by AquaNerd | Dec 12, 2014 | Corals, Fish, Science
A continuing theme in the aquarium hobby over the years has been that of captive bred fish and aquacultured corals, and as each year passes, the list of conquered species just grows and grows. The efforts are obviously from the cumulative efforts of several individuals and organizations, though companies like ORA are at the forefront of the awesome and unexpected breakthroughs. Last year, we celebrated ORA’s long list of captive bred fish and corals, and just as they continue to crank out new livestock this year, we will continue to cover and applaud their efforts. by AquaNerd | Jul 21, 2014 | Science
Oceans Reefs and Aquariums has apparently snuck a new coral onto the captive grown marketplace. A little more than a week ago, ORA announced on their blog that their new blue polyp Montipora capricornis would be showing up in the aquariums of your favorite LFS. The cap is said to be a fast grower that forms overlapping flat plates. In terms if coloration, besides the neon blue polyps from which the coral gets its name, this Monti also sports a deep green skeleton that helps those vibrant polyps to really stand out. by AquaNerd | Jan 4, 2014 | Science
It is a brand new year that is only days old, but that doesn’t seem to slow down the guys over at ORA. Along with the recent release of their beautiful Blue Hypnea macro algae just a few days ago ORA (which was technically still 2013), they are starting the year with a stunning release of a beautiful coral, the ORA Shortcake Acropora. Not to be confused with the famous Strawberry Shortcake, the ORA version unique in the fact that this piece was acquired from LiveAquaria back in 2009 as a wild Australian colony. This beautiful new coral has bright green with corallites that are a pink to red hue. It also has a dark red base with the polyps being of the same color…all very similar characteristics of the other shortcakes. In terms of care, ORA has given a few tips on this coral. They suggest to place this acro higher up in the aquarium, with middle to high intensity light and moderate to high flow. They have stated that this coral has grown in different environments for them and they believe it is a hardy specimen although a slow grower. Here is the link to the ORA website. 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 | Sep 9, 2013 | Corals, MACNA
Way back in April, ORA was in quite the Easter mood when they showed off images of their clownfish with bunny ears and Easter Egg Chalice, and they’re announcing here at MACNA that the coral will be finally shipping to stores next week. While we may think the five month wait was a long one, it’s really quite short compared to the three years that ORA has been sitting on this beauty. The coral was originally acquired from LiveAquaria’s display tank at MACNA 2010 in Orlando, and it has been cranking out beautiful frags ever since. This coral is 100% aquacultured, and ORA has spent the last three years trying to “culture” the awesome pink and yellow color found on the chalice. It’s a stunner to say the least, and we should be able to lay eyes on it here at the show. If you’d like to hear more about it straight from ORA, be sure to visit the Easter Egg Chalice Product Page and blog posting.
