great banquet dinner.... can't beat that! Even Julian Sprung ran his digital camera battery into the ground.

Gary M: you would have been weeping over the $500 red carpet anemone that was sold - incredible animal. You would have been weeping even more when Calfo reportedly took a razor blade down the middle of it to make two red carpets. We had to leave before this operation was done but from the thread in the Long Island Reef Club forum it sounds as though it happened.

SteveL

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

One of these years I'll make it to that NERAC party. It sounds like a humdinger of a time.

 

[Kent E]

Thanks for the report. I was hoping to go but with the kids at this age it makes it tough to do things. Theres always next year.

The tank has to be amazing, I have a picture as wallpaper and thats amazing. and pictures don't do a live tank justice.

 

[zanclus]

I think we all need ro go to one of these conventions as a group. What a blast that would be!!!!

 

[ReeferMac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6943007#post6943007 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zanclus
I think we all need ro go to one of these conventions as a group.

Not for nothing, but.... that's been done/tried, and the only thing stopping it is organization.
I've gone to a conference in Michigan several times, w/ a couple of different people from the URS, and rides were always offered. We met up w/ a fellow or two from the Michigan club (Ken was gracious enough to ask us to stay the night), toured another local tank in someone's home, shot the breeze w/ several of the conference's speakers, and spent gobs of money at the local treasure shop (tropicorium just can't compare, admittedly)....
I had a grand time, and would highly recommend this type of activity to everyone else!

- Mac

 

[SteveL]

Update:

Sounds as though Calfo didn't split the $500 red carpet after all. You can see pics of the intact animal on the Long Island Reefers forum if you're interested. I think this was probably a good decision to leave it a while to settle in to aquarium conditions. With it being a freshly collected wild animal straight from shipping I was wondering if that may be a concern. Somebody also shared these thoughts and they played safe for now.

SteveL

 

[zooqi]

here are the pictures of anthony