There was once a time when everyone and their grandma was setting up online or mail order livestock vending like boomtowns of the old West. You just couldn’t keep track of all the livestock newcomers. In a seeming fit of mass hysteria, innumerable newbies to aquarium keeping (let alone the aquarium industry) all decided that slinging reeflife from their basement or garage would be a good idea. Remember Palmetto Reefs, DarkLordCoral, Fragshop or many others? Just because you have a wholesale license and a stocklist from Sea Dwelling Creatures doesn’t mean that you should set up another feeding trough without even cycling it because you moved like 10 pounds of live rock from your 3 month old “reef” tank. We are not counting Marine Depot among these many amateurs (they didnt even hold livestock) but, the shuttering of Marine Depot Live is a sign that we might be able to return to a time when livestock is again treated with care and respect by professionals. So here’s to you Marine Depot, for coming to your senses, focusing on what you do best and hopefully discouraging a whole generation of garage marine life slingers.
