Dipping Corals

[DianaKay]

Do you worry about GOOD hitchhikers being killed when you dip your newly acquired corals in Coral RX? (Or whatever kind you use to dip them in)
I'm fixing to dip my new pieces and I remember dipping the last one & a tiny brittle star fell out....that made me so sad I know it doesn't hurt the corals to dip them but still
Also do you did mushrooms the same way as the other corals? They seem more delicate to me. I have SO MUCH YET to learn about corals. Thanks for any advice. ~Diana~

 

[David Shaw]

Yes you will loose the good ones too, but i really don't want to risk a baddie getting into the tank. I once had a mantis shrimp which drove me crazy trying to remove, went on for months and had several fish deaths as a result.

Now i dip as i would rather loose a hitchhiker than a fish.

I use Coral Rx and dip everything including live rock. At the end of the day it's all about personal preferences.

 

[theplantman]

I like my good hitchhikers so don't do the dipping. I do however perform a very very close visual inspection of what i am getting, whats attached and the entire tank/system it comes out of before purchase and then again while it acclimates. When i got the duncan, the frag was clean but in the process of bagging it there appeared to be a free floating aptaisia which went down the drain. When i got my shrooms, i got free micro bristle stars and 3 stomatella snails a spaghetti worm and some small feather dusters. Its a little risk i am willing to take, but I like my hitchikers and the fun of ID'ing them. Even when its a bad one like nudi's or crabs. Delt with that in the past.

 

[Blndbunny]

I hate the fact that in dipping I also kill good hitchhikers. However I have delt with some nasty hitchhikers too. In one of my tanks I ended up with zoa eating nudis, and I was able to treat and take care of the problem. I would rather be proactive and not have to deal with treating after the fact, when something as simple as a dip at the begining could have prevented the problem.

I don't know about dipping mushrooms, I haven't done it

 

[mtsully71]

Diana,

Dave and Mike both have good arguments.....I lean towards the ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...I dip all mine in Coral RX. I have seen 2 critters come off, a sluggy looking thing and the other appeared shrimp like, but was very small.....I didn't try to ID them, cause then I dont know what I could have had

Sully

 

[DianaKay]

Thanks you ALL! I'm in the process of dipping them. I saved ONE Stomatella as he was crawling around the acclimation bucket.
Still is worries me to dip mushrooms because the are so much more like little anemones, I'm afraid the dip might be harmful to them.
I think if all goes well, I should have some pretty new residents in my tank. (Check thread for pictures maybe tomorrow, if all isn't stress out still ) I don't know what I'd do with out RS forum TANKS ALOT

 

[major fish]

Buy from a reputable dealer.

I only buy from one place because they clean the tanks on a daily basis, have them on a separate filter system to the fish tanks and also dip corals before they are placed for sale. In fact they may even quarantine them too.

i am taking two rabbit fish back to them at the weekend and they will quarantine those for 2 weeks before placing for sale and issuing credit.

 

[yankieman]

I dip all corals including mushrooms and zoes except SPS in coral rx and I dip SPS corals in revive

 

[JJB103]

I had a huge colony of zoas that I didn't dip and it was infested with zoa eating nudibranches. I tried picking them off and doing fresh water dips. That was a joke. I finally bought some coral Rx and one dip removed 12 nudis. The second dip killed the last 3. Amazing stuff. It didn't get rid of the eggs though. I had to scrape them off manually. But the colony survived and flourished until I sold it.

 

[Blue Space]

I'd just do an acclimation dip first if you want to save good hitch hikers. Use a magnifying glass and take your time in an isolated, clear container. Then do a dip in Revive or Coral Rx. I agree with the last three posts -It's not worth it! A dip is critical, especially if you don't quarantine.


Monti-Eating Nudi

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[yvr]

+1 on dipping corals. I dip all my new corals in an iodine bath like Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure before introducing them into my tank. Understandably I get a bit paranoid about introducing things like flatworms into my display tanks.