Reef Encounters provides livestock to local retail outlets. If you are a retailer in the Central New York area and would like to obtain further information, availability, and price lists, please feel free to contact us [contact link]. If you are a hobbyist, please support your local retail shop with the purchase of captive raised livestock.

Captive raised corals and fish offer tremendous advantages to reef aquaria over wild-caught equivalents. For one thing, aquacultured livestock is already conditioned to the aquarium environment, consequently improving the likelihood that a specimen will successfully acclimate to and integrate with your own system. Captive-raised livestock is also less likely to introduce disease and pests into your system. Purchasing captive-raised livestock also helps limit our hobby's impact on wild reefs.

You should be wary, however, of the term ‘captive raised' or ‘propagated' when deciding on a purchase. Some vendors, for example, might consider breaking up a wild-harvested Acropora stony coral and selling it as “captive raised frags”. This is not what Reef Encounters classifies as propagation. A “fragged wild coral” has all the disadvantages of the original wild coral with the added stress of the fragmentation process. Reef Encounters' corals are fully-acclimated second, third, or greater generation from the original wild-harvested specimen.

At Reef Encounters, we ensure our propagated coral colonies are fully recovered from propagation, healthy, and growing before becoming available for sale. Look for fully encrusted coral tissue on the base of our mini-colonies – a sure sign of a healthy specimen. We also provide care advice and aquarium conditions appropriate for each coral. This information is provided in accordance with the conditions in which corals are raised at Reef Encounters.

One final but important point; captive farming of corals yields many benefits but is also an expensive process. For the same price, you should expect a truly home-grown coral to be smaller than a wild or freshly fragged wild coral. That said, under correct conditions your coral will grow as a healthy colony in accordance with your particular aquarium.