Several weeks ago I gave a talk at Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, NY. The invitation was given to me by Manhattan Reefs. The occasion for the talk was what has become known as a “Frag. Swap.” Essentially, it is a place where vendors set up display tanks and bring thousands of corals to be sold at the fair. I must say that I was totally unprepared for what was to take place. Not only where there beautiful corals of all types, colors, and ranging in prices from $30.00 to many hundreds of dollars, but hundreds of reef keepers came to the fair, eager to buy. Also, I was told that in California “Frag Swaps” are often held out of doors in tents and literally thousands of reef keepers come to them. From what I can tell this is a relatively new phenomenon. I don’t think I have ever seen so many extraordinary corals for sale in one place before. Following are a series of photographs that I took that illustrate some of the corals for sale.

These are not great photos, but they do give you a sense of what brings reef keepers to these fairs.

NOTE:

Recently, I ordered two fish — a powder blue tang (A. leucosternum) and a copper banded butterfly fish (Chelmon rostratus) from one of our sponsors Marine Garden, and I’m happy to report that both arrived in good shape and are doing well in my reef tank.