Coral shipment delayed advised not to dip

[mdpitts]

I’ve been searching the web on this and see a lot of info on the do or don’t dip. I have a newish tank build that I’ve been careful to not introduce especially - bristleworms, spinonid, vermetids, spaghetti worms and detritus worms to because my first tank is filled with that and I hate it.

My question is since this shipment (AquaSD) was delayed a day (thanks Kentucky storms) should I dip in Seachem Reef dip as that is gentler or:

Float the bags for 20 minutes
Remove water from my tank and get in a container that will hold 11 frags
Inspect for yukky stuff
Remove the frag plug??

will I see the creepy crawlies just looking at the frag? I have a Six Line Wrasse, Tiger Pistol Shrimp and Peppermint Shrimp in there.

Forgot to mention, I called Aqua SD yesterday and they said I shouldn’t need to dip. They don’t have sand in the frag tanks where a lot of worms would live and dipping could add extra stress although they pack the corals with shipping delays in mind.

What would you do. Corals should arrive in 2 hours.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

I am also one of them. 12 corals total. Hopefully arriving today at noon and of course I won't be home until 6pm. So they will just bag float for the time being.

You can visually inspect them and decide to dip or not. If they are not looking too hot I would just drop them in.
If they look healthy I would dip. I'd rather risk a coral dying then plaguing my entire display tank.

Thankfully I have a QT tank now so I no longer need to risk either choices.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I have been in the hobby now for four years. Having said that I started off dipping everything up until very recently. That is not to say that I will not dip corals. I am unsure of because I most definitely will however, I have come to the thought that if corals come from a couple of trusted sources such as worldwide corals., top shelf aquatics, Battle Corals and etc., that I am no longer dipping them.

Often times I see good guys like micro brittle stars and pods that I would rather have in my system. I have also decided that Coral bring a lot of microorganisms and bacteria that I also would like to have.

On the flipside of that, I have a good friend that sells coral online. He imports stuff now and then and it is amazing the good and the bad that can come in. I have seen some amazing acro crabs in acro colonies And on a sidenote, he is not an acro guy, but had about six colonies that came down with a pest, but the one colony that looked great was home to the acro crab. maybe that’s why and maybe it’s not. I don’t know, but it was an interesting observation.

Even though I was dipping every coral in the past from reputable vendors, I still ended up with aiptaisa and some other weird things that were not too bad.

I guess if I know that the coral has been recently imported or held in captivity with imported corals, I will dip. But the places I mentioned above, seem to have a pretty great reputation and I agree. I have purchased from Aqua SD before and was pleased, but I do not know if they import frag and sell or if they quarantine and Home grow their stuff.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I’d get a clear storage tub some egg crate, pull water from your display. Any pump for the tub for water movement. If you can move a light fixture from your display. Observe the Corals, if they aren’t stressed dip one by one and move to the display. Seen too many nasty’s to risk my display.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Personally, everything gets a Bayer dip before going into QT tank for observation. After a couple of weeks or so I'll send it to the DT. I've caught and killed Aptasia while in QT. Nothing else has made it past Bayer, so far.

 

[Harpo]

I would quarantine at a minimum observe for a few days

 

[Reefer Matt]

I dip every coral every time. I am a vendor myself and I tell every customer to dip all coral. I squint when another vendor says you don’t have to dip their coral. Everyone has something in their frag tanks. May not be harmful, but may not be desirable either. The choice is yours.

 

[mdpitts]

I am also one of them. 12 corals total. Hopefully arriving today at noon and of course I won't be home until 6pm. So they will just bag float for the time being.

You can visually inspect them and decide to dip or not. If they are not looking too hot I would just drop them in.
If they look healthy I would dip. I'd rather risk a coral dying then plaguing my entire display tank.

Thankfully I have a QT tank now so I no longer need to risk either choices.

Yup. I have 11 on the way. Supposed to be here at 10:30 - 15 minutes from now. A QT tank is something I plan to set up soon. Might just be a little 5G but I have 3 new 10G Aqueons I binged a couple years ago on the Petco sale.

I skipped work yesterday so I could be home and had to still be “running to the bathroom” today although I said I’d be in by noon.

Also, my ex-boyfriend turned best friend is moving in again tonight to help us both out financially and I was trying to sneak in one last coral bonanza before I get scrutinized for spending frivolously

Curious to know how your experience went

 

[steveschuerger]

Not sure what you have against the worms. All the ones mentioned are important parts of the tank ecosystem. As far as frags, I temp acclimate and inspect for any bad hitchhikers and put in the tank.

 

[mdpitts]

I dip every coral every time. I am a vendor myself and I tell every customer to dip all coral. I squint when another vendor says you don’t have to dip their coral. Everyone has something in their frag tanks. May not be harmful, but may not be desirable either. The choice is yours.

Ok that is the kind of answer I need. Thank you! I’m going to do the Seachem iodine dip. At the very least maybe it will make a bad guy squirm so I can take action.

I’m from Bay City, MI and spent summers in Harrisville on Lake Huron. All my family including 2 sets of step-family from there as well. Love, love, love Michigan.

 

[mdpitts]

Not sure what you have against the worms. All the ones mentioned are important parts of the tank ecosystem. As far as frags, I temp acclimate and inspect for any bad hitchhikers and put in the tank.

Yeah that was a worm heavy, negative post. Bristle worms give me the creeps but I kind of feel sorry for them because they are big babies if you accidentally dislodge them. My problem with alllll the worms is they don’t practice birth control. My sand bed in that 13 gallon tank is gross and those detritus worms cling to everything that spends a nano-second on the sand.

 

[mdpitts]

I would quarantine at a minimum observe for a few days

At the moment I don’t have a way to quarantine but I’m going to set one up within a couple weeks. I hate myself for procrastinating now.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Ok that is the kind of answer I need. Thank you! I’m going to do the Seachem iodine dip. At the very least maybe it will make a bad guy squirm so I can take action.

I’m from Bay City, MI and spent summers in Harrisville on Lake Huron. All my family including 2 sets of step-family from there as well. Love, love, love Michigan.

Awesome! I’m in the Monroe area in southeast MI. If you have a pipette or turkey baster, gently blowing off the coral while dipping can dislodge any stubborn pests like sea stars also. Good luck!

 

[threebuoys]

I would QT in a small tank, then, dip after a day or two.

I have not always dipped and now I am dealing with vermitids, asterina starfish, bristleworms and aptasia and who knows what else as a result.

The only good hitchhikers have been stomatella and brittle stars, both of which stay hidden.

 

[threebuoys]

At the moment I don’t have a way to quarantine but I’m going to set one up within a couple weeks. I hate myself for procrastinating now.

Put them in a tupperware container with an air stone for a day or two to get over the transport, then dip. This might give you a fighting chance against the hitchhikers.

 

[TheStrangler]

This isn't negative feedback because the corals I received were very healthy but I recently received corals from aquasd. I did observational quarantine for a month, didn't dip on arrival but dipped mid quarantine when everything was settled in, then again before moving stuff to the tank with coralrx and reef primer and there was a fair number of critters that I kept out of the tank. It took nearly a month for me to find flatworms that came in on torches, and a couple of weeks for a zoa eating spider and zoa nudis. On the second dip I found a hole in a LPS skeleton that had a half dozen isopods, assorted non problematic worms fell off at both dips and picked during QT. I received something like 60 corals and all have survived 90 days minus one that got stung to death by a wandering nem, but I'd go through a thorough QT if you want them to come in spotless.

I don't think I'd do anything differently except maybe start dipping week 1 instead of week 2. I do think not dipping until the corals are somewhat acclimated is a good move if you're able to. If you aren't able to, I would most certainly dip and even then keep vigilance up for at least a month.

 

[Solo McReefer]

Most cooties that come in on new corals

Comes in on the frag plug anyway

I use a waterproof toothbrush to clean the the plugs off. This works in conjunction with dip, or inspite of it, say eggs or asterinas that may not be sensitive

Best practice is to cut the plugs off, and remount on your own new plugs

 

[exnisstech]

I don't know how clean their coral tanks are but a clam I got from them last week had an aiptasia on the shell. I left it for the peppermints and they ate it the first night and finished off the clam the following night. It arrived gaping and didn't last 24hrs. No worms tho but I love all the worms you are trying to evade.
EDIT to add image

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Just got my package 30 minutes ago. Had a family member just bag float them until I get home from work. Only thing I am worried about is my torches since they don't like shipping long.

 

[mdpitts]

Put them in a tupperware container with an air stone for a day or two to get over the transport, then dip. This might give you a fighting chance against the hitchhikers.

That's a great idea!! I was thinking I would have to get a small tank established with a cycle done and all that first. Thank you! I even have some extra 5 gallon buckets I could use.