Coral - Aquaculture or mariculture - What is your preference?

[ninjamyst]

I love maricultured acros if you have stores that will sell you a giant colony for the price of a named aquaculture frag. I got two colonies from WWC and both are doing well. IMO, maricultured colonies are hardy because colonies are generally just more hardy than a tiny frag. The biggest issue is finding space for them as they are bigger than size of your fist.

 

[doubleshot00]

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.

What i dont get is maricultured pieces cost more in some stores like they are something special.

I try to avoid maricultured at all costs. Lots of vendors sell maricultured and do not disclose it.

 

[386reeftrader]

Mariculture stuff was nice when chop shops had chop shop prices. The problem is now the chop shop vendors are importing the same basic Tenuis, Millepora, etc and trying to get crazy aquaculture pricing for them.

 

[ReefEco]

As many have said, I think there are real benefits from true aquacultured corals - which tend to be generations deep and pre-selected for color and longevity in our captive systems. The real issue in my mind, is the often dishonest classification, or absence of robust classification definitions for vendors who sell corals. It drives me nuts when a vendor uses the cache of "Aquaculture" in their business name, but still is just a chop shop selling imported wild coral frags. I always ask vendors, and only buy aquaculatured corals (or sometimes maricultured frags). Some vendors answer honestly when asked to define their corals (I usually define aquacultured by at least 3rd generation - wild -> fragged-> grown out-> fragged again for sale.) but some are downright hostile and dismissive when this simple request is made. There have been a few people advocating for a "certifcation" scheme for corals in the hobby (like Richard Ross), which I would completely support.

But, mainly, it is up to us to ASK and know what type of corals we are getting. I think alot of us prefer to not take wild corals for various reasons, and the more we ask and choose this preference, the more vendors will meet this demand. Eventually - who knows when, maybe in the next decade - all wild collection of corals will likely be curtailed. I started a project a couple months ago rating some online coral vendors using an objective, metric based scheme, and it was really interesting. For instance, World Wide Corals - probably one of the best known coral vendors out there with an extensive "farm" and known for aquaculture - was selling 43% wild corals on the day I counted (of the 222 corals on their site, between all their wysiwyg corals, and colonies). They label each coral either "conditioned" (wild), or "aquacultured" - which is good transparency that is better than most vendors, but I was still surprised how many wild corals they sell.

Maricultured corals will likely become more and more important for the hobby, as it is the main component of reef restoration projects around the globe. There are some working on mass spawning/distribution of corals on other substrates, but planting maricultured colonies is the current methodology - and also supports some community reef stewards with income.

Price will always be king, and chopped up wild and maricultured colonies will likely always be cheaper than true aquacultured frags - but as many have expressed in this thread, the increased survival rate (usually) for aquacultured frags may make them cheaper over all in the long run. And certainly less impactful for our reefs.

 

[hexcolor reef]

I’m sure it’s easy to tell the diffeubetween wild coral and aquaculture corals.
One skeleton is very rough and defined with other seabed creatures
While the other is clean and more smooth.

LFS won’t stop selling wild coral due to high demand for corals and the time it takes to grow out corals. Supply does not meet the demand. Wild coral will always be sold there’s an abundance in the ocean. Not being harsh on the environment but no one is buying 3ft of acropora at a time

 

[leon.1980]

A perfect example of this is I had an accidental alkalinity spike. Alk went up 1.5dkh in a 8 hour period. Don’t don’t know how fast or exactly when. I let it come back down to my normal 9.25 naturally. My only mariculture acro is the only thing that died.

 

[hexcolor reef]

A perfect example of this is I had an accidental alkalinity spike. Alk went up 1.5dkh in a 8 hour period. Don’t don’t know how fast or exactly when. I let it come back down to my normal 9.25 naturally. My only mariculture acro is the only thing that died.

Possibly your referring to the quick raise in DKH levels but if not…

That’s odd I run 12 DKH solid. I don’t look for 8.5 or 9 DKH.
I use Red Sea coral sea salt which is primed at 12 DKH.
I have 80% maricultured (wild coral) in my tank. Everything lives, puffy, swinging and growing.

 

[Lavey29]

I love maricultured acros if you have stores that will sell you a giant colony for the price of a named aquaculture frag. I got two colonies from WWC and both are doing well. IMO, maricultured colonies are hardy because colonies are generally just more hardy than a tiny frag. The biggest issue is finding space for them as they are bigger than size of your fist.

This is opposite of what traditionally is known with SPS. Typically frags do.much better then acquiring and acclimating a full colony. Frags can acclimate better to varying tank conditions versus colonies which have been long established to a specific tank environment.

 

[ninjamyst]

This is opposite of what traditionally is known with SPS. Typically frags do.much better then acquiring and acclimating a full colony. Frags can acclimate better to varying tank conditions versus colonies which have been long established to a specific tank environment.

I guess my experience is opposite. Tiny frags usually have higher mortality rate than chunky frags or colonies. With bigger frags and colonies, I can always frag off a piece to increase chance of survival if I see STN.

 

[Propane]

I've bought all my corals from the same person and as far as I know they are all fragged from stuff she grows.

 

[Lavey29]

I guess my experience is opposite. Tiny frags usually have higher mortality rate than chunky frags or colonies. With bigger frags and colonies, I can always frag off a piece to increase chance of survival if I see STN.

Perhaps but if you ask high end vendors like WWC they will recommend frags over colonies because they ship better and acclimate better with less chance of die off and this has been my experience.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Perhaps but if you ask high end vendors like WWC they will recommend frags over colonies because they ship better and acclimate better with less chance of die off and this has been my experience.

Most people's experience supports your statement. Frags ALWAYS ship better than colonies. Tiny booger frags may have a poor survival rate, but a 1" frag will have a much better chance of adapting to it's new environment than a full sized colony which has been grown in the ocean. There is no way to mimic the flow and food supply of the ocean, and when a colony is taken from a mariculture farm, shipped thousands of miles, then held for a short period of time in a wholesalers system before being shipped to a LFS, vendor, or hobbyist, the mortality rate increases substantially once it is added to a captive system.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

As many have said, I think there are real benefits from true aquacultured corals - which tend to be generations deep and pre-selected for color and longevity in our captive systems. The real issue in my mind, is the often dishonest classification, or absence of robust classification definitions for vendors who sell corals. It drives me nuts when a vendor uses the cache of "Aquaculture" in their business name, but still is just a chop shop selling imported wild coral frags. I always ask vendors, and only buy aquaculatured corals (or sometimes maricultured frags). Some vendors answer honestly when asked to define their corals (I usually define aquacultured by at least 3rd generation - wild -> fragged-> grown out-> fragged again for sale.) but some are downright hostile and dismissive when this simple request is made. There have been a few people advocating for a "certifcation" scheme for corals in the hobby (like Richard Ross), which I would completely support.

But, mainly, it is up to us to ASK and know what type of corals we are getting. I think alot of us prefer to not take wild corals for various reasons, and the more we ask and choose this preference, the more vendors will meet this demand. Eventually - who knows when, maybe in the next decade - all wild collection of corals will likely be curtailed. I started a project a couple months ago rating some online coral vendors using an objective, metric based scheme, and it was really interesting. For instance, World Wide Corals - probably one of the best known coral vendors out there with an extensive "farm" and known for aquaculture - was selling 43% wild corals on the day I counted (of the 222 corals on their site, between all their wysiwyg corals, and colonies). They label each coral either "conditioned" (wild), or "aquacultured" - which is good transparency that is better than most vendors, but I was still surprised how many wild corals they sell.

Maricultured corals will likely become more and more important for the hobby, as it is the main component of reef restoration projects around the globe. There are some working on mass spawning/distribution of corals on other substrates, but planting maricultured colonies is the current methodology - and also supports some community reef stewards with income.

Price will always be king, and chopped up wild and maricultured colonies will likely always be cheaper than true aquacultured frags - but as many have expressed in this thread, the increased survival rate (usually) for aquacultured frags may make them cheaper over all in the long run. And certainly less impactful for our reefs.

I completely agree that transparency is a valuable asset when it comes to selecting vendors to purchase from!

 

[ReefEco]

Wild coral will always be sold there’s an abundance in the ocean. Not being harsh on the environment but no one is buying 3ft of acropora at a time

This is often the mindset that lulls us into a false sense of security for the hobby - we don't know what the future will hold for reefs given the bans we have already seen in recent years, nor do we know the tipping point when it comes to a reef's sustainable collection threshold. It is tempting to just rely on the vastness of the ocean and growth rates, until you start to realize the forces that can take down hundreds of square miles of reefs in a single season with bleaching events, and that those forces are mounting. It is never too soon to make the more sustainable coral buying choice....

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

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...

Amen. Ty for that honest reply with helpful info on practices.

 

[ninjamyst]

Perhaps but if you ask high end vendors like WWC they will recommend frags over colonies because they ship better and acclimate better with less chance of die off and this has been my experience.

I am local to WWC so maybe that makes a difference. WWC also holds their maricultured colonies for a few weeks before putting them out for sale. I can definitely see how shipping large colonies can be more stressful than shipping a frag just based on the amount of water.

 

[hexcolor reef]

This is often the mindset that lulls us into a false sense of security for the hobby - we don't know what the future will hold for reefs given the bans we have already seen in recent years, nor do we know the tipping point when it comes to a reef's sustainable collection threshold. It is tempting to just rely on the vastness of the ocean and growth rates, until you start to realize the forces that can take down hundreds of square miles of reefs in a single season with bleaching events, and that those forces are mounting. It is never too soon to make the more sustainable coral buying choice....

this I believe the cost of corals will balance this out. The more bans and reef destruction cost will go up which only few are willing to pay for

Currently Cost of corals have been dropping due to a decent supply but also in a recession economy ppl will spend less on such items. Only a hand full of coral farms hold rare corals so majority LFS will pretty have the same stock. Ppl will soon have the basics and will tire from purchasing the same looking coral

 

[Charlie the Reefer]

I really see the merits of both. I find mariculture corals very interesting, and something to aspire to care for. However, I feel it is prudent with how new I am to stick with aquaculture, especially for the sake of my own psyche… success feels nice and I just think mariculture specimens are more difficult! I HATE when anything dies in my tank… hate hate hate!

 

[ReefEco]

this I believe the cost of corals will balance this out. The more bans and reef destruction cost will go up which only few are willing to pay for

I guess the point is to reduce reef destruction in any way possible, including by collecting, not just throw our hands up and watch the natural supply/demand progression, but be proactive in shaping the market with our buying power. To your point, you could certainly say that wild collectors are taking the equivalent of "3ft of acropora" many times over, every day. This brings us back to the unknown tipping point - can wild collecting contribute to the degradation of a healthy reef that is hit by a bleaching event, making it reach that tipping point so that it can't recover, or re-spawn enough to repopulate the area? This is going to be an interesting year for reefs, if the 100 degree water around Florida recently is any indication of increasing water temps we might see around the globe...

 

[PeterErc]

Here comes Debbie Downer. The earth is changing , and coral as we know it will not be the same. How about our kids kids, or their kids. They are f’d. I have been around long enough to see what once was and what is becoming. I don’t know!
I often feel bad for people getting into this hobby the way things are now. Sure we can all do our part to save the reefs, ocean, natural habitats. The damage is already done and not gonna get better anytime soon. Once we are all gone and the earth evolves into its next chapter?? They say in 25 years or sooner the ocean currents will change. Don’t know.

My point is, enjoy the hobby while it can be enjoyed. Some people may never get to see it. The older I get the more I see how everyday is a gift. The world is crazy right now and you never know when it’s game over.