amazing what they did. i have been trying for years to raise coral and have only been succeful with xenia, but none of the others.

In response to the article named "A living business". I feel it is important to note that on at least three occasions in the article, the author claims that this coral farm,is the only type of its kind in the world. Just from my limited knowledge i am aware that their is at least five in florida, some in California and at least one in both Pittsburg and Michigan. I know there are also farms in Canada, Ireland, England and Germany. Im sure there e in fact many more. Search "cral farm" or "polytunnel" in the forums on www.reefcentral.com and you will find many threads on them. The author also claims that the harvesting of coral for the aquatic trade as a primary reason of reef destruction. In actual fact the amount of reef that is destructed to lay roads and buildings on tropical islands and surrounding areas actually dwarfs the harvesting for the aquatic trade. One wave breaker on a beach would use more coral than the Aquatic trade would harvest over 20 years. I still appreciate that taking anything from the reef as too much. The fact that these farms are in operation is fantasic. However i feel this kind of mis information gives the hobby a bad name. When in actual fact the hobby will one day be the saviour of many of these species as their natural habitats are continud to be destroyed by the construction industry.

I have been designing a range of these systems since 2003 in Eilat. It has great potential for the specialist aquarium market .I have links to videos of some systems. I am a Ministry of Technology trained electrical/mechanical engineer with a life-long interest in aquatic life and buiding systems to house them.I wondered if this could be connected to the Advanced Coral Propogation project. I need to show and discuss these systems with interested parties.Being a Brit living in Israel for 25 years employed in the refrigeration industry, my knowledge of how to start-up this buisness is limited.My technical knowledge is fully-geared to the design and development of these systems and the mechanical/electrical peripherals that support them.

As much as I enjoyed your article; The artificial propagation of Coral has been taking place around the world for years!!!! Most hobbyists in the US have been buying Coral Frags from farms and individuals raising corals in their homes. All it takes is money, time, and patience...and you don't have to be a Nobel Prize Winning Scientest or Albert Einstein to propagate Coral!!!!! Still, I wish these two gentleman a lot of Hatzlacha.

Coral farming is not new and as cousing Jack Mehoffman stated; has been going on in many countries for many years. The fact that this industry is taking off in Israel is a good sign. The fact that Marine Tropical Fish (Amphiprions and Damsels) are being cultured en masse in the Negev is unique and exciting to all interested marine scientests and hobbyists. If marien tropical fish can be raised in the Negev, Coral Farms can be established their too (probably already are some).