ORA Red Goniopora

Before ORA Red Goniopora, buying a Goni was often an exercise in optimism. Wild Goniopora had a terrible survival record in reef tanks, and for years the hobby treated Flowerpot Corals as something beautiful that probably wasn’t going to stay that way. ORA changed that in 2010 when it released its aquacultured Red Goni after nearly a decade of growing the strain in captivity. Suddenly reef keepers had a Goni that had already proven it could live, grow, and reproduce in an aquarium.

ORA—Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums—operates at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch campus in Fort Pierce, Florida. Harbor Branch began as a nonprofit oceanographic foundation before joining FAU, while ORA itself operates as a for-profit aquaculture company on the campus. More than 15 years after its public release, ORA Red is still known as the grandfather of modern Gonis. There are much crazier colors available today, but a whole lot of them owe this old red Goni a thank-you.