UK Ricordea fanatic

[JCD]

Hi Anthony,

i have just recently recieved your book of coral propogation through the post and i must say it is the best read i have had in a long while, found it extremley helpful and i dont go or do anything with out it by my side.

My question is, and i do hope you can help as im really desperate, i have been keeping Ricordea Florida for a couple of years now and i absolutly love them, they have got to be my favourite coral of all. The trouble is i also love Ric Yuma which is vertually impossible to buy over here in the UK and as a result i only have one such specimen. Now im looking at buying from the States but have been informed by some very helpful guys on this forum that Yuma do not ship for a period of 2 days very well. Is this true? If so how is there any other way i could go about collecting these awsome mushrooms. I need to feed my Ricordea addiction, sure you understand.


Also do you have to have a licsence to ship coral internationally or not. If not would it be possible fly out to the States, gather a collection of them to bring back with me. Look forward to hearing from you and do hope you can help me out.

All the best hopefully speak soon,

J Bridges (UK).
:)

[Anthony Calfo]

Cheers, J... and welcome to Reef Central!!!! :D :) :D

And thank you for your very kind words about my book. It is redeeming and inspiring for me to hear, my friend.

I would agree that Ridordea yuma is not an especially sturdy shipper. Indeed... there are very few reef creatures that I would put intentionally through 2 day shipping. Its too difficult to maintain stable and adequate temps for most. Just some shallow reef creatures seem to tolerate the stress well (like certain zoanthids).

By far, your best bet is to make a holiday to a supplier and carry them back home declared as personal consumption goods (they officially allow this in small quantities usually). Check with your wildlife officers in advance and see if you can get any papers/docs to detail the permission of such non-reef building cnidarians (stony corals are the real show stopper... the rest is scarcely regulated).

But this is how many hobbyists get their best specimens that are rare in the home country.

You are fortunate that there are some great suppliers here on the East coast of the US. Your flight can be cheap (we see airfare from most of the Big East US cities to Europe for around $300 this time of year through March/April easily).

You may want to drop into the Baltimore MD or Washington DC area. Again... cheap flights... and also some of the better pet shops in the nation. Plus there is the big East Coast supplier "Pacific Aqua Farms East featuring Dr. Mac corals (see feedback here ar RC and elsewhere online for perspective.

These chaps may even be able to help you schedule your shipment back home in advance. As I recall... Dr. Mac just did so for friends of mine from Italy that visited in September to see MACNA in D.C.

If you do decide to make a holiday of it... tell me what city you are flying into and I will help find friends in a local aquarium club that can advise you and perhaps help with a local tour.

Best of luck/life :)

Anthony

[JCD]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for the quick reply. Im really glad you could shed some light on my problem and i will definatly be considering coming over after christmas. I think ill look up for flights into Baltimore MD or Washington DC areas like you have suggested. Been browsing the web and looked up Dr macs, he has some lovely rare speciemns which i have been after for quite some time now.

Im going to get in touch with my wildlife officers and see what info they can give me.

Thanks again and ill be in touch soon,

All the best

J Bridges

[Anthony Calfo]

excellent my friend :)

Do chat with Dr Mac too to see if he has an idea when he will be stocked best. There will be a cessation of livestock shipments around mid-Dec and perhaps into January. Holiday freight/travel makes it too ricky to ship livestock that time of year as you know.

So perhaps Dr. Mac can give you some idea of a better time to visit. Also... there are some great hobby clubs in the region: WAMAS and CMAS

And if you can make it to Long Island/New York... you can see a most amazing 80,000 liter reef tank at Atlantis Marine World (see RC TOM archives). In fact... we can ask the directer to give you a bit of a tour if he has time. Again... lets find out dates and best times in advance, and if you will make the drive to NY, etc. :)