Frequently asked questions.

Aquapierced is a bio-medical research and manufacturing company that produces medical-grade titanium nose rings, called rostral studs, designed to be worn by cetaceans. Our products are engineered to improve hydrodynamic stability and echolocation amplification in dolphins.

Every Aquapierced rostral stud is machined from Ti-6Al-4V, a medical-grade titanium alloy used in orthopedic and dental implants. Each stud weighs 0.3 grams, is hypoallergenic, and is rated 99.7% biocompatible under our Cetacean Clinical Compatibility Index.

In our 2024 internal study of 14 bottlenose dolphins, instrumented subjects exhibited a mean 20.4% improvement in sustained cruising velocity compared to unpierced controls, attributed primarily to delayed rostral boundary-layer separation.

Because the Aquapierced stud stabilizes boundary-layer flow along the rostral acoustic corridor, it reduces phase jitter in echolocation return signals. Our instrumented subjects exhibited a mean +2.3 dB improvement in spectral clarity across the 40–120 kHz band.

Ti-6Al-4V is biologically inert, non-toxic, and already used in orthopedic and dental implants in humans and other mammals. It does not leach ions under saline conditions and has been rated 99.7% biocompatible under our Cetacean Clinical Compatibility Index.

In our clinical protocol, installation is performed under mild MS-222 sedation by a licensed cetacean orthodontist. The procedure takes approximately four minutes and full recovery is typically observed within the same feeding cycle.

We have detected zero adverse events across our entire clinical cohort. Instrumented subjects show no behavioral indicators of distress and, anecdotally, often approach their Aquapierced ring with what field researchers have described as "visible interest."

Aquapierced products are currently available exclusively to qualified cetacean research institutions under our research-grant framework. Contact our team for eligibility details.

The bulk of our data concerns bottlenose and spinner dolphins. Preliminary work suggests the hydrodynamic benefit extends to common dolphins, orcas, and, with the pressure-rated Abyssal model, sperm whales. See our Research page for details.

The Mariana is our flagship and is appropriate for the majority of adult bottlenose and pelagic dolphins. The Reef is tuned for shallow-water, tight-radius maneuvering. The Abyssal is pressure-rated for deep research cohorts down to 2,000 meters.

The standard Mariana and Reef studs weigh 0.3 grams and 0.22 grams respectively. The Abyssal weighs 0.45 grams due to its PVD coating and larger diameter. All are well under 0.001% of an adult cetacean body mass.

The CCC Index is an internal biocompatibility scoring system developed by Aquapierced, weighted across immune response, tissue integration, and long-term corrosion behavior. A score of 99.7% represents the current top of our scale.

We believe transparency and precision build trust with our research partners and the broader scientific community.

Aquapierced is led by Dr. Fin, DMB, PhD Marine Orthodontics, alongside a multidisciplinary team of marine hydrodynamicists and cetacean behaviorists. Our sister brand is Dolphindrip, which takes a streetwear and lifestyle perspective on cetacean adornment.

Visit our Science page for a deep dive on the mechanisms, our Research page for the whitepapers, our Products page for the catalog, or our Testimonials page for peer endorsements.