by AquaNerd | Jun 15, 2014 | Fish, Opinion, Science
What better way to celebrate Father’s Day than to show off a newly aquacultured fish species from the always busy fish breeders at Oceans Reefs & Aquariums? Like the proud papas they are, ORA is gushing all about their new Girdled Goby (Priolepis cincta) in their latest blog post, sharing all the joys and unfortunate pitfalls that fish parenthood has brought with this new goby. This goby was first raised much earlier in 2014, marking the first time that P. cincta has been bred in the hobby. Unfortunately, long larval stages, challenging feeding requirements, and conspecific aggression have sort of marred the normally joyous process of breeding a new fish. Despite these challenges, ORA breeders pressed on and eventually raised enough fish to make a viable commercial offering. The first batch was shipped to Drs. by Michael Rice | Jan 28, 2014 | Fish
Oceans Reefs and Aquariums, otherwise known as ORA, is constantly pushing the envelope regarding the aqua culture of all manner of marine animals, and this week they announced the addition of yet another great aquarium... by AquaNerd | Dec 18, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Science
Believe it or not, but Oceans Reefs & Aquariums (ORA) has released around half a dozen new captive bred fish onto the aquarium keeping world so far this year, not including corals, and they’re gearing up to add at least one more before 2013 draws to a close. Announced late afternoon yesterday on their blog, the ORA Yellowstriped Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus cyanosoma) is the latest offering from the Florida-based aquaculture specialists and the second one in less than a week. The fish isn’t new to the trade, and some hobbyists have bred them in captivity in the past, but this is the first time that captive bred individuals will be available on any sort of scale. ORA states in their announcement that only a small batch of these cardinalfish will be available, so if you want to get your hands on some, now is the time to act. As for the yellowstripe cardinal’s behavior and breeding characteristics, it operates a lot like most other cardinalfish. It is a peaceful fish that hails from various locales within the Indo-Pacific region and it does well in just about any community environment, though it might go after some small shrimp from time to time. by Reef To Rainforest | Dec 13, 2013 | Fish, Science
Eastern Hulafish, new captive-bred reef fish native to New South Wales, Australia. Image: ORA. Meet the Eastern Hulafish, Trachinops taeniatus, the newest aquacultured fish for the reef aquarium and exclusively available from its breeder, ORA in Ft. Pierce, Florida. This sub-tropical species is from New South Wales off southeastern Australia  and is related to the Assessors and Comets, all in the family Plesiopidae. The fish is not unknown to marine aquarists and divers who study the reef fishes of Australia, but it comes from cooler temperate waters where little commercial collecting takes place. “The Eastern Hulafish is native to the southeast coastline of Australia where the water temperatures average 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees C),” says Dustin Dorton of ORA.  ”While these fish have fared very well in our Florida greenhouses, they can exhibit distress in water over 78 degrees (25 degrees C). Care should be taken to ensure their aquarium temperature always remains below 78 degrees.” They are very colorful fish with a black stripe running down the middle of their elongate body from the operculum towards the tail. They are red and yellow above the black stripe and their ventral portion is white. Some have iridescent blue scales on the face. As they age, their caudal fin grows into a spade shape, with the males having more exaggerated filaments. These are shoaling fish, and ORA recommends keeping them in groups of 4-5 or more. When kept in groups these fish exhibit a unique swimming behavior,  hovering at an angle which is said to suggest a cluster of hula dancers. Trachinops taeniatus grow to a maximum size of about 4 inches (10 cm) and are micropredators, eating small food items such as copepods, Artemia, Mysis, small pellets and flakes for carnivores. ORA says, “They are peaceful fishes that do not harass other species.  Eastern Hulafish are extremely fast swimmers and are prone to jumping out aquariums so is important that their tank be kept covered.” Available in limited quantities now from ORA. (Announced December 13, 2013.)  Sources Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums - ORA Fishbase: Trachinops taeniatus by AquaNerd | Oct 22, 2013 | Aquaculture, Fish, Industry
October has been a big month for Oceans Reefs & Aquariums, as they’ve officially released two long awaited fish for hobbyists to finally enjoy. Besides the Gold Nugget Maroon Clownfish starting to be circulated, which took more than a year to reach the market, ORA is also making their Randall’s Assessors available to fish retailers around the world. Announced in December 2012, the ORA Randall’s Assessor was first acquired from Blue Harbor in Japan. Given their rarity in the states, ORA immediately placed these fish into their breeding program, experiencing a great deal of success along the way. With the conquest of breeding the Randall’s Assessor, ORA has officially bred all known species of the Assessor genus. That’s quite a success, especially given the Randall Assessor’s limited availability for such a long time. We can’t wait to see how well they fill out the tanks of US hobbyists, and we’re definitely excited by this news. Just don’t expect the price to be as low as other assessors. Chances are this fish will tip the scales well over $100, though we don’t have a firm price as of yet
