Exotic Aquaculture Australia

27/03/2024

Hi All,

Exotic Aquaculture Australia has been offering maintenance and consultancy services for many years but due to other commitments, we could only service limited clients until now. My consultancy and project management contract with a coral collector has recently come to an end so I can now return my focus to EAA.

We offer basic routine servicing to Victorian customers as well as set up and install, aquascaping and training.

We also offer our new Reef Tank Health Report, a multi page detailed analysis of your system and a step by step plan to turn your tank into the reef you desire. Whether you want a thriving, colourful reef to wow people or you just want an aquarium that doesn't take all your time and money, our health report will show you how to get it.

Message us or email [email protected] for more information.

20/06/2023

Hi All,
I just wanted to jump on and thank everyone for the messages of support and for the multiple offers of assistance.
The reality is I haven't accepted much assistance as I have no idea what I need help with. It's a complete mess. The whole situation is completely overwhelming. There is so much still to do.
Saving live animals was first priority. Saving my broodstock was second priority. We did what we could but a so much has died.
Thank you to those who have donated through the go fund me campaign. I never thought I'd be the recipient of one of those campaigns, yet here we are. Times are really tough for people at the moment. I know many of my customers where doing it tough so to see people giving me money in a time like this is incredibly heart warming. The issue of insurance has been raised and I think I'll be lucky if I'm compensated for 10% of what I've lost so your donations are really appreciated.

Also, a very special thank you to the family and friends that helped rescue some livestock. And helped me sort my s**t out on the day and the day after.
Warren , Karl, Ian, Karli ,Con, Will/john, Holly, Glenn, Eva.
And most of all my Partner Agi who has been a rock which I can't live without. If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry, but I have little memory of those days now.

The shop will be closed permanently. I've lost too much so i will move on.
The biggest loss is the livestock, which realistically could not be insured for its true value. Rare corals have a fical market value which is subjective and changing day to day. But the business income was mainly generated by the offspring of these corals. So while the value of the livestock lost may be high, the real loss is losing the future corals they were destined to produce. Same goes for all the breeding pairs of fish that unfortunately died.
We managed to salvage some live stock it seems, - mainly zoanthid frags. We'll review what survived and hopefully we will be able to set up some tanks at home and continue selling online for time being.

Again , thanks for all the supportive msgs. Please know that I have seen your msg and I appreciate it even if I haven't responded.

Regards
Ben

15/06/2023

I'm Agnes, Ben's partner. I have been on this journey alongside Ben from the beginning. So much work and sacrifice went into this business, and we still can't believe it's gone. We are absolutely heartbroken and never imagined something like this could happen to us.

Ben has been overwhelmed with messages and offers of support. Please know that we are ever so grateful for this wonderful community! Ben made such an impact on the industry and the people involved. He would never ask for help, but if you would like to support Ben and have the means to do so, please check out the go fund me page below.

Ben is a well respected bloke in the aquarium community who is always … Shane Danger Coleman needs your support for Exotic Aquaculture Australia Fire Relief.

14/06/2023

This is the hardest post I have had to write.

Exotic Aquaculture Australia will be closed until further notice.
At around 7am this morning, an extension lead or powerboard underneath the shop counter (nowhere near any water) caught fire. There are various reports of power outage in the area last night and apparently and the power returned at about 7am. Maybe it's surge related. Maybe not.
The shop counter is one of the few flammable pieces in the store and it unfortunately took hold of the counter and shelves. The fire only caused severe damage to that corner of the shop but the radiant heat cooked a lot of the room. Plastics on the opposite side of the room were melted. The light trays colapsed into the coral tanks.
All dry goods and hardware are pretty much gone.
Thanks to some great friends and family who came to help, we were able to transfer some coral and fish to home tanks. I hope some survives but the water they were removed from felt much higher than 30c and was covered in toxic black soot.
Plenty of fish were alive when I arrived but I was not allowed to remove them until the fire brigade finalised their investigation, and after catching them, many didn't look well. All fish and coral tanks were full of black soot and plaster from the colopsed roof, so I don't have much hope for most of the livestock.
I am completely devastated. I lost my best mate 2 weeks ago and I didn't think things could get much lower. But they did.
The store, the stock, the animals, the various other livestock, the display tanks, the mature systems, the artworks, the equipment, and thousands of pieces of farmed coral. All of it was built up over 9 years virtually from nothing. And now it's gone.
Obviously the store is now closed but please keep away as it's not safe to visit. If locals need something urgent, please msg the page and I may be able to help.
But until further notice, Exotic Aquaculture Australia is closed.

13/06/2023

Check out the Reef Builders article on our "Forced fusion Dallas" that we auctioned last week. 😍

Experimenting and playing god with corals is something that will always grab my attention. So when I noticed Ben Duncan, the owner of Exotic Aquaculture, a boutique reef store In Melbourne…

10/06/2023

Weekend walk through at EAA. The tanks are full of fish and coral and if coral is your thing, then this is the place to come this weekend!

05/06/2023

One hour to go in the Urban Legend Zoas Auction!

04/06/2023

🔥🪸✨️New website upload ✨️🪸🔥
Tonight at 7:30pm.
Zoa fans don't want to miss this one as there are 75 different varieties of zoanthids! 😲😲🪸🏵🌼
Plus the usual mix of SPS, LPS and softies. High end, low end, wild and aquacultured. Be sure to log into www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com at 7.30pm before all the good stuff goes!! 🛫✈️

02/06/2023

✨️✨️New Release Zoanthid Auction!! ✨️✨️

Urban Legends 🧟‍♂️🤺👤

Do they really exist? You've heard of them but never seen them? 🤣🤣
Well, they certainly do exist and here's your chance to own them!
We are auctioning off this frag. We know some people don't like single polyp frags so this frag has 3 polyps ( 1 main polyp with 2 recently formed babies. )
Auction is live now and finishes Monday night 5/06/23 8:30pm aest.
To place a bid, follow the link : https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/products/urban-legend-zoanthid-auction?variant=45210837844263

01/06/2023

There's something very desirable about a school of fish in a reef tank. It's that one component that would really make your little glass box look more like an actual reef. However, it's quite difficult to achieve. We often see the question being asked - what's the best schooling fish for a reef tank? And most responses will lead to disappointment. The reality is there are hundreds of schooling fish but not many will continue to school in the safety of your tank.
Fish school for protection when they fear they may be eaten. Once that fear is gone and they know the other fish in your tank aren't a threat, they won't school. Bold fish, such as Blue Chromis may stick together for only a few days before going their own way, so i find they are often suggested as an option but a realistically, a poor choice.
So the best schooling fish are the ones who stay small and stay scared! Adding a large, aggressive fish may encourage schooling. But if you can't do that, I have found the best schooling fish to be Threadfin and Glass Cardinals. These guys are the very bottom of the food chain and are therefore always cautious and will generally stick together even once they are comfortable in the environment. Other cardinals such as gold striped and Banggais will also school well but do tend to have a bit more courage than the Threadfin and Glass cardinals.
We've just received a big shipment of Threadfin cardinals, yellow striped cardinals, Ochre striped cardinals, and dispar anthias. So, if you looking to add a cool school to your pool 😎, come in and see us at EAA.

31/05/2023

Just a few hours left before this auction closes. A force fused, grafted, hybrid red/green Dallas piece.
A great opportunity to pick up a true one of a kind piece of natural living coral art.

https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/products/grafted-red-green-dallas-acro-frag-auction?variant=45168278405415

27/05/2023

A while back we posted about an experiment we did with a Dallas acro and a Red polyp Dallas- in which we forced fused two pieces together.
https://www.facebook.com/100064279923086/posts/538664508286209/

Well, 4 months later the results are pretty cool.
The zooxanthellae appears to have spread internally throughout the whole frag slightly altering the polyp and skin colour of both the Dallas and red Dallas halves. It has turned into a very unique acropora frag and it will likely be an even more spectacular colony one day. We can wait to see what this looks like in 12 months and look forward to seeing the frags it may one day produce.
But that will be up to someone else as we have decided to Auction off this special piece!
If you would like to own your very own Grafted, hybrid, force-fused, red polyp, green Dallas frag, then here's your chance 🤣
Bidding closes 8:30pm Wednesday 31st May.
We will open the bidding and set a modest reserve at $200. We'd expect this one of kind gem to fetch a decent price but who knows these days?. You've gotta be in it to win, so drop your bids here: https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/collections/auction-items/products/grafted-red-green-dallas-acro-frag-auction?variant=45168278405415

26/05/2023

Hey locals,
unfortunately the shop will be closed again today. We will be open for the weekend though. Apologies for the inconvenience.

25/05/2023

High end zoa auction ends 8:30pm Friday Night.

This is a stunning pack could be yours for just a fraction of the market value. 😍😍

Bid here:
https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/products/high-end-zoa-frag-pack-auction?variant=45099574067495

24/05/2023

Attention local customers:
Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, the shop will be closed tomorrow (Thurs 25th)

If you have any urgent requirements, please msg us and we may be able to assist.

24/05/2023

The Auction for beautiful zoa pack finishes in less than 3 hours and the current high bid is only $215!!

Jump on and possibly pick up a bargain!
https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/collections/auction-items/products/ultra-zoa-frag-pack-auction-3?variant=45103019032871

22/05/2023

Alrighty then! The auctions keep rolling on.
We've just added another high end zoa pack for the keen zoa enthusiast. And this one is a cracker!! 🧨🧨🧨🧨🔥🔥
Around $1700- $1900 worth of super rare hard to find polyps. We'll kick things off at $350, which is very fair reserve price.. And who knows? If the bidding action is low like last time, you might just save $1000+ .
Pack includes : WWC Aoi, A stunning Adonis, a mind bending Frankies Acid Trip, a beautiful big polyp of dragon slayer and a newly released Aphrodite zoa (which sold for $365 last week.)

Auction ends Friday night 8:30pm Melbourne time
Bid here: https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/collections/auction-items/products/high-end-zoa-frag-pack-auction?variant=45099574067495

* remember, to set a Max bid, select "place auto bid" and set you highest amount. The website will automatically bid $10 higher than any bid under your maximum.

And dont forget, the other cool zoa frag pack ending Wednesday night looks like it might be available for great price. 🙂

Happy bidding.

21/05/2023

Just over an hour to go before The Dark Knight Hammer Auction comes to an end. So get your bids in quickly!

We also just started another ultra zoa pack auction. With a reserve of only $100, zoa fans have to check this one out! 🪸🔥

Bid here:
https://www.exoticaquacultureaustralia.com/collections/auction-items