I am a big fan of Macro algae and would really want to setup a large planted marine setup one day. I find macro algae to be worthy of a lot more attention than they get today and that they often are nothing short of stunning. This is the reason I get happy every time I see a new macro algae becomming readily available on the Market. I am very happy to introduce the new Blue Hypnea that ORA recently made available to their retailers. It is a completely stunning algae that can stand its ground against any coral and that diserves to be given a central place in any aquarium rather than just being grown in algae scrubber. It can make a completely breathtaking center piece for any nano tank that has been planned around this blue beauty.

The Blue Hypnea is a resilient species that will grow in most lights but will look its absolut best if it is a given a position with an intermediate level of light, (for a marine reef tank). They will grow in more low light environments but will never really thrive or look as good as it can unless it is given an adequate level of light.

They prefer a nutrient rich water with plenty of free Iodine in the water. Regular use of Iodine supplements are recommended if you want to grow this and other Hypnea species

If you want to rknow more about how to care for blue hypnea and other Macro Algae i recommend that you visit our page about planted marine aquarium.

Hopefully we will soon see more stunning Macro algae from ORA.

ORA has released captive bred Randall’s Assessor to all of its resellers. The fish is now being shipped around the world and you might see the first fish in your local store later this week or early next week. The Randall’s Assessor is rather rare in the aquarium hobby and as such you can most likely expect these fish to be a bit more expensive than some other captive bred fish. Do not be surprised if these fish comes with a price tag of above USD 100.

ORA first acquired their Randall’s Assessor last year. The broad stock was acquired from Blue Harbor in Japan. ORA had almost immediate success with this species, something that shouldn’t be a surprise considering that ORA now have bred all known and kept assessor species. In December 2012 ORA announced that they had the first batch of fry going through metamorphosis and that they were about to change the focus of the breeding effort to ramp up numbers so that they could be released to the public. Something that they now, a mere 10 months later has been able to achieve. This feat was made a little bit easier by the fact that the Randall’s Assessor is a nest spawning species that produce large nests and quickly reach sexual maturity.

Randall’s Assessor is an excellent addition to most aquariums due to its relatively small size and its calm behavior.