by AquaNerd | Dec 1, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Science
Since Thanksgiving has morphed from a day of family and togetherness into one of almost pure shopping frenzy, we figured we would try to do a good rounding up of all the sweet deals from the aquarium equpiment and livestock retailers. There seems to be a lot more people involved in the sale festivities, and for the first time on a Black Friday/Cyber Monday, aquarist can enjoy some rather generous discounts on products from EcoTech Marine (via online rebate), Neptune Systems, and Reef Octopus…all of which normally have strict pricing guidelines that forces most vendors to keep their prices the same all year round. Below is our list of retailers and each of their deals spelled out in the best way we could. We tried to cover a wide array of retailers, but unfortunately there are just too many to list. List of retailer specials, in alphabetical order. AquaCave Sitewide discount to a very generous 15% this year with coupon code “BF15″. The sale excludes products from Kessil, EcoTech Marine, ProfiLux, Neptune Systems, Digital Aquatics, CoralVue, Reef Octopus, Maxspect, AquaIllumination, Vertex, Korallen Zucht, Speedwave, Sweetwater, Atlantic, and JBJ Commercial Chillers, and AquaCave gift certificates. In addition to the sitewide discounts, AquaCave also has several deeply discounted doorbusters. by AquaNerd | Nov 20, 2013 | Fish, Science
Every once in a while, an aquarium livestock retailer really loads up on the goods. Such is the case for Pacific Island Aquatics, who happen to have a rather impressive smorgasbord of really rare fish at this very moment. Other than the usual offering of several Hawaiian endemics, such as the bandit angelfish and the Hawaiian variant of the flame angel, PIA also has a pair of Chaetodon tinkeri butterflyfish, a pair of Cirrhilabrus earlei wrasse, a pair of Karen Brittain’s famous captive bred Amphiprion latezonatus clownfish, and the icing on the cake, a Dr. Seuss soapfish (Belonoperca pylei). With the exception of the soapfish, all of these rare gems are still listed as available on the PIA website. The soapfish hasn’t been listed as of yet, as the crew at Pacific Island Aquatics wants to take extra precautions with this individual. After all, these odd looking fish usually sell for $4000-5000 per, though we don’t have word yet on what this individual will fetch. This isn’t the first time that Pacific Island Aquatics has gotten their mitts on one of these extremely rare soapfish by AquaNerd | Nov 11, 2013 | Fish, Science
Photo Credit: AquaSD via Reef2Reef The Dr. Seuss Soapfish (Belonoperca pylei) is one of the rarest and most unique looking fish to ever enter the aquarium trade. The odd shaped head and bright coloration really make the species stand apart from just about everything else. Only a handful have trickled into the hobby over the past few years, and the crew at AquaSD has a pair in stock right now. Recently posted on their forum over on Reef2Reef, the fish have been in the United States for a little more than a week and both have been treated like rock stars. They have each been given dips (we presume freshwater to kill any potential parasites), and they are both reportedly eating like little piggies. To further ensure their longevity, AquaSD won’t actually let either go until they are comfortable that the two fish are in the best health and have adapted fully to the captive life. Even though the fish will be staying in San Diego a little longer, the line of potential buyers for the Dr. Seuss Soapfish will undoubtedly grow significantly as the days go by by AquaNerd | Nov 5, 2013 | Fish, Science, Tanks
Oceans Reefs & Aquariums have another brand new coral frag to boast, and it’s the beaufitul ORA Mind Trick Montipora. This stunning monti, which is better known as the Jedi Mind Trick, has been in the hobby for quite some time, developing an extensive following and spreading through the tanks of hobbyists and retailers with a Jedi-like quickness. It sports a green body with red polyps and a very distinguishable purple growing edge, which is what really sets the coral apart. The ORA Mind Trick is primarily an encrusting Montipora that will eventually take on a more plate like appearance if it reaches a rock ledge. It does well under a variety of light intensities, but colors up best with plenty of blues to help that purple growing edge pop. ORA first acquired a single frag of this coral from a local hobbyist back in 2009. They have grown it out in their greenhouse, obviously reaching enough frags to be able to send them out en masse to fish stores across the US. As far as the name goes, ORA has to be very careful with particular coral names due to all of the legal hurdles associated with intellectual property and trademarking. Because the term “Jedi” is a product of George Lucas and likely owned by Disney, ORA couldn’t exactly use it in their commercially available product, at least not without having to pay royalties deal with some other repercussions. So, the coral was renamed to the ORA Mind Trick Monti, which we doubt anyone (at least on the hobby side) will fuss too much about by AquaNerd | Nov 3, 2013 | Fish, Science
A couple of months ago, Quality Marine announced that they had gotten their hands on the first and only captive bred clarion angelfish to enter the United States. Born and raised in Indonesia by Bali Aquarich, a company specializing in aquaculturing angelfish and other marine ornamentals, this event represented the first time that the fish had been commercially available and it had the whole aquarium community excited. To no surprise, LiveAquaria announced that they had acquired the tank bred individual from Quality Marine, showing it off in a video taken in one of Kevin Kohen’s many aquariums. After spending a couple of months in Kevin’s personal care, the fish was finally listed for sale in the ever popular Diver’s Den, selling in a mere matter of minutes. The first ever captive bred clarion angelfish was listed and sold for $5000, which is a relatively reasonable price considering that regular old run of the mill clarion angels aren’t that much less, especially the juveniles. And while this is the first and only captive bred clarion to enter the US, it most certainly won’t be the last. Bali Aquarich has had great success breeding this species, and they have shown off several individuals on their website and social media outlets
