Coral - Aquaculture or mariculture - What is your preference?

[vetteguy53081]

While some coral are becoming harder to acquire, we do have choices as to obtain aquacultured coral and maricultured coral. Some of us know what this is while others are unfamiliar with these two types. Mariculture coral are wild caught or grown in the ocean which is their natural environment often displaying great colors and are begun with frags and mini colonies grown for several months in shallow ocean areas and require a little more care opposed to aquaculture species making them a little less forgiving as well as patience as they grow slower, require more light, and prone to bacteria, STN and RTN.
To clarify, maricultured corals aren't wild caught and does not cause damage to existing reefs as often accused of when harvested in a given ocean and are even used to restore dead coral reefs along their ocean shores.
Aquacultured corals are raised in controlled environments such as frag/ coral farm systems reducing the need to take coral from the wild. Often they adapt easier as they are used to our tank conditions and are replicas of growth in the wild offering high color and ability to become very hardy in captivity. Additionally, they are more resistant to disease and adjust easier to changes in water quality.
Compared to 20 years ago, we have more data and a better understanding in maintaining and raising both types of coral.

Do you aquacultured, maricultured coral or both ?
If you have Maricultured, what challenges do you see if any?
What cautions would you give others on maricultured coral?
Post pics if you have a favorite especially if Maricultured.

 

[Idech]

It’s very interesting but I have no idea what I buy, as I’ve never seen it advertised by any shop I bought from.

How do you know, I guess you have to ask ?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Some LFS will state. I often ask especially an unknown store and they generally know. One LFS I visit most will offer frags and small colonies bought locally or coral farms. If they are importing or acquiring drop shipments- may likely be mariculture

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Some LFS will state. I often ask especially an unknown store and they generally know. One LFS I visit most will offer frags and small colonies bought locally or coral farms. If they are importing or acquiring drop shipments- may likely be mariculture

I have an LFS near me that pretty much only sells aquaculture and frags from local hobbyist so I try to buy from them most of the time. I feel that aquaculture has a better chance of thriving in a tank since that is the environment it is used to. That being said I don't have an issue buying mariculture if I see something I like.

 

[fodsod]

Bought a maricultured acro a while back but had no idea that it was maricultured until I posted it here to ask how to save it.

It died, and several members posted that maricultured pieces were a 50/50 on survival in most home aquariums. I only buy aquacultured coral now.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bought a maricultured acro a while back but had no idea that it was maricultured until I posted it here to ask how to save it.

It died, and several members posted that maricultured pieces were a 50/50 on survival in most home aquariums. I only buy aquacultured coral now.

Many do not realize or think to ask which is what prompted me to do this posting. It ends up that the hobbyist thinks theyre doing something wrong

 

[fodsod]

Many do not realize or think to ask which is what prompted me to do this posting. It ends up that the hobbyist thinks theyre doing something wrong

That was exactly my situation. I had several acros and SPS all doing great, added the maricultured one and it went down hill fast. I was disappointed because I thought it was something I did but after posting it here (R2R is awesome) I learned something new and what to avoid.

 

[PeterErc]

baliaquarium.net and atsindonesia.com are nice websites to see mariculture pictures and see what is available. These guys grow tables full of corals in shallow water. They coral used to be inexpensive and shipping was the major expense before the ban. Now I hear the prices went up and they want 20 box orders. Plus shipping is even more costly now. I don’t know how true this info is.

There is also goldenmarindo.com. They produce many “high end” corals and are expensive.

Baluaquarium has the Walt Disney, Marindo has the kraks and I am sure they all have some of the desired corals.

I do not have much experience with Aussie but those were the best coral to unpack.

.As far as mariculture corals and pests. I have seen more pests on captive raised corals.
Vietnam Zoanthids are full on nudi’s and MEN on the Monripora as well.
ATS Acropora had black bugs that killed the colonies quick along with crabs, nuisance algae, sponges, tunicates etc growing on the bases.

A LFS brings in mari acro, first thing they do is cut the base off and dip it. Within the week half of then have RTN. I sometimes can grab fresh cuts and then toss the frags that die. It is always the same ones that they lose the colony of.

I hung around another store that brought many boxes of coral in. They would get unpacked and placed in a large stable system. After a few days of settling in and getting acclimated the would get fragged and put on racks under black boxes. Any color they might have had when they came in would turn brown. I would bring home the bases and or a frag to see how they would color up. They colored up a lot quicker under T5 than the black boxes.The losses were a lot less than the coral being dipped. So QT is always the best solution.

I like both captive grown and mariculture.
The thing with captive is you know what you are gonna get.
With Mari you may end up with a white skeleton or a brown turd that turns into a gem. Or just another nana or valida or ..

I was/am mostly into the sps, but many nice chalice would color up amazingly. And zoas are cool to see open up

It all comes down to a stable system for best survival of all corals.

That’s my experience with it, good topic, I am done rambling

 

[Lavey29]

I had 3 ORA maricultued acro frags delivered Friday. They were completely browned out and now 3 days in the tank look crappy barely surviving. Won't be getting anymore crappy ORA products.

 

[vetteguy53081]

baliaquarium.net and atsindonesia.com are nice websites to see mariculture pictures and see what is available. These guys grow tables full of corals in shallow water. They coral used to be inexpensive and shipping was the major expense before the ban. Now I hear the prices went up and they want 20 box orders. Plus shipping is even more costly now. I don’t know how true this info is.

There is also goldenmarindo.com. They produce many “high end” corals and are expensive.

Baluaquarium has the Walt Disney, Marindo has the kraks and I am sure they all have some of the desired corals.

I do not have much experience with Aussie but those were the best coral to unpack.

.As far as mariculture corals and pests. I have seen more pests on captive raised corals.
Vietnam Zoanthids are full on nudi’s and MEN on the Monripora as well.
ATS Acropora had black bugs that killed the colonies quick along with crabs, nuisance algae, sponges, tunicates etc growing on the bases.

A LFS brings in mari acro, first thing they do is cut the base off and dip it. Within the week half of then have RTN. I sometimes can grab fresh cuts and then toss the frags that die. It is always the same ones that they lose the colony of.

I hung around another store that brought many boxes of coral in. They would get unpacked and placed in a large stable system. After a few days of settling in and getting acclimated the would get fragged and put on racks under black boxes. Any color they might have had when they came in would turn brown. I would bring home the bases and or a frag to see how they would color up. They colored up a lot quicker under T5 than the black boxes.The losses were a lot less than the coral being dipped. So QT is always the best solution.

I like both captive grown and mariculture.
The thing with captive is you know what you are gonna get.
With Mari you may end up with a white skeleton or a brown turd that turns into a gem. Or just another nana or valida or ..

I was/am mostly into the sps, but many nice chalice would color up amazingly. And zoas are cool to see open up

It all comes down to a stable system for best survival of all corals.

That’s my experience with it, good topic, I am done rambling

Thank you for mention of these sites

 

[SPS2020]

I've ordered maricultured mini acro colonies as well as ORA maricultured frags from Live Aquaria about three years ago. I know that I lost some of those and a couple are still around. In this case, I think the attrition was due to a newish system, unstable parameters and ULNS (due to a new tank). The system is now three years old and much more stable. However, it is doubtful I would purchase any more maricultured corals, just prefer aquacultured.

 

[PeterErc]

I had 3 ORA maricultued acro frags delivered Friday. They were completely browned out and now 3 days in the tank look crappy barely surviving. Won't be getting anymore crappy ORA products.

Curious, where are you sourcing your ORA. The corals that the LFS gets from are healthy and colored up, even the MIMF. They are not far from ORA and corals and fish get delivered in a van.
I did get a red Goni that had a blue encrusting sponge on the base that I know is a nuisance. Had to cut it off the frag which was disappointing but other than that ORA has been good

 

[littlefoxx]

While some coral are becoming harder to acquire, we do have choices as to obtain aquacultured coral and maricultured coral. Some of us know what this is while others are unfamiliar with these two types. Mariculture coral are wild caught or grown in the ocean which is their natural environment often displaying great colors and are begun with frags and mini colonies grown for several months in shallow ocean areas and require a little more care opposed to aquaculture species making them a little less forgiving as well as patience as they grow slower, require more light, and prone to bacteria, STN and RTN.
To clarify, maricultured corals aren't wild caught and does not cause damage to existing reefs as often accused of when harvested in a given ocean and are even used to restore dead coral reefs along their ocean shores.
Aquacultured corals are raised in controlled environments such as frag/ coral farm systems reducing the need to take coral from the wild. Often they adapt easier as they are used to our tank conditions and are replicas of growth in the wild offering high color and ability to become very hardy in captivity. Additionally, they are more resistant to disease and adjust easier to changes in water quality.
Compared to 20 years ago, we have more data and a better understanding in maintaining and raising both types of coral.

Do you aquacultured, maricultured coral or both ?
If you have Maricultured, what challenges do you see if any?
What cautions would you give others on maricultured coral?
Post pics if you have a favorite especially if Maricultured.

I like the aquacultured or tank raised since they seem to do good in tanks! My LFS that dies coral usually has tank raised or aquacultured. If its wild caught they advertise that which is awesome

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

There is absolutely no question that Aquacultured corals are MUCH hardier, have way fewer pests, and are already conditioned to captive environments. Even the best vendors will struggle to have a 70% survival rate with maricultured colonies, and hobbyists generally have even less success. I import several times per year in order to add to my brood stock. If I have a box coming with 20 colonies I fully expect at least 2 of them to be DOA and to lose another 2-4 in the first month. When I receive them they go into QT for a week. Once they have settled from the shipping stress they are dipped weekly for 8 weeks. If they make it through that they remain in QT for about 6 months. I (and other farmers) have found that anytime in the first year of captivity, a maricultured colony can simply RTN for no apparent reason. Once they show new growth I will cut a chunk to start a mother colony. Once that colony has been in captivity for 12 months and is growing and looking healthy, it goes into grow out and frags can be cut for sale. Almost every shipment of maricultured Acros comes in with some or all of the following - AEFW, Red/white/black bugs, aiptasia, bubble algae, Spirobinoid worms, and other nuisance pests. Maricultured is not for the weak of heart...

 

[vetteguy53081]

There is absolutely no question that Aquacultured corals are MUCH hardier, have way fewer pests, and are already conditioned to captive environments. Even the best vendors will struggle to have a 70% survival rate with maricultured colonies, and hobbyists generally have even less success. I import several times per year in order to add to my brood stock. If I have a box coming with 20 colonies I fully expect at least 2 of them to be DOA and to lose another 2-4 in the first month. When I receive them they go into QT for a week. Once they have settled from the shipping stress they are dipped weekly for 8 weeks. If they make it through that they remain in QT for about 6 months. I (and other farmers) have found that anytime in the first year of captivity, a maricultured colony can simply RTN for no apparent reason. Once they show new growth I will cut a chunk to start a mother colony. Once that colony has been in captivity for 12 months and is growing and looking healthy, it goes into grow out and frags can be cut for sale. Almost every shipment of maricultured Acros comes in with some or all of the following - AEFW, Red/white/black bugs, aiptasia, bubble algae, Spirobinoid worms, and other nuisance pests. Maricultured is not for the weak of heart...

Thank you for input

 

[blaxsun]

Most of my coral is mariculture, although more and more of what I get from my LFS is aquaculture (when available, that is).

 

[hexcolor reef]

Maricultured I suppose but it’s not by choice more so based on my LFS preference. I but knowing the difference I would prefer maricultured coral as they are more hardy IMO.
Besides that I like the skeletons of maricultured coral, rough and shaped organically by the ocean. Brings more natural and wild look to my aquarium.
For instance I have a torch that has fused it self together with a clam and it look’s beautiful

 

[hexcolor reef]

Thank you for input

If majority of your stock comes in DOA then the supplier needs to find a much better option depending on the type of coral.
You should have at least a 80/20 ratio of coral survival if it’s not due to shipping company delays

 

[vetteguy53081]

If majority of your stock comes in DOA then the supplier needs to find a much better option depending on the type of coral.
You should have at least a 80/20 ratio of coral survival if it’s not due to shipping company delays

Having owned an LFS, loss is not controllable especially with international shipping due to shipping stress, temperatures, and out of norm circumstances such as homeland security inspection delays often not preventable as fish are from the wild

 

[Lavey29]

Curious, where are you sourcing your ORA. The corals that the LFS gets from are healthy and colored up, even the MIMF. They are not far from ORA and corals and fish get delivered in a van.
I did get a red Goni that had a blue encrusting sponge on the base that I know is a nuisance. Had to cut it off the frag which was disappointing but other than that ORA has been good

Got them from saltwateraquarium.com. they apparently outsource to ORA and they shipped them on these stupid hard plastic plugs you can't cut or remove. Extremely lousy product and I have 38 thriving SPS colonies in my tank along with 3 browned out dying ORA frags. Stay away from this crap from saltwateraquarium.com.