Algae Barn - Anyone have recent expereince?

[JavaJacketOC]

I'm thinking about ordering a Hippo clam from them, has anyone ordered from them recent? And if so, would you recommend them?

Or does anyone have a lead on a Hippo Clam somewhere closer to North OC?

 

[janiners305]

We placed a couple orders for pods recently to seed a new tank. Our first times ordering from them, and everything seemed good.

Phyto in the first order leaked, so they issued a credit no question and quality of some of the pods was iffy on the 2nd order so they reshipped. Customer service was great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drexel]

I’ve ordered pods and other things from them without issue. I’ve been wanting a hippopus for a long time, so let me know how it goes if you order one. I wish they had wysiwyg with their clams, but have a feeling that these may be drop shipped from ORA? You may want to ask Ali (amazing aquariums & reefs) if he can get them in, he usually orders from ORA and has nice clams.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JavaJacketOC]

I’ve ordered pods and other things from them without issue. I’ve been wanting a hippopus for a long time, so let me know how it goes if you order one. I wish they had wysiwyg with their clams, but have a feeling that these may be drop shipped from ORA? You may want to ask Ali (amazing aquariums & reefs) if he can get them in, he usually orders from ORA and has nice clams.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've heard bad things about ORA Maximas but I can't recall if the last Hippo I had was an ORA produced one, it was about 8 years ago. If I end up ordering I will give a recap here. Clam mania is close to me, I messaged them to see about availability. I'll ask Ali as well, he has some nice Red Sea Maximas right now but not sure my tank is ready for that. The last Hippo I had was bullet proof.

 

[Jimbo327]

I've always had good experience with algaebarn. Customer service is awesome, and they always hook me up.

 

[drexel]

I've heard bad things about ORA Maximas but I can't recall if the last Hippo I had was an ORA produced one, it was about 8 years ago. If I end up ordering I will give a recap here. Clam mania is close to me, I messaged them to see about availability. I'll ask Ali as well, he has some nice Red Sea Maximas right now but not sure my tank is ready for that. The last Hippo I had was bullet proof.

Most clams that enter the hobby only come from a few farms, despite what some vendors say, so it’s a matter of finding healthy animals that didn’t get too stressed during shipping. I don’t think too many local vendors would order or stock hippopus because they don’t have the great colors of other clams, so ordering online may be the only choice? Hippopus are kinda weird clams (which is why I like them) with most hobbyists not knowing what they are or that they even exist. I might have to order one from AB if no one local has them. Keep us posted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimbo327]

Reach out to John at Clam Mania. I talked with him at CFM this year, and he was a cool guy. Said he would let local reefers stop in by appointment. Said he had 5000+ clams.

 

[JavaJacketOC]

Reach out to John at Clam Mania. I talked with him at CFM this year, and he was a cool guy. Said he would let local reefers stop in by appointment. Said he had 5000+ clams.

I messaged them last night as well.

Thanks for the help all.

 

[dansyr]

I've heard bad things about ORA Maximas but I can't recall if the last Hippo I had was an ORA produced one, it was about 8 years ago. If I end up ordering I will give a recap here. Clam mania is close to me, I messaged them to see about availability. I'll ask Ali as well, he has some nice Red Sea Maximas right now but not sure my tank is ready for that. The last Hippo I had was bullet proof.

Please do let us know if you hear someone local has them! I'm also on the lookout for a hippopus.

 

[JavaJacketOC]

Looks like Algae Barn drop ships from ORA and Biota so cannot make any type of request on size or markings.

Ali said he can get them when he orders from ORA but said he doess't like to get a clams from different regions. Maybe once his red sea maxiamas sell he'll get some stuff from ORA. Haven't heard back from Clammaia yet.

 

[ilyad]

Ive never gotten any clams from algae barn, but I have had a pod subscription for about 2 years and have also gotten a few inverts occasionally (snails, urchins, etc). I have not had any deaths on arrival yet. Once one of the urchins looked stressed when it arrived and I contacted them and they promptly replied to keep an eye on it, and if it dies, they'd replace. Never had to though as the urchin pulled through and fully recovered within a few days.

Overall, Ive had really good experience with them. Their customer service seems great and ease of getting to speak to someone has been always really good.

 

[drexel]

Any movement here? Are you waiting for someone local or ordering from AB?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JavaJacketOC]

Any movement here? Are you waiting for someone local or ordering from AB?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm waiting for clam mania to respond before I decide if I'm going to order from AB. I've sent CM a couple emails but assuming they're delayed in responding due to the holidays.

Ali and Amazing Aquariums said he could get Hippo, Squam, etc. after he sells the maximas he has so I'd probably just wait for him to get them before ordering and shipping during the winter. It's a drive for you but if he gets them I can let you know what he gets. I assume it would be a few months at least.

 

[drexel]

I'm waiting for clam mania to respond before I decide if I'm going to order from AB. I've sent CM a couple emails but assuming they're delayed in responding due to the holidays.

Ali and Amazing Aquariums said he could get Hippo, Squam, etc. after he sells the maximas he has so I'd probably just wait for him to get them before ordering and shipping during the winter. It's a drive for you but if he gets them I can let you know what he gets. I assume it would be a few months at least.

Sounds good. I love Ali’s shop and don’t mind the drive at all. The first time I stopped at his store, I was there for over an hour just talking with him. He was showing me everything in his shop and we were chatting about the good old days of reefing, so it’s always worth the drive for me. He does clams the right way and that’s not mixing regions or wild caught with cultured. It’s a sure fire way of causing problems when you mix them without QT. This is how pmd starts and spreads within a system. I doubt that John will have any hippopus, so holding out for Ali to order a couple is probably what I’ll do. PEA just got a shipment of squammies, but they want too much for 2” clams. I get blue squammies go for more, but the multi colored ones with a little blue shouldn’t be north of $250. I get that shipping costs have increased, but not that much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dansyr]

How long do you think the batch of hippos will last? I haven't been back in reefing long enough, but i've been keeping an eye out for hippopus fairly actively for the last year and not seen any around, would hate to miss out. As in, you clam pros think there'll be a couple month supply so a shot at Ali getting some in a couple months?

BTW drexel, did you end up going back for that nice derasa?

 

[JavaJacketOC]

There's no batch of hippos that I know of, they're just avaliable for order and are drop shipped from ORA most likely.

 

[JavaJacketOC]

Sounds good. I love Ali’s shop and don’t mind the drive at all. The first time I stopped at his store, I was there for over an hour just talking with him. He was showing me everything in his shop and we were chatting about the good old days of reefing, so it’s always worth the drive for me. He does clams the right way and that’s not mixing regions or wild caught with cultured. It’s a sure fire way of causing problems when you mix them without QT. This is how pmd starts and spreads within a system. I doubt that John will have any hippopus, so holding out for Ali to order a couple is probably what I’ll do. PEA just got a shipment of squammies, but they want too much for 2” clams. I get blue squammies go for more, but the multi colored ones with a little blue shouldn’t be north of $250. I get that shipping costs have increased, but not that much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I saw PEA's shipment, too much for me as well

 

[dansyr]

There's no batch of hippos that I know of, they're just avaliable for order and are drop shipped from ORA most likely.

I mean that ORA doesn't seem to have them in stock frequently, but I don't know if that's a post-covid thing since I've only been back in the hobby in the last twoish years?

What I do know is that because they're not the most common/popular clams in the aquarium market, most of the aquarium farms out in the tropics don't produce that many hippopus, certainly not in relation to maximas. And my anxious brain is worrying this is one of those market situations where the farms only bother with hippopus spat once the last lot ships, meaning it's another couple years before shippable sizes hit us here.

 

[drexel]

How long do you think the batch of hippos will last? I haven't been back in reefing long enough, but i've been keeping an eye out for hippopus fairly actively for the last year and not seen any around, would hate to miss out. As in, you clam pros think there'll be a couple month supply so a shot at Ali getting some in a couple months?

BTW drexel, did you end up going back for that nice derasa?

I didn’t go back for the derasa, but someone should pick that clam up, especially for that price. If my son’s tank was up and running, I would pick it up food him. Who knows, Marine I’ll go back this week? Most cultured hippopus clams are farmed for food and a small percentage are for the hobby. My guess is they’ll be around, but not like the other popular clams. Maybe for those of us who are looking for hippopus, we should order a small batch?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JavaJacketOC]

I didn’t go back for the derasa, but someone should pick that clam up, especially for that price. If my son’s tank was up and running, I would pick it up food him. Who knows, Marine I’ll go back this week? Most cultured hippopus clams are farmed for food and a small percentage are for the hobby. My guess is they’ll be around, but not like the other popular clams. Maybe for those of us who are looking for hippopus, we should order a small batch?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd be open to this. I just don't have a tank large enough to hold more than 3-4 for a couple days. The challenge is that I'd really like one with a green base that biota calls Grade A (https://shop.thebiotagroup.com/collections/clams/products/clam )

They are showing out of stock though