How many of us are there??

[jgvergo]

I was reading about the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and recalled that some people have claimed that hobbyists are in a position to ensure the propagation of many species by creating global, distributed, micro ecosystems where corals are kept and raised.

It got me wondering how many aquariums around the world are keeping corals. I'll bet there are 10's of thousands, maybe more! How could we estimate the number? How many people are on R2R and other major forums? How many customers do BRS and other distributors have? Could we estimate the number by looking at exports of corals from various places around the world?

Who has data? Let's do some back of the envelope calculations!

 

[Saltyspatune]

Following

 

[Mikedawg]

I was reading about the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and recalled that some people have claimed that hobbyists are in a position to ensure the propagation of many species by creating global, distributed, micro ecosystems where corals are kept and raised.

It got me wondering how many aquariums around the world are keeping corals. I'll bet there are 10's of thousands, maybe more! How could we estimate the number? How many people are on R2R and other major forums? How many customers do BRS and other distributors have? Could we estimate the number by looking at exports of corals from various places around the world?

Who has data? Let's do some back of the envelope calculations!

And I think many of us would gladly donate corals we've fragged/raised to legitimate causes like replenishing the GBR. Realize this is not a simple task and would require much government cooperation, establishment of a supply chain, testing of animals, etc. but why not? In the meantime, there are several coral restoration efforts already established and all it takes is a money donation to "improve" our ecosystem.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

I have wondered this as well. Following!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

And I think many of us would gladly donate corals we've fragged/raised to legitimate causes like replenishing the GBR. Realize this is not a simple task and would require much government cooperation, establishment of a supply chain, testing of animals, etc. but why not? In the meantime, there are several coral restoration efforts already established and all it takes is a money donation to "improve" our ecosystem.

Heck, I'd be happy if my corals grew enough that I could help replenish a friend's tank!

 

[BlueCursor]

The bleaching of wild corals is sad, but what you don't see in the news is how the fringe growth areas are bursting with new coral growth. There is a balance in mother nature. The earth has cooled and warmed many times before. Whole continents have drifted into new locations, changing local climate.

Man over fishing and harvesting corals does more damage than climate change.

 

[Mikedawg]

Heck, I'd be happy if my corals grew enough that I could help replenish a friend's tank!

Ha ha, sure wish there was a need for more mushrooms and GSP!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Ha ha, sure wish there was a need for more mushrooms and GSP!

I would gladly take some shrooms! Lol.

It really has been a dream of mine to supply friends with frags.

Step 1: Get friends.

 

[jgvergo]

OK, I found this article that says there are 700,000 salt water aquariums. Of course the author did not provide a reference for the number. Assuming it's correct, then the number of reef tanks is less than 700K.

@revhtree , can you disclose how big the R2R community is? How many other (inferior ) reefing forums are out there and how big are they?

 

[jgvergo]

OK, I found this article that says there are 700,000 salt water aquariums. Of course the author did not provide a reference for the number. Assuming it's correct, then the number of reef tanks is less than 700K.

@revhtree , can you disclose how the R2R community is? How many other (inferior ) reefing forums are out there and how big are they?

I meant to ask "how BIG is the R2R community"/