Every few weeks I travel out to Los Angeles to hand pick livestock. I usually spend 2-3 days there visiting all the importers and wholesalers. The trick with this is to have the relationships with these companies so I can be there as they are unpacking their shipments because within minutes all the nice corals are picked over and gone in different directions and unless I am standing there myself I can not work for my customers to get the top 1% of the coral coming into the US. Of course with this type of venture I am only in LA for a few days at a time and so one never knows what might be available at any given time, but I always wind up with some incredible livestock. On this trip I picked very few fish as the selection at all the supplires was poor and corals were scarce as well, but a few nice shipments arrived and there I was on the spot hand-picked as the shipments were being unpacked.
It is a detailed process to pick just the very best corals.
Relationships are critical in the process so that I can get in when the shipments are unpacked.
