Quality Marine has recently made a very interesting discovery thanks to a couple of their keen-eyed collectors. According to a recent press release, one of the collectors in their Short Supply Chain (SSC) network, Tony Nahacky, spotted the undescribed deepwater anthias off the island of New Caledonia. Another collector, by the name of Antoine Teitelbaum, caught the fish, then shipped them off to Quality Marine. Upon receiving the fish, QM couldn’t identify the species, so Tony and Antoine reached out to several ichthyologists, who confirmed that the fish were, in fact, from an entirely new species.
This is deepwater anthias species, like most anthias, favor zooplankton and other meaty foods that are suspended in the water currents. They form in large groups, with males generally running the show, and they may be endemic to New Caledonia. The males are said to be more brilliantly colored, possessing an elaborate third dorsal spine…a feature not uncommon to male anthias. While the fish may not have a scientific name just yet, the diver has been calling them the New Caledonia Sunrise Anthias, a name that Quality Marine has also stuck with.
Currently, QM is holding two large schools of these fish and they have had great success in feeding them. Immediately after acclimation, the fish were eating Nutramar OVA and eventually started accepting other meeding foods in the days following. Additionally, QM claims that these fish seem less aggressive toward conspecifics within the group than other anthias of this size.
As for the Short Supply Chain, here’s a snipped from the press release that describes it very well:
“The QM exclusive vendor these came from is a Short Supply Chain in New Caledonia. Short Supply Chains (SSC) are something we are very proud of here at QM. Basically it boils down to us supporting the most sustainably harvested and managed collection sites and sourcing animals from collector groups rather than middlemen wherever possible. This philosophy helps to reduce transit times to a matter of hours or days, rather than weeks. Shorter supply chains and fewer middlemen eliminate inconsistent levels of care, reduce stress in animals, increase survivability and decrease pressure on marine habitats. In terms of our customers ordering from us, when they see our SSC terminology, they can be assured that the animals they are ordering come to us from our shortest supply chains, reaching the point of export from the point of collection within 24 hours. Read more about SSC here: http://www.qualitymarine.com/About/Short-Supply-Chain“
