all time favorite Aussie lords...
- Thread starter MarvinsReef
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I'm too chickens**t to try an keep acans.
All of mine survived a week long power outage with no flow or light and only one is any worse looking than it was before, but it was in a separate tank that I think got well over 85 degrees. I only know a few corals that are hardier...
ReefKid15
unregistered
Just started my collection, but here are mine
the last one is deflated because i turned the lights on to shoot a few pics and he wasn't all puffy
I have one more pink and blueish one, but I dont have a pic of it
the last one is deflated because i turned the lights on to shoot a few pics and he wasn't all puffy
I have one more pink and blueish one, but I dont have a pic of it
I would say this was the best I have ever seen. I would say I have seen 3,000+ colonies. Plus i also have seen several in the wild while collecting with my suppliers in aussie.
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Why you gotta be hold out on a brother?
Did you hang on to this, or a piece of it?
lol, BTW, im sure a lot of my recent acans look awful familiar.
Did you hang on to this, or a piece of it?
lol, BTW, im sure a lot of my recent acans look awful familiar.
Saltysteele
Bret
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awesome stuff, everyone!! :dribble:
we have to have more out there. all these reefers, we have to have more out there
we have to have more out there. all these reefers, we have to have more out there
I had that colony when i had my online store still open for retail. I ended up doing a best offer for half the colony and then gave the other half as a freebie to my best customer. It went for big bucks back then. I have seen one nicer colony. It ended up going to Matt at Austin Aqua farms. I collected that one with my suppliers as well.
I havent done it yet but I am going to be posting a thread on my trip to aussie. I dont want to hijack this thread at all.
I will look for some shots of it opended up. I have I have them on the comp somewhere lol just cant seem find them.
I havent done it yet but I am going to be posting a thread on my trip to aussie. I dont want to hijack this thread at all.
I will look for some shots of it opended up. I have I have them on the comp somewhere lol just cant seem find them.
Ian
Valuable Member
Man, thats a lot of colonies! Since you have personally collected, has Australia placed any limits or restrictions on collection? I love nice coral as much or even more than the next guy but EVERY resaler on any of the boards keep "getting a huge new Aussie shipment" and with the ammounts they're bringing in as well as the rate they seem to do it, I find my self more than a little concerned. I find the Aussie acans grow at a very fast rate in captivity. At what point will we have collected enough wild and start to rely on ourselves as responsible reefkeepers and aquaculture what we already have?????
All Delight
2500 Club Member
Thats sick Jim
Outstanding question. One that I used to wonder about and I know a lot of others have wondered about as well.
Australian collection quota is by weight. Each diver is allowed so many pounds or Kilos per collection period. This amount was specified within their personal permits. Almost every collector has a different amount allowed to them. They can also lease this amount to the other collectors if they are not using the full amount.
The reason that aussie reopened was because people proved to the gov. and Fisheries Dept. that the reefs were self sustaining. As far as I know and by what my suppliers have told me The Great Barrier Reef is the only proven self sustaining reef in the world.
As far as the acans go, which appear to me to be by far the most common coral exported, I do not know what the future hold for them. They are a common coral in the waters but only in certain areas. I DO NOT feel that they are under threat because there are tons in these areas and soon we will not demand big numbers of them anymore. When found these corals will be very abundant most of the time. They grow in a very algae filled environment. One of my suppliers even commented he couldn't believe how these corals thrive with that much algae around because a lot of corals cannot compete with algae. The acans only grow on areas almost slate like. You can find this slate like rock on the bottom of most of the colonies.
There are only really 4 collectors of acans in Australia as far as I know. One of them collects about 75% of the acans exported. I don't think the buyers realize how this one company really controls almost all acan collection. The next guy only sends to one company in the USA and he I would say collects 20% of the acans. Their are 2 more little exporters who collect them but the rest are purchased off of that main company. Almost all of the acans come from a very small area. More often then not only the good colors are collected but sometimes it is hard to tell what color they will be. My supplier and I were not even close to being on the same page as to what was nice and what was not nice so I am sure that a lot of the nicest ones have been passed over.
Collection and importation of Aussie corals will surly slow down very quickly soon. You have to remember that Aussie is not a poor country. I had to pay $26 for a 12 pack of good beer when I was there. I also went to a fast food take out place with 2 of my suppliers and our bill was over $120. The aussie market demands we pay them very high dollars for these items and rightfully so. Soon, if not already, you will see not as many corals coming in. The suppliers over their have lowered the prices about as much as they are willing to. It is harder to make a profit as the retail values of these corals are coming down. This means that people will not bring as much in. The suppliers will then look for other markets to sell into. The only time the supply chain was working really well was when acans were a huge huge craze. When acans are just a regular coral I don't know if we will see much aussie stuff at all. Shipping is very expensive too. 30 boxes cost be about $3200 in shipping and that's just to LAX. Then I have to ship it to my place.
Ian
Valuable Member
Thanks Jim, for the deatiled response. I appreciate you clairifying that for me/us. I was really begining to worry that our greed was exceeding our care for the place that all of these beautiful corals come from...
For the 12 pack, thats $26 Au, right? When I went to Australia a couple years ago, $1 Us = $2Au
For the 12 pack, thats $26 Au, right? When I went to Australia a couple years ago, $1 Us = $2Au
Saltysteele
Bret
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wow! that's nuts! thanks jim, very informative and interesting!
OP
OP
Jim, what is the approximate depth these guys are found? is the water cooler there than what we keep our tanks? in your opinion, do they need bluer spectrum lighting to maintain their awesome rainbow coloration? pretty much any other input will be appreciated...
Jim, what is the approximate depth these guys are found? is the water cooler there than what we keep our tanks? in your opinion, do they need bluer spectrum lighting to maintain their awesome rainbow coloration? pretty much any other input will be appreciated...
i would say blue is a must, as they are from 20-30 meters. The blue spectrum is the only light that is penetrating down that far...
correct me if im wrong Jim, but im pretty sure thats on target.
