umm....ORA corals??

Patwa · Mar 3, 2008

twon8 said:
any of the stuff going for 80-100 is not in anyway common; not like they are breaking pieces off wilds and selling them as cultured as some etailers do

trust me....you live and breathe reef tanks up in Toronto as I do, and you'll know what i'm talking about.....it's common for us to see pretty much most of what ORA puts out into the US market....that's why I wrote this thread...I don't underastand how these frags can garner so much $$$, given what i know about my local market - I just need the US reefer perspective, i guess

and i'm not trying to boast about my home here.....hell, i don't even like SPS to start with!! for serial!

trust me when i say, most of the ORA stuff i've seen you yanks get down there is FAIRLY COMMON in Toronto....and you don't have to look far or wait 2 years to get it.....green granulosa, suharsonois, milles, green seriatopora, tri-colour validas, etc

the difference is most of what we get is aquacultured at the source (Indo, Tonga, etc), not propagated from 3rd and 4th generation colonies like what you see with ORA. With ORA, you're buying the name AND peace of mind.

Zach

twon8 · Mar 3, 2008

I'm sure we get very similiar maricultured sps; everything you listed is common here with the exception of the granulosa, and sells for 30-40 retail.

Patwa · Mar 3, 2008

I never said you don't....i'm actually not sure what point you're trying to make here....i'm talking about ORA, not a Canada vs. US thing.

all i'm saying is summed up in my first post.....what you guys get down there from ORA, priced at $80+ a tiny frag, usually goes for a fraction up here, and it's usually for the entire colony....hence, my question:

What I wanted was clarification on this whole ORA craze I see....RC, CZ, Ebay...all boast about ORA this and that....they're nothing special, imo....not even their "special" ones.......well, maybe that Aussie Delicate Stag (cuz i have it myself! haha)

twon8 · Mar 3, 2008

im saying that the stuff which sells for 80 is not common nor easy to find; even if you find a wild colony of the same species, it likely won't color up as quickly or grow as fast. Ive had ora frags color up in a week and start growing faster.

the reason you can't get them in canada is because they are stony corals and thus subject to cities.

Patwa · Mar 4, 2008

Anthony, the only reason we don't get ORA frags up here is b/c there is no demand for them...trust me, it has absolutely nothing to do with CITES. In addition, they are WAAAAY overpriced when put up against Canadian/Toronto pricing standards. Corals sell for unusually low prices in Toronto, believe it or not (aussie acans excluded)....if you compare US prices to what we get up here, you guys would be blown away.....it's come to the point where some reefers (myself included) believe it's doing more harm than good.

Heck, a CITES permit costs $200USD!!!.....even I could get one, however impractical that might be. If ReefRaft (LFS in Toronto) can get CITES to ship Aussie Acans down to US chop-shops, i'm willing to bet ORA can do it too.

As for the $80+ ORA frags I see selling in the US.....you bring a shipment of $80-$100 ORA frags up here to sell and I can guarantee most SPS nuts will laugh at you....they'll prolly send you back to the US in no time...these ORA corals, apart from being hardy and easy to manage, are 'common place' to most Toronto SPS reefers....no one in their right mind will pay those prices.

Zach

Sea MunnKey · Mar 4, 2008

Ooopss... my Bad

Reef Pets · Mar 7, 2008

I have grown ORA coral for several years. Some of which I have VERY nice size colonies and I must say, if anything they only get brighter in color. By all means most of there coral can be taken from the waters surrounding Bali. But, the coral taken from Bali is just that, taken!! ORA coral will hold its color MUCH better than any wild caught.

Russellaqua · Mar 7, 2008

Your right Zach, with ORA you are buying piece of mind. ORA sells completely aquacultured multiple generation corals. Very few places can say that. Most LFS may have maricultured corals or single or 2 generation aquaculture. Mariculture still takes place in the ocean and those pieces are only somewhat more adaptable to captive life than wild colonies, and subject to bringing in disease from the wild. I'm not saying charging $80 for a frag is right. I don't do it, and it is well beyond the standard coral mark-up for any ORA piece. In the US there is sort of a "cultured coral craze" and people will charge those prices because they can get them because of the craze, and because people know ORA has been doing multi-generation well for a long time.

Patwa · Mar 7, 2008

reefer said:
I have grown ORA coral for several years. Some of which I have VERY nice size colonies and I must say, if anything they only get brighter in color. By all means most of there coral can be taken from the waters surrounding Bali. But, the coral taken from Bali is just that, taken!! ORA coral will hold its color MUCH better than any wild caught.

very true.........but even up here in Toronto, 100% plucked-from-the-wild stuff is rare....lots of the SPS stuff that comes in aquacultured stuff...but heck, that term is pretty vague anyways...right?

Russellaqua said:
Your right Zach, with ORA you are buying piece of mind. ORA sells completely aquacultured multiple generation corals. Very few places can say that. Most LFS may have maricultured corals or single or 2 generation aquaculture. Mariculture still takes place in the ocean and those pieces are only somewhat more adaptable to captive life than wild colonies, and subject to bringing in disease from the wild. I'm not saying charging $80 for a frag is right. I don't do it, and it is well beyond the standard coral mark-up for any ORA piece. In the US there is sort of a "cultured coral craze" and people will charge those prices because they can get them because of the craze, and because people know ORA has been doing multi-generation well for a long time.

well said...you guys do love the crazes

I don't get the chalice craze though.....not much of a whisper up here......yet!

gflat65 · Mar 8, 2008

Where can we see some SPS heavy tanks from Toronto?

Patwa · Mar 10, 2008

see some zingers in here
http://www.totm.aquariumpros.ca/

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/totm/index.php

http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=32423

again, I don't like SPS... in fact, I think they're boooooring as heck!.....as such, I don't track who has the hottest SPS tank in my circle of friends, or in Toronto, for that matter.....now, ask me who has the best acan or zoa collection in Toronto, and that's a different story

Zach