Naesco,
The short answer to your question is "Yes". The reasoning behind it is as follows: 10 years ago, when I was in retail, sps corals were considered impossible to keep- except by the most elite "professional" hobbyists. For this reason, I refused to carry them in my store. I would cringe when I would go into other stores and see the pretty sps lined up- destined for the trash can. Luckily though, these retailers were not as short-sighted as I was (or more likely they just wanted to make a buck
), because the very fact that these corals WERE available on a wide basis led to the advances
within the hobby communitythat brought about the knowledge and technology to make the keeping of sps in an aquarium a reality. 10 years ago, if you had told me that sps corals would be thriving in home systems...not just thriving, but growing...I would have said you were crazy!
Did sps corals die during our quest for the "sps holy grail"? Yep. But in the long run, I think it was worth it. Same goes for Goniopora. But instead of just letting it be a free for all, with no organized research being conducted, I think that the availability should go hand in hand with research. Without the availability, there is no research- and trial and error are the basis of research. I think we will unlock the key to Goniopora within 5 years. Then we'll all be trading our Goniopora frags
Another point- not all species of Goniopora are difficult to keep. Many of them thrive in aquariums. G. stokesi (I think) is the green variety that comes out of Indonesia and is the 3rd most imported coral. That is the one people have problems with, and that is the one I'm going to focus on in my research.
Fishaholic:
In a forum such as this, it is sometimes impossible to get your point across to people no matter how many times/ways you try...so this will be my last word to "defend myself" against you.
First off, in response to you saying that my last post was "crap", I never once stated that I specifically advised people to purchase aquacultured corals/rock. I stated that my posts encourage ethical reefkeeping. Maybe your definition of ethical and mine are two different things, and that's where we're having a conflict.
When you refer to the post about "What you want in a LFS"....that was not a "discussion" post, and I stated that a few times in the thread. It was a place for hobbyists to list what they wanted so I could write an article for the AMDA newsletter using their suggestions.
Self absorbed? I don't think so. Because I am an importer/wholesaler and have been out of the "hobby" for a few years, I leave answering of "general question" posts to the true hobbyists on the board. I feel they have a much better grasp on the long term care of the animals than I do, since I now focus more on import and shipping. Times have changed a lot since I was a hobbyist, and a lot of my knowledge is out of date. Just as most of the hobbyist's posts on this board revolve around what they are doing (participating in the hobby), my posts tend to revolve around what I am doing (working toward industry reform, etc...). If posting about the things you have knowledge about/are working on/etc... is being self absorbed, then everyone who posts on here is self absorbed. My primary goal on the discussion boards is to give hobbyists a better understanding of how the industry works- very few understand it and I think it is extremely important to educate them in the way it works to they can be equipped with the knowledge to make good decisions like demanded drug free fish, sustainably harvested/aquacultured corals, etc...
I hope this last post clarifies my point. If not, then at least I tried. Can't please everyone!
