ORA Mandarins Foolin’ Around Like Teenagers

[youtube width=”640″ height=”385″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnrQMJV7bg8[/youtube] The pair of ORA Spotted Mandarins (Synchiropus picturatus) I received earlier this year has been caught going through the motions, but as of yet, they have not consummated their relationship.  Typical teenagers…as you can clearly see in…

Captive Bred Cypho purpurascens still a rarity!

It is a known fact that the Oblique-Lined or Mccullochi Dottyback is still a rarity in the hobby.  When Cypho purpurascens shows up in the trade, this stunning fish easily fetches $80 to $100+ for the “drab” female, with top…

ORA releasing Captive Bred Psychedelic Mandarins, including pairs!

ORA is at it again.  The rumors were true!  About a month after the release of ORA’s first captive bred Spotted Mandarins (Synchiropus picturatus) comes the announcement that the Blue Psychedelic Mandarin Dragonettes (Synchiropus splendidus) are being released (press release…

Shocker: ORA Spotted Mandarin Gobies selling out

  When ORA dropped the bomb that they would begin selling captive breed Spotted Mandarin Gobies it was a big deal in the industry. These fish which are highly desirable are usually expensive for wild caught specimens and aren’t the…

ORA captive raised Spotted Mandarins go on sale

The first batch of captive bred ORA Spotted Mandarins is being released and should be soon be available for purchase from your favorite Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums (ORA) merchant. Synchiropus picturatus is one of the jewels of the marine aquarium trade…

Will 2010 mark the marine hobby’s shift to captive breeding?

We may look back at 2010 as the year the marine aquarium hobby truly realized the importance of captive breeding and started doing something about it.  I’ve just returned from speaking at Reef Ed, the annual educational event put on…

Blue Planet Reef Farms specializes in captive reared fish

Blue Planet Reef Farms is a new venture from Vermont which is setting it’s sights on making post-larval fish aquaculture (captive-reared fish) fashionable again. Although post-larval reef fish aquaculture (PLA) is a fairly mature techonology, in the US the process…