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Where do They Come From???


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Sometimes as hobbyists we don't always know where the animals in your tank originate from. For the last 4 years we have been the exclusive importers of clams and fish from some of the remote islands of French Polynesia. Dr. Mac traveled there to set up our collection station along with our partner in Tahiti. We collect clams and fish from the remote Austral Islands where many of the smaller islands we collect from are uninhibited and the populations of a Maxima clams are the largest in the world with hundreds of millions of them! Dr. Mac set up our station and the protocols for hand collection of fish without any drugs and a multi step process for treating them and quarantine so that they are all eating and healthy before they are exported to us in the US. We bring shipments in once or twice a month and sell to all the wholesalers and many retail stores as well as on our site.

Check out our selection of French Polynesian Fish and Clams!

Fish
http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/prodList.asp?idcategory=5&pMaxItemsPerPage=1000

Clams
http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/prodList.asp?idcategory=3&pMaxItemsPerPage=1000

The Remote Austral Island Chain in French Polynesia
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Most of the islands are atolls, a central island surrounded by a lagoon and the reef, most clams are found inside the lagoon within a depth of 1-4 feet.
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Reef areas outside the lagoon and inner reef in the islands where we collect are predominantly rocky out croppings with very few corals and some clams. The waters are crystal clear and pristine!
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There are so many clams, hundreds of millions of Maximas, that the smaller islands are literally composed of clam shells!
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Of the hundreds of millions, only a few are considered ultra quality, we import about 10,000 annually
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About one in every 10,000 is the rare Chimera clam, locally called the two-faced clam.
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When we first set up our collection station we also began culturing clams, we now export mostly cultured clams, a two to three inch cultured clam takes about 4 years to produce
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We also collect lots of fish, all of these are quite plentiful in the French Polynesia waters. Rarely we find beauties like this very rarely seen in captivity male Atavai Wrasse. Most "rare" items in the hobby are not actually rare in the wild, just found only in very remote areas or where collection is very difficult.
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In the more remote Australs, small Black Tangs are relatively plentiful, problem is these islands are not easy to get to, collecting the fish, holding them, and getting them back to our main station for processing in Tahiti is difficult.
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Great share. I wish I was on a boat enjoying that last picture.

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Collecting in the remote islands of French Polynesia is a lot of fun but there a lot of dangerous things to look out for. 

Long Spine Urchins are everywhere. A poke from one of these would be painful but infection from an open wound in these waters could be really dangerous.
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Stone fish are everywhere and are masters of camouflage! Stone fish are the most venomous fish in the world. One stick from a stone fish spine could be deadly. Stone fish sit and wait on the sand or rocks for prey to come by. When collecting in shallow waters one must always be extremely cautious.
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Lots of sharks!!!
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HUGE eels!
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And of course Dr. Mac's favorite "friend" he found in his shower while in French Polynesia-GIANT CENTIPEDES:)
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Some other beautiful fish that we can collect in French Polynesia

Emperor Angel 
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Polynesian White Tail Tang
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Flame Angel Pairs
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Regal Angel
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Achilles Tang
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Scott's Fairy Wrasse
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RARE Female Atavai Wrasse
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Blue Spotted Wrasse
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and many many more! Email Alyssa at alyssa@pacificeastaquaculture.com if you are interested in any of our French Polynesian fish. She can update you when we have what you are looking for available. Check out the fish we have posted now as well. Our French Polynesian fish are very popular and sell out quickly when we have them in stock!

Fish
http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/prodList.asp?idcategory=5&pMaxItemsPerPage=1000

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(edited)

One unique way of holding clams before being exported to the United States. 
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Another Chimera clam (on the left) we collected a while back. Very beautiful!
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Shortly before the expected ship date we bring the clams to our holding area so they are right there and ready to be packed up.
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Check out our selection of clams we have posted. Our clams sell out fast!

http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/prodList.asp?idcategory=3&pMaxItemsPerPage=1000

Edited by Pacific East Aquaculture
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French Polynesia also has a lot of really beautiful corals that we have begun culturing at our station in Tahiti. It will be sometime before we are able to export cultured corals from our collection station but it is definitely something we are extremely excited about!!! No corals have ever been exported from French Polynesia in the past. A lot of the corals seen there will be new to the hobby in regards to color morphs. 

Tahitian Sunset Acropora
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Intense Bright Purple Montipora
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Pocillopora 
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Acropora
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Pink and yellow Pavona
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Bright Neon Rim Fungia
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Acropora
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Orange Montipora
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French Polynesia also has tons of different Acanthastrea echinatas.
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Cool Montipora Combos
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