A heads up.....

thats not what is being debated.

The debate is whether or not they should be treating before bagging or at least telling people what/how to take care of what the parasites in their tanks.

You should RTFP before making sarcastic comments.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8898199#post8898199 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by soni


You should RTFP before making sarcastic comments.

Right back at ya.....

The first post in this thread has nothing to do with the "debate" that has ensued about disclosure and QT.

So here is the dabate clincher. I was in ATR twice in the past two weeks. I saw everything azlivingreef saw (Base STN, flatworms, and even red bugs). Here's where the rest of you tailed off on a tangent about disclosure..... I asked about specific corals on both occasions, and on both occasions I was voluntarily given a full disclosure about their pest situation by Skip without my asking.... The ownus was on me at that point to make the decision about whether or not to purchase.

They may not have a sign up saying "our corals have pests", but I don't believe for one second that ATR is deliberately shielding their customers from the truth, as other stores have (non-disclosure is the same in my book as denying the problem exists).

So what if they aren't telling every single customer about their coral pests? Maybe every customer that walks in isn't looking for a coral to purchase. Would it really matter whether or not they informed some dude who was there to buy a bucket of salt about the flatworms in their SPS tanks?

Oh, and on both occasions I bought SPS corals (pests and all) and took them home and treated them with PCC and will watch them for a couple weeks... The same procedure I follow with every new coral I bring home.
 
Points well taken. My meaning of my post was just to let people know of the situation incase some people are new to this hobby and do not know what these pest are.....always QT and dip is my suggestion
 
I figured ATR would disclose it, they're a good shop. Glad to hear it.

Sounds like they're just having some bad luck at the moment, I'm sure they'll get it worked out.
 
QT is the single most important thing involved in running a healthy tank. If you do not have a QT tank and inform yourself about the various coral pests and predators you will eventually acquire a pest or predator.

ATR has had the flatworms in those tanks for quite some time now. They have been treated on several occasions without success.

On the first occasion each tank on the system was sequentially removed from the system, all corals removed, and treated with a 2x dose of FWE in both the container holding the corals and the tank they came from. After one hour the tanks were siphoned/gravel vac'd of all water and debris and returned to the system. After carefully swishing the corals in the treatment bins they too were returned to the system. 1-2 tanks were treated per day for about a week and then the entire system was treated with a 2x dose of flatworm exit with normal water change and carbon usage as per the FWE instructions.

Despite the thorough treatment and the subsequent usage of FWE during acclimation of all new corals some of the flatworms survived the treatment.

The systems were treated a second time with a 2x dose of FWE a month or so later. Some still survived. At this point I am considering a 5x dosage of FWE and loading the tanks with wrasses.

Customers are typically informed and we have FWE sitting on the counter that we offer to add a drop or two to the bag to kill the flatworms during transport/acclimation. We would add the FWE to every coral that is bagged except we do not know the transport time of every coral and do not wish to cause any losses due to toxins accumulating in the bag during a long trip.

It is standard practice at ATR to dip all incoming SPS in TMPCC to prevent the introduction of RB's and AEFW's and to dip all incoming zooanthids in a freshwater and lugol's solution prior to introduction to the system to deal with any potential pests. This regimen should handle most known major pests.

Unfortunately, despite this protocol RB's were introduced to the system sometime in early December. I am not sure what led to the introduction of the RB's, but have Interceptor on hand and am waiting on the salt to do the necessary water change after treating the system (ordering from overseas can be a PITA). The system has been treated with Interceptor before for RB's, and will likely be treated with it in the future.

Unfortunately with the kind of volume of livestock that most LFS and I am sure most online livestock vendors deal with a complete QT regimen is not possible or financially feasible. This is why it is so important to QT all incoming livestock prior to introduction to a display.
 
I have always been offered FWE in my bags, I give them an A on that part. As everyone knows even if you QT sooner or later something is likly to slip thru the cracks, remember your buddy Murphy. JMO
 
yup and incoming corals do get treated I have seen it many times everything gets something. Then sometimes things slip by as they do in our tanks.
 

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