Wild Acro colonies

[sjfishguy]

Where does everyone purchase wild acro colonies online these days?

 

[allof fish]

Not sure not recommended. They usually don’t do well in aquariums. Their hard to acclimate to aquarium life and more wither out and die

 

[CHSUB]

WWC sells some in their West Coast Source also Blue Zoo Aquatic.

 

[sjfishguy]

Not sure not recommended. They usually don’t do well in aquariums. Their hard to acclimate to aquarium life and more wither out and die

Depends on the species and the source. Not asking for a debate here, just where can I find them. Not as common as the used to be

 

[allof fish]

Depends on the species and the source. Not asking for a debate here, just where can I find them. Not as common as the used to be

I understand that nothing wrong with it I personally just wouldn’t go for them. I honestly don’t know where to get then

 

[PM Corals]

Not many sell wild because smalls are usually same size as mariculture or larger, so harder to ship for most. Also too hard for them to pass up the option of fragging and making more $$$

 

[archipelago]

I would imagine that the overwhelming majority of 'new releases' are wild or maricultured colonies that vendors take a gamble on, and place in captivity to see how their colors and growth patterns improve/degrade.

You are right about frags being $$, but 15 years ago most decent coral shops had tubs and tubs of small (6" - 8") maricultured and wild acro colonies. Blast them with enough photons and flow, and generally they did well.

These vendors below sell (presumably maricultured) colonies, and it may be worth reaching out to places like AquaSD and the like to see if any of them would be willing to special order you some. I imagine most of the big-names have a healthy and direct supply line for these. The mari/wild corals unfortunately just don't make up a large enough portion of revenue to add value when you consider the amount of real estate taken up along with the man hours to photograph, list, etc.

• corals.com (several colonies for sale currently)
• reefnation.com (large (5"-10") 'named' coral colonies at good prices)
• extremecorals.com (While I don't see many acro/SPS colonies at the moment, he gets them in and almost all of them are maricultured or wild. Might be worth reaching out. Beware the photoshop)
• reefexclusive.com (Frequently has multiple maricultured/wild SPS frags for sale from the same colony (presumably chopped and plugged). I've ordered from them before - good folks, but also beware the photoshop. May be worth reaching out).

I'm sure some of the OG's here can drop more names.

Also, while I'm not certain what licensing is required to buy/sell corals from wholesalers, I would imagine that many r2r members could order or pick some up for you. There are MANY wholesalers in Cali and Florida that you could walk into (along with someone with the requisite licensing) and hand pick them yourself depending on proximity. I did this all the time at 5 Star (5-D?) and Segrest Farms when I lived in Tampa (not sure if they are still around). And you've got ERI and Quality Marine in Cali. I'm sure there are many, many more - these were just at the top of my head.

 

[sjfishguy]

Thanks for the above. And yes, most guys that I know that can get them, just take them for themselves, chop them up, slap a stupid name on the frags, and sell them for 20x what they paid for them

 

[archipelago]

Let us know when you decide who you'll go through, and post some pics when the corals are in the tank.

FWIW the non-aquacultured colonies will need a ton of light and flow. I'm talking high volume, low velocity, laminar flow. Think a 'wall' of MP60s, 40% max, with half the bank running for 6 hrs (creating a flow in one direction around the display), then flip-flopping every six hours.

Beef up your lighting combo (if needed) to be able to supply upwards of 800 PAR. The vendor should be able to get you some basic data about what region and the depth at which they were collected (this will help you get light and flow dialed in before you receive them)

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

AquaSD

 

[sjfishguy]

I have been keeping acros for 20 years and have done this many times before. Just hard to find the colonies I want anymore. I appreciate all the vendor suggestions, I will keep you posted if anything works out. Much appreciated

 

[386reeftrader]

Divers den still has some wild stuff. Best finding someone who is buying wholesale and get a few off them. Or order direct and sell what you don't want

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I have been keeping acros for 20 years and have done this many times before. Just hard to find the colonies I want anymore. I appreciate all the vendor suggestions, I will keep you posted if anything works out. Much appreciated

What acros do you have right now?