Maricultured Vs. Aquacultured

[Sdoutreefer]

What's the biggest difference in maricultured sps vs. Aquacultured sps? Obviously one is grown in the ocean while the other is in captivity. But other than that, what else do maricultured sps bring to the table that Aquacultured doesn't and vice versa?

 

[mike007]

Great question I have thought about this myself. My thought is if it is grown in the ocean environment it is the same as wild caught. If it is raised in a aquarium environment as such as ours I think it would have a better survival rate.

 

[DSP]

Cool acro crabs! Lol but sometimes bad ones to . following along

 

[SchnauzerFace]

I don't know about any benefits for one or the other, but buying an aquacultured coral doesn't contribute to harming natural coral reefs, I suppose?

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I read somewhere that maricultured are more prone to STN/RTN? I can't remember where I read that.. I think maybe on here

 

[RacinRevo0818]

Can't say it much better then they do but aqua usually controlled environment where mariculture is usually done in ocean.
http://www.sustainablereefs.com/?q=node/391

 

[P3FE]

I compare Mariculture vs Aquaculture with Tank Raise/Tank Breed vs Wild Caught Fish. IME aquaculture SPS are more forgiving than mariculture ones. Mariculture is very similar to wild caught, so they required a little more attention than aquaculture in other words they are a little harder to please, they require a lot more patience to see results and growth than aquaculture, and let's face it, we all want to see our SPS grow fast!! Are they more prone to RTN than aquaculture ones, I don't know, but I can tell you that it will take at least a month before you can see the colors on mariculture corals once you get them, and if you see one you like at your LFS, ask them how long that coral has been there, you will be surprise by the answer, one of the reason we are seeing more and more aquaculture SPS this days, plus is good for the environment and we can prove the world that we can sustain our hobby without harming the reefs around the world. Just my 2 cents!

 

[trido]

A lot of the aquacultered corals are free of pests that will kill a reef and are less prone to RTN and are bullet proof. Maricultered corals are more likely to have AEFW's, FW's, nuicinace crabs and other hitchhikers that you could live without. IMO they are both predictable in the colors you will end up with. It's the wild corals that are the biggest gamble now days. Quite often they will not survive, but sometimes, they will become the LE coral that the hobby begs for.

 

[Trenbolone]

Mariculture is actually a specialized branch of aquaculture, but for arguments sake we will just consider how maricultured corals differ from those raised in captivity. Obviously anything raised in a captive environment poses less threat for disease or infection, can most likely tolerate captive conditions much better than something grown in the wild, and also is typically more "controlled/monitored." Maricultured corals are not "wild caught" in the sense that they do no further damage to already devastated reefs around the world when they are harvested. Maricultured corals in the most simple of terms are gardens of coral being propagated within their natural environment. Many reefs are actually turning to mariculture to restore pieces of damaged reefs along their shores.

 

[Trenbolone]

sorry I'm half asleep here, many countries are using mariculture to help restore their reefs. Not reefs using mariculture to restore themselves. lol

 

["Acro Sheen"]

I personally love maricultured sps they are like buying a mystery coral! I love nothing more than buying a small maricultured colony that looks OK but shows potential then a few months later it colors up and looks amazing! This is how crazy new across that sell for $200-$300 a frag make there way into the hobby. The down side is the risk of pests mainly AEFW but if you are strict about dipping/QT it's a great way to get a beautiful coral at an affordable price. In addition to the pests they can be alot more "fragile" and i wouldnt suggest fragging them for some time. You would be amazed to see what some of the most well known acros looked like when they were first acquired as maricultures. Good topic to bring up tagging along!

 

[FishGuyTy]

At my work, we brought in about $1000 worth of maricultured corals. They all looked amazing and were great size when we got them. The cost was about half of any other aquacultured coral from the other big wholesalers we regularly deal with, so we gave it a go. I will tell you that I will probably never order maricultured corals again. Most everything was healthy and great when we got it, but had a very hard time adjusting to tank life. My estimate is a 50% loss over 6-8 months in almost any condition we tried placing them in. Most of the order were acros, but we also brought some lps in as well. We were able to sell a few acros and trachyphillia, but most everything else kept bleaching out and eventually died off. On the flip side of the coin, aquacultured fetch a higher price, but have been almost bullet proof with a 10% or less loss of livestock. They adjust to different lighting and water conditions much easier and have shown much more growth in a much shorter time than the maricultured.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Most SPS I have are all maricultured. They do take a very long time to color up, but when they do color up they're beautiful. One of my colonies looks completely different (in a good way) than when I first got it.