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Happy Monday!
First and foremost, thanks for making the Unique Corals 1st Anniversary Sale a huge, huge success. Hard to believe it’s been a year since we set up shop here in L.A. What a great journey for us! We so appreciate your loyalty, support, and friendship!
It’s been a year, so what have we learned?
Oh, quite a bit, actually!
In fact, I’d hazard to say that I personally have learned more about the hobby (and industry) in the past year than all of the combined decades I’ve been in the reefing game (and that’s since the beginning of the “reef†hobby!). Specifically, I’ve learned a lot about corals. Like, more than I ever thought I could.
And I still think I know nothing about corals.
Seriously!
I’d say that I’ve learned quite a few things, of course. But I laugh when I am introduced at conferences, etc. as an “expert†on them. I find it humorous. Although, as they say, an expert is someone who “knows more and more about less and lessâ€, so I might qualify as an expert on some things….I suppose we all might, right?
So, what’s the single most important lesson I’ve learned about coral during Unique Corals’ first year in existence?
I’d have to say that I’ve learned that corals are surprisingly adaptable creatures, which can withstand a surprising amount of abuse. I mean, in many cases, we’re talking about an animal that was unceremoniously hacked off of a rock, or pulled off of a mariculture rack somewhere in the South Pacific, thrown in a bucket, tossed into a holding tank at the collector’s facility, thrown in a box, and sent to Los Angeles the next day, or maybe several days later. And then, upon arrival in L.A., they are unpacked and acclimated to new conditions at the wholesaler, then shipped on to a retailer, and finally, to your tank. That’s a serious journey!
I could make the jump and state that corals can handle much more abuse than we can typically meter out in our reef keeping experience, but that could be interpreted as an overly-generalized statement. I think it is safe to say, however, that many corals do have surprisingly well-developed adaptation strategies to deal with disruptions to their environment. How else could you explain their remarkable adaptability to the abuse we sometimes subject them to?
Although, I can tell you from experience that some corals don’t seem to ship as easily and happily as others. They just melt away, or brown out and take months to recover from an overnight trip, when they were previously thriving in our systems for months. Some “Chalicesâ€, Acros, and Acans just don't like to fly, I guess.
And, that’s not all. We often “help†corals to adapt to environmental conditions outside of their typical range. In other words, you’ll place that Chalice coral under the bright glare of halides just as easily as you’ll place that new Acropora frag under slightly underpowered LED’s, and the coral will do fine. This despite our typical hobbyist-proferred recommendation for lighting. I’ll hazard I guess that our water movement and diet offerings, though better every year, are far from what many coral have been biologically evolved to adapt to.
This leads me to another question I’ve been contemplating, and I can use your help in getting my head around it: Do you think that corals that have been propagated for some time in captivity adapt physiologically, or even genetically to the conditions we maintain them under, and truly are easier to keep than wild specimens of the same species? Or, is the “genetic†assumption just a wild speculation? I hear reefers put out that theory a lot and I know my scientist friends probably cringe when they hear it. I mean, they’ve been in nature for millions of years, and kept in aquariums for a couple dozen..Or, is it that we’ve just discovered some “minimum survival threshold†under which we know they will survive or thrive, and thats where we are?
What kinds of surprises have coral taught you during your reef experiences? If you had to name one coral the “most hardy†or “most adaptableâ€, which one would it be, and why? What’s the one coral that took you by surprise? The one you thought would be a touchy, pain-in-the-rear diva, that turned out to be super easy to care for and remarkably adaptable?
Share your theories and discoveries with everyone here! I think everyone is an “expert†on some aspect of coral keeping, and we’d like to hear what you have learned!
I’ve gotta ship some orders!
Until next time,
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
First and foremost, thanks for making the Unique Corals 1st Anniversary Sale a huge, huge success. Hard to believe it’s been a year since we set up shop here in L.A. What a great journey for us! We so appreciate your loyalty, support, and friendship!
It’s been a year, so what have we learned?
Oh, quite a bit, actually!
In fact, I’d hazard to say that I personally have learned more about the hobby (and industry) in the past year than all of the combined decades I’ve been in the reefing game (and that’s since the beginning of the “reef†hobby!). Specifically, I’ve learned a lot about corals. Like, more than I ever thought I could.
And I still think I know nothing about corals.
Seriously!
I’d say that I’ve learned quite a few things, of course. But I laugh when I am introduced at conferences, etc. as an “expert†on them. I find it humorous. Although, as they say, an expert is someone who “knows more and more about less and lessâ€, so I might qualify as an expert on some things….I suppose we all might, right?
So, what’s the single most important lesson I’ve learned about coral during Unique Corals’ first year in existence?
I’d have to say that I’ve learned that corals are surprisingly adaptable creatures, which can withstand a surprising amount of abuse. I mean, in many cases, we’re talking about an animal that was unceremoniously hacked off of a rock, or pulled off of a mariculture rack somewhere in the South Pacific, thrown in a bucket, tossed into a holding tank at the collector’s facility, thrown in a box, and sent to Los Angeles the next day, or maybe several days later. And then, upon arrival in L.A., they are unpacked and acclimated to new conditions at the wholesaler, then shipped on to a retailer, and finally, to your tank. That’s a serious journey!
I could make the jump and state that corals can handle much more abuse than we can typically meter out in our reef keeping experience, but that could be interpreted as an overly-generalized statement. I think it is safe to say, however, that many corals do have surprisingly well-developed adaptation strategies to deal with disruptions to their environment. How else could you explain their remarkable adaptability to the abuse we sometimes subject them to?
Although, I can tell you from experience that some corals don’t seem to ship as easily and happily as others. They just melt away, or brown out and take months to recover from an overnight trip, when they were previously thriving in our systems for months. Some “Chalicesâ€, Acros, and Acans just don't like to fly, I guess.
And, that’s not all. We often “help†corals to adapt to environmental conditions outside of their typical range. In other words, you’ll place that Chalice coral under the bright glare of halides just as easily as you’ll place that new Acropora frag under slightly underpowered LED’s, and the coral will do fine. This despite our typical hobbyist-proferred recommendation for lighting. I’ll hazard I guess that our water movement and diet offerings, though better every year, are far from what many coral have been biologically evolved to adapt to.
This leads me to another question I’ve been contemplating, and I can use your help in getting my head around it: Do you think that corals that have been propagated for some time in captivity adapt physiologically, or even genetically to the conditions we maintain them under, and truly are easier to keep than wild specimens of the same species? Or, is the “genetic†assumption just a wild speculation? I hear reefers put out that theory a lot and I know my scientist friends probably cringe when they hear it. I mean, they’ve been in nature for millions of years, and kept in aquariums for a couple dozen..Or, is it that we’ve just discovered some “minimum survival threshold†under which we know they will survive or thrive, and thats where we are?
What kinds of surprises have coral taught you during your reef experiences? If you had to name one coral the “most hardy†or “most adaptableâ€, which one would it be, and why? What’s the one coral that took you by surprise? The one you thought would be a touchy, pain-in-the-rear diva, that turned out to be super easy to care for and remarkably adaptable?
Share your theories and discoveries with everyone here! I think everyone is an “expert†on some aspect of coral keeping, and we’d like to hear what you have learned!
I’ve gotta ship some orders!
Until next time,
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
