dipping corals ??

[jetchris]

I heard that new corals should be dipped, and i have researched that some people actually quarantine them. It seems to me that this practice might be a little overboard. Do you guys actually do this ??? The few corals that i have, I just stuck them in the tank with no prob.

Thanks
Chris

 

[vettesarebest]

Ehhh I don't but SHOULD. In many of our tanks we have way over $1000.00 of corals that we don't even want to take the slightest chance in loosing. Not only would this be expensive loss but if you have had your corals for along time you become attached to them. I will let you decide if its over board. Would you want to take the chance in loosing $1000.00 in coral or more just because of a stupid worm or something? Not only is it expensive but you go through even more trouble trying to get ride of it later on because then the whole tank has it. As far as dipping the coral this is minimal. If you haven't had a problem yet, you will.

 

[sprayin70]

well acording to the guy from Coral Gardens just temp acclimate then drop them in. They will be fine.

 

[vettesarebest]

Yeah but wait was that a joke? I expect better from you.

 

[cdub]

i always use the lugols iodine dip. first i'll acclimate to my tank sg/temp, then i'll toss them in a one gallon freshwater dip with the concentrated iodine for about 15 minutes.

 

[sprayin70]

No it is the truth. I just temp acclimate and drop them in. Corals will slowly acclimate on their own. Now starfish, fish and some inverts then drip but corals are ok to drop in.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Dipping corals is about as overboard as QTing fish... YOU SHOULD DO IT... I know 90% of the reefers out there don't but you SHOULD! Like Bryan said, is it worth the risk to you?

Alan, the guy from Coral Gardens was saying that about acclimation of corals not dipping. If you listened to him, he went on for about 10 min on the importance of dipping. You are right, most corals do not need to be acclimated but ALL need to be dipped!

I dip EVERYTHING that comes into my tank (except and invert). EVERYTHING! Fish get a temp and PH adjusted FW dip with Meth Blue and then QT. I do not QT corals but that is mainly because all my QT tanks have been taken up healing other people's fish because they do not dip and QT. All my corals recieve a SW Dip with Pro-coral cure. You would not believe the stuff I see drop off. Flat worms, red bugs, pods, worms... Take a trip to any LFS out there and I gaurentee you will see something in their thanks that you would not be so sure you want in yours, once you know what to look for. Heck there is one LFS up here in Gwinnett that is a red bug breeding ground.

So to make a long lecture short, save yourself the heartache and dip like everyone says you should. You might be ok for a while, but in the long run, just like a trip to the red ligh district in Bangkok, you are going to catch something that you did not bargin for!

P.S. if anyone ever wants to know how to QT or dip something, my door is always open!

 

[vettesarebest]

Yeah but I don't think we were necessarily talking about just the acclimation but the critters that can come on with these corals and could wipe out the whole tank. Am I wrong??

 

[sprayin70]

Ya know I agree about dipping I do that my self. I thought that most of the conversation was on acclimating. I read the title to fast I thought it said dripping no dipping. My bad!!!

 

[vettesarebest]

Pretty sure it was on Dipping and QT

 

[sprayin70]

PM'D you Brandon

 

[siege]

Sadly, I do not have a proper QT tank... Just two 5 gallon paint buckets, and no heater or extra power-head for them. I haven't QT'ed anything, really, nor have I done any dipping. I've heard about doing freshwater dips for various things, but find myself a bit uncertain in this regard. I'd appreciate any pointers (or links to reliable information) anyone may care to give on the subject, such as what to do with what when

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Well, a QT tank is so easy to set up... For a FRACTION of what it would cost you to solve a problem down the road, you can get a 10 - 20 gallon tank (or about 20-30% of your display tank volume), small heater, and HOB filter.. That is all you need! (Most of those things you can write a post on here and find for DIRT cheap!)

As for dipping, How about you read this Wiki that I put together: http://www.atlantareefclub.org/wiki/Ich">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/wiki/Ich</a> Granted the article is about Ich but is also about preventing (and treating it) it through QT and dipping.

As for the corals, Pick up a bottle of Pro-Coral Cure online and read the three line directions. 200ml of water + 1ml of coral cure + 15 min = clean corals!

I am going to have to work on a clam dipping procedure if and when I can figure out the do's and don't of dipping a clam. I am not sure that it is best to dip them at this current time.

If you have more questions then what I provided will answer, let me know! I give me a frag, I will dip it to show you how easy it is and then put it in my tank as my fee! ;)

BTW: a 5 gal bucket is all you need to dip a fish and you are already safer by doing that then by not!

 

[siege]

With just straight RO/DI water (temp'd and pH balanced, of course)?

 

[vettesarebest]

Yup!

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Yep, I add Meth Blue to my dip water because it does ALOT of good things (Help the water hold oxygen, relax the fish, help cure cyanide poisening, Etc...) but normal RO/DI will work! Just follow the step by step instructions and you are better off then you were to start. I have left fish in FW dip for 30+ min so no worry of a 15-20 min dip. I will add a disclaimer (not all fish can be dipped (Sharks and rays are noted on that list) and some fish do better then others (Royals and Blennies seem to handle 15 min fine but more then that and I have noticed some stress). But just keep an eye on any fish you dip till you get good at spotting trouble and you will be just fine.

 

[vettesarebest]

Heres is something I've always wondered? When the fish is in the Fresh water they look like they are passing out and like falling over should we kind of help them keep upright? Like not really chase them around but every time they fall over like tap the bucket or something?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Naw... Tangs are bad about this. Most fish will do this for about the first 5 min.. If it lasts longer then that, check for signs of stress and maybe poke with a wooden spoon to make sure that he swims away from ya.

 

[siege]

Well, I also have a moderately-sized on-tank refugium that I am not using that might serve well as a QT tank for smaller fish with appropriate outfitting.

The FW dip is perhaps a tad more complicated that I might have expected, but after reading your article, it is something I'll definitely try to be prepared to do prior to any future acquisitions. In the meantime, and speaking of... I really need to get a fuge going.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

It is really not that complicated once you do it once or twice. It is when you have to dip 15 fish for 30 min each that you hate life. (had to do that twice: once for a large fish order that we got in and the other to help cure ich in a member's tank!)