Where can I find info on large scale coral farming?

Whaledriver · #1 06/07/2006, 09:50 AM

I am interested in finding information on large scale land based coral farming. On the scale of 50 to 200 frags a day.
Are there government or school sites with outlines and cost projections.

gemini aquarius(t) · #2 06/07/2006, 09:30 PM

do you have an estamate of how big your talking about?

H20ENG · #3 06/07/2006, 10:27 PM

"50 to 200 frags a day"

Some of the GH guys will chime in here with some great links, but start your search with coral aquaculture and you'll get a ton of info.

ALTI · #4 06/07/2006, 10:48 PM

it would probably take an hour to write out even a rough explanation of this if its even possible at all. take a trip to tropicorum or ORA farms and see what they have setup. they are probably the only 2 places with facilities to produce that many corals.

Whaledriver · #5 06/08/2006, 02:21 PM

A visit to tropicorum or ORA farms is a good idea.
I am just dreaming up a plan to start a business and get out of my current job. I am surprised that there isn't a business model that can be copied. You would think a collage would have set up a prototype as a class project.

ALTI · #6 06/08/2006, 06:07 PM

you dont have to raise 200 corals aday to quit your day job. unless you really need $3000 per day to cover your expenses. buy anthony calfo's book of coral propagation and it will guide you through mopst of what u need to do to setup a coral farm. there are a few of us here on this forum who do it for a living, but you should do some research and see what kind of system would work for you.

tangwang · #7 06/08/2006, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Whaledriver
I am surprised that there isn't a business model that can be copied. You would think a collage would have set up a prototype as a class project.

This is such a cut-throat industry, that the people who are doing this successfully for a living don't care to share what is working for them, as this would open the doors to even more cut-throat competition

As far as aquaculturing at a hobbyist level, or a very small part time business level, there is plenty of useful info out there, but to make a full time living, you have to work for it

Matt

SaveOurReefs · #8 06/10/2006, 10:48 PM

I personaly would go down south of san diego and get some shoreline land down in mexico. Setup a mari-culture facility. Let me know, I think I would be willing to work for you.

lol

Do more reading and try not to look at money as your reason to start.

JenDub · #9 06/11/2006, 01:35 AM

Can you get export permits to bring the coral back to the US from Mexico?

redox · #10 06/12/2006, 09:03 PM

just wondering why all of a sudden everyone wants a prop facility and why they seem to think its a path to riches, in my opinion it like a boat (a hole to throw money in) and you better have a pile because theres this thing called a learning curve and it directly reflects how much money you will pay to learn and..... the people that have spent the money to learn are not all that ready to give it away free so good luck to those poor corals that will be subjected to your learning curve

SaveOurReefs · #11 06/12/2006, 10:04 PM

lol, I dunno jendub, I was joking... it would be sweet though riiight ?

GreshamH · #12 06/13/2006, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JenDub
Can you get export permits to bring the coral back to the US from Mexico?

I've got nearly a decade experience with Mexico, and I can say flat out, NO, there will never be CITES for corals in Mexico. That being said, we do bring out palythoa, zoanthids and epizoanthids, but thats it. Not much in the way of coral anyways.

Permits in Mexico are crazy. When the government changes, basicly the entire permit proces changes. We're going thru this one again right now. It shifted back from federal to state for our fisheries permit.

Feel free to ask me more about this at BACFM Jen

Whaledriver · #13 06/14/2006, 01:03 PM

Why is it a surprise that people would want to make there hobby their job? Lets see you enjoy doing it and can make money at it? We should all be Dilberts?

My surprise is that its such a fragmented industry. Why not subcontract the farming of a few species to many small farmers and have one main web selling portal? Isnt this what supermarkets do?

While some might think this is rocket science let me remind you that we did put a man on the moon and we could do it again if the money was right.

SaveOurReefs · #14 06/14/2006, 03:18 PM

why turn your hobby into a job is the question

ALTI · #15 06/14/2006, 06:23 PM

so your wife doesnt complain when u spend 2000 bucks on corals.

vest0830 · #16 06/15/2006, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tangwang
This is such a cut-throat industry, that the people who are doing this successfully for a living don't care to share what is working for them, as this would open the doors to even more cut-throat competition As far as aquaculturing at a hobbyist level, or a very small part time business level, there is plenty of useful info out there, but to make a full time living, you have to work for it

Matt

This is such a cut-throat industry

You know, ive been thinking about this statement quite a bit these past few days...
Seeing your occupation, and if its true, I would have to say that you probably know what your talking about. On another hand, Anthony Calfo wrote a 400 page book on propogation. It cant be too cut throat dry if there are people publishing 400 page books about the subject. -or am I looking to far into it? (which I often do)

and im not tryin to be a smart @$$ just honestly curious.

GreshamH · #17 06/15/2006, 01:00 AM

Your looking way to far into it

Just because AC wrote a book on his experience and ideas of setting up prop system and farm, doesn't not in any way mean this is not a cut throat industry. I've worked in just about every facet of this industry (MOI) in the US now for bout 15 years, of which I spent nearly 10 of them doing importing and wholesaling. It's a VERY, and I mean VERY, cut throat industry.

tangwang · #18 06/15/2006, 06:27 AM

I've never read Calfo's book, come to think of it... when was it first published?

vest0830 · #19 06/15/2006, 07:41 AM

I have no idea. I have just been putting these thoughts together for about the past 6 months or so with doing fragging. -then we have a coral farm here, and I go in there and drool all over everything, and it seems so simple. -But yet, then I think about people like AC who has a 400 page book on it, people seem to speak highly of it, and there is little to no info on the internet (compared to the entire hobby in general) and I just ask myself, if its so cut throat dry, why arent more people doing it? -time, expense, no profit?

Treeman · #20 06/15/2006, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by vest0830
... and I just ask myself, if its so cut throat dry, why arent more people doing it? -time, expense, no profit?

It is a little bit of everything you said.

I have read AC's book and thought it was good. But, there are things in there that don't work for me. Wether that is from my location or other factors I don't know. But I have spent a lot of time and money to find out.

ALTI · #21 06/15/2006, 09:09 AM

its tough to invest in a business which takes a ton of money in startup costs and takes years to produce profits. only some of us hobbiests are crazy enough to try it. until we start having solid results with coral spawning and rearing or coral imports are banned i doubt u will see any large scale operations being built. its just like any other business. until u can produce a better product at a cheaper price companies will keep doing it the way they are already.

Treeman · #22 06/15/2006, 10:34 AM

Exactly!

SaveOurReefs · #23 06/15/2006, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ALTI
so your wife doesnt complain when u spend 2000 bucks on corals.

you got a point there lol

vest0830 · #24 06/15/2006, 05:07 PM

the reason I wanted to start it here, I have "free" access to just about any coral I want. -even some endangered (which I wont be touching of course, just the idea)

im not really out anything if it doesnt work out. -maybe a few hundred bucks on lights, etc....

Whaledriver · #25 06/15/2006, 05:27 PM

Farm raised fish have made a mark in the industry and hold their own against lower cost imports for many reasons. I think the same could be said for their corals. Calfo has spoken that there is only a small small part of the market being served by farm raised corals. This is not a market that will be saturated by any means.

Any business has to be able to control their costs and price aggressively. This leads you to dive the costs out of you farm system. For a real corn type farm you can get tons of info and do the math. I was just hoping that the same could be said for coral farming. It is probably just too small and new of an industry.

I hope some tree hugging, save the earth group would come up with a marketing plan to save the reefs and give us a chance to make a buck along the way.