dipping corals

[reefnoob]

Who dips their corals? I already have corals, but I've never dipped them before. If I want to buy more corals, would it really matter if I dipped those or not, since I already have undipped corals? If some kind of pest got in my tank, how would I get rid of it?

 

[little_fish]

I always dip corals. LFS are the casual encounters section of cragslists, all sorts of stuff comes in and you never know what they are bringing with them.

I would dip any future corals you get.

You known you have an infection when corals start dying or you see unwanted hitchhikers in the tank. And the type of pest/infection will determine the kind of treatment

 

[reefnoob]

I was thinking that corals would be like fish. If you don't QT your first fish and treat them for possible diseases, then all other fish after that would be pointless to QT. Because if there were some sort of parasite on a previous coral, wouldn't it still be able to attack a newly purchased one even after it is dipped?

 

[little_fish]

Yes that is true, but if you have been disease free so far, why not work at keeping it that way and then deal with an issue if it does come up?

 

[salt_for_brains]

I'm a dipper. It is to easy not to do it not to mention all the coin tied up in them.

 

[reefnoob]

Thanks a lot both of you, very good points.

 

[Steveg229]

I am a firm believer in dipping them now as well. I had a blasto that started dying within 2 weeks from initial purchase. I was pretty pissed. After doing some research, I dipped the coral and it is now about 98% recovered in the last 4 - 6 weeks. I just dipped my new zoas and acan, and they were fully open in about 15 minutes after I put in the tank. I see it as an easy, cheap, preventative measure.

 

[DVH]

Hey noob, managing an lfs for a year and talking to coral wholesalers on a weekly basis you learn a few things. Most corals that come into their facilitys usually are boxed up and shipped out within hours of them receiving them, meaning they don't have the ability or time to "clean" said corals. AEFW , zoa eating nudis , sundail snails, just to name a few, get passed on to your lfs. Now im not saying that this happens on every shipment, but it happens more often then not. So dipping your coral to me is probably the most important thing regarding this hobby. I use and recommend a triple dip method. At the shop and at home i use revive , coral rx, and lugals solution(for eggs). Sorry so long winded , but one time not taking precautions can wipe out an entire colony. I hope this helps. Because its not just the cost of coral, but the one you lose could be your favorite coral. And that sucks!

 

[reefnoob]

So what kind of dips should I buy?

 

[DVH]

I use Revive from Two Little Fishies , also Lugol's solution (in general all it is is iodine mixed with the water the coral came in) but make sure you follow instructions carefully. There are alot of manufacturers but I personally use Seachem. Now if you know that the coral you've purchased has a high risk for pests, then you do the full Lugol's with freshwater (preferably RO), just make sure that the water's temp and ph are identical to the water the coral came in. But my favorite dip to use is Coral Rx. It's available in concentrate or diluted. Both work great. It's known to kill both pests and their eggs. Hope that helps. Just make sure you follow the instructions on the bottle. Feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

 

[reefnoob]

So how many different kinds should I be getting? 1 or 3?

 

[cvcdrk]

Most people only use one. I use Coral RX too. I don't know that it actually does anything tbh....but I do it out of precaution.

 

[DVH]

I have all three. Depending on the need. If i get a coral from someplace or someone i know that hasn't had to many issues, i use Revive. If no experience buying from someone , or theres visible pests , I'll use Lugols or Coral Rx.

 

[reefnoob]

So lugols and coral rx are about the same, but they are both stronger than revive?

 

[DVH]

Lugol's and Rx are totally different. Coral Rx is a combo of natural chemicals . Lugol's is just iodine. But are very strong compared to Revive. Example: i got a zoa colony from a local LFS that i could clearly see zoa eating nudi's all over it, since it was a 40 polyp sunny d that was priced at $25 there was no way i was passing that one up. That's an instance i dipped with all three. First the revive for 5mins, rinsed it, then Coral Rx for 10mins, rinsed , then a fresh water Lugol's for 10mins. That would be an extreme time of using all three .

 

[reefnoob]

Then under normal circumstances what should I do?

 

[DVH]

CRe: dipping corals

I'd just use revive. You could just use Coral Rx also. Wouldn't hurt using either one. It's just Coral Rx is typically more expensive. Especially the concentrated version of Rx nine.

 

[DVH]

Disregard the nine. Stupid autocorrect.:D

 

[reefnoob]

So then if lugols is just iodine, what exactly does iodine do?

 

[reefnoob]

And I also read that revive can stress out corals. Many people had SPSs die when they used revive, while coral rx immediately killed of any bugs without stressing out the corals.