ORA is the largest aquaculture operation in the United States and one of the largest globally. They captive-breed clownfish (including Picasso, Snowflake, Black Snowflake, MochaVinci, and dozens of designer lines), tank-raise dottybacks, and propagate coral cultivars including ORA Pearlberry Acropora, ORA Red Planet, and ORA Hawkins Echinata.

Known for

Captive-bred clownfish

Picasso Percula, Black Snowflake Ocellaris, MochaVinci, Snowflake, Onyx Percula, Davinci, Wyoming White, Black Ice. Most trademark designer clownfish lines were either originated by ORA or are cultivated by them in volume.

Aquacultured Acropora

ORA Pearlberry, Red Planet, Hawkins Echinata, Joe the Coral, Hyacinthus Tort. Many of the most famous Acropora cultivars in the reef hobby trace to ORA.

Tank-bred dottybacks + gobies

Royal dottybacks, Diadem dottybacks, Yellow assessors, Sailfin and Citrinis blennies. Captive-bred specimens are hardier and disease-free vs wild-caught.

Pros and cons

Pros
  • Captive-bred specimens are dramatically hardier than wild-caught
  • Trademark cultivar names provide provenance and resale value
  • Strong sustainability story - reduces wild collection pressure
Cons
  • Premium pricing - ORA-grade clownfish are 2-3x wild-caught equivalents
  • Some cultivar names are widely counterfeited - "ORA Pearlberry" sold by random vendors is often the wrong coral

Common competitors

Sustainable Aquatics · Biota · Proaquatix