We as reef hobbyist are dependent on our local retailer to provide us with the best quality corals and fish for our aquariums. However, retailers are continuously visiting or calling wholesalers from coast to coast looking to purchase that incredible coral or that irresistible fish for their customers. There are many fantastic wholesales throughout the country and we here in Florida are graced with quite a few. If a retailer is looking for bread and butter inventory we have a wholesaler for that. If they are looking for that ridiculously colored coral we have a wholesaler for that. Furthermore, if that retailer is looking for that special yet unique fish we have a wholesaler for that too!
Recently, Jake Adams had a speaking engagement at the FMAS club in South Florida and since it’s my local club it was my responsibility to give him a reef hobby tour. We visited a few of the local retailers and wholesalers and saved one of my favorite wholesalers for last. The last stop on our tour was Exotic Sealife International (ESI) owed by Andrea Stockhausen.
We were extremely fortunate with the timing of our arrival – they had just finished unpacking a large shipment of maricultured Acropora from Bali. To my amazement every single colony had some type of polyp extension and shocking coloration. Some had uncommon growth forms and others had small commensal crabs hidden between the braches. So, we took on the task of helping Andrea indentify most of these fantastic looking stony corals. But, as brilliant as these Acropora were, the rest of her corals in inventory left us drooling. Extraordinary LPS corals were sitting in these large troughs waiting to be picked out by Andrea’s fateful employees.
For those retailers looking for dependable, reliable or that ridiculously colored coral, don’t over look Exotic Sealife International. They import live fish, corals and invertebrates from most tropical location around the world, as well as locally and from the Caribbean. On their web site ESI provides their customers a WYSIWYG section – this allows a selection process like no other and gives ESI customers exactly what they want for their clientele. Their systems are very well maintained to keep coral at optimal condition and they’re staffed appropriately to handle any sized order. An impressive wholesaler with much to offer.
