The most abundant giant clam species is the Tridacna crocea. “Giant” seems to be the wrong term as this particular clam species does not grow very big. The biggest ones I’ve seen are only about eight inches. The ones pictured here were about four inches.
The best “ultra grade” croceas used to come out of the Solomon Islands. I’m not sure about now with all the restrictions going on. This does not take anything away from the Vietnam counterparts. It’s just that ultra ones are not that common. Most are, what I would consider first grade, such as these pictured here.
As you can see, some of them are very nice. Keep in mind that I'm taking pictures under natural lighting. So just imagine how they would look under halides.
All throuhgout the facility, you can see these hand made skimmers.
I’ve seen some killer mushrooms coming out of Vietnam in the past. Metallic reds and blues, yuma rocks covered with nice heads. The mushroom pictured above is nice too. Good size rock with good coverage. The colors are blue-green.
Giant hairy mushrooms anyone? I really haven’t seen these in Indonesia but in Tonga, they are known as lavendar mushrooms. Each head can get gigantic sizes!
A tank full of green-brown carpet anemones. I was told that not much colors were available on the carpets. Still some of the green ones looked really nice.
Sorry for the blurred picture, but you can still make out the nice purple-blue colors!
Again sorry for the blurred picture. This one is metallic green. I’ve seen elegances that have purple tips in local public aquariums before. So I think it is safe to say that Vietnam does have nice elegance corals. I wonder how their survivability is, compared to the ones in Indonesia. I rarely see signs of diseased elegances in Indonesia. I think the stress from shipping is the main reason for the low survivability of these beautiful corals.
Sorry for the bad picture, but these are green bubble corals (Plerogyra sinuosa). It is nice to see that there are other colors besides brown. I’ve seen only brown ones at other places in Vietnam.
Just a quick note. There are no cites for hard corals at this time. However, this exporter supplies to local markets, including public aquariums within the country. So that is why he has these hard corals in stock. Just so you know, the coral trade within the hobby in Indonesia is huge, and is growing. Many of the suppliers in East Java supply boxes and boxes of corals to the local fish stores in Jakarta everyweek. The reef hobby has yet to develop here in Vietnam though.
Another beautiful “rainbow” trachyphyllia!
Even green ones were nice too. This one is metallic in color!
Same basket, but on the opposite side. Some of these can rival their counterparts from Indonesia! I was very impressed.
A cute purple rimmed fungia!
An adult six bar angelfish with a trio of naso tangs.
Always my favorite, the clown trigger!
One of the highly sought after angelfish. The blue striped angel (Chaetodontplus septertrionalis) is endemic to the South China Sea. Small specimens are very popular in Asia.
This exporter also deals with freshwater fish. These are wild caught plecos!
Conclusion
Ok guys, I hope you enjoyed my postings from Vietnam. The South China Sea has much to offer. As you go further east, you are going to encounter more and more diversity in fish and corals. Keep in mind that the Phillipines is part of the “Coral triangle”, which has the most diversity of corals in the world. And Vietnam is not too far away from PI.
I learned a lot from this trip. I will be working with Van in the future to bring you more and better products.
Before I sign off, let’s take a look at that picture of the skinned rats.
I will be posting one more time tomorrow, before I go back to Indonesia the following day. Basically it will be on “life in the rice fields of Vietnam”. Stay tuned, as I have some very nice picturesque photos and stories to share.
Cheers,
Eddie
5 comments:
Hi
It is great to read about your travel and allow me to say that I really enjoy the pictures. Is there any chance you would allow me to use some of them in upcoming articles on http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/marineaquarium/ ?
Also is there any way I can "trick" you to add my new saltwater section AC marine fish(http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/marineaquarium/) to your fav sites blog roll. I am working hard trying to make ita good reef resource. So far I mostly have fact about fish but I am writing info on corals, shrimps and snail and will be adding some soon.
Hi wb,
Yah, no problem you can use my pictures or info. It is always good to share knowledge.
Sure no problem, I'll add you to my favorites. Just help spread the word about my blog whenever you can.
Cheers,
Eddie
For anyone reading this please be aware that Vietnam is heavily overfished and the coral reefs in Vietnam are in very bad shape. Additionally giant clams of various species have become locally extinct at many places in the world and are seriously threatened. So please do not support the trade in these organisms so long as it is not sustainable. Which it isn't at all right now!
Hi,will you help me to find reliable exporter from Bali indonesia and vietnam?Im interested to buy corals.
Thank you.
where is it mate?
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