Anyone else into SPS?

[acro-ed]

Hi,
I have been "switching back" to SPS over the past year, and cleared out most of my softies/LPS. I'm looking for other people locally to buy/sell/trade with to expand my collection. Even if that means pooling online orders to save shipping, splitting something in half, or especially if you have colonies you are fragging....please shoot me a PM. I have a couple I can frag, but not many (yet).

Thanks!
Ed

 

[JonezNReef]

Did you see what Bobby V has up for sale on the ORCA thread?

 

[acro-ed]

Yes, I did. I'm sure he's a great guy but I'm not willing to take any risks and it is known that he had acro flatworms. It's the same reason I am weary of certain stores that are known to have/have had them. Unless you actually remove all acros and "start over" properly there's no way to be entirely sure. Again, not a slam against him or anyone else. I went through it myself about 10 years ago and I removed (destroyed) "all" of my acros so that I could be sure. I don't expect everyone to share my viewpoint, but that's why some people are apprehensive about certain sales/deals/people/stores.

Thanks for the heads up though!

-Ed

 

[JonezNReef]

I see I had no idea. Thats the last thing that I would want to risk which is why I dip all my new corals in Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer.

 

[acro-ed]

I use that as well. Good stuff and easy to use.

I'm sure everything would be fine with this guy's stuff, and the people buying will be happy. It's just a risk (even if small) that I can't take. I guess the reason I am so skeptical is that I got the flatworms from someone who had claimed to "start over" and had treated everything, etc. etc. and it turned out he was wrong (and I was foolish). I know that will mean I end up passing on some deals that are out there, but it is what it is. Like I said, I don't expect everyone to share my viewpoint on that.

I've been looking at a couple websites to order from. If you have any desire to check that out shoot me a PM and maybe we can split an order (most have free shipping at a certain dollar amount).

Thanks!
Ed

 

[JonezNReef]

I completely understand. I got a Bobbit worm (over a foot and half long) that took out all my zoa's once in my old tank and so I am very cautions and dip no matter what.

 

[Redfish1980]

Hey Ed this is Bobby from the Gainesville Reef Club. Wasn't it your wife that picked up some frags in Gainesville from me one day last year?

 

[Flagg37]

I think you need to have the expectation that anyone/place you buy a coral from (or anything you put in your tank for that matter) will have pests. If you want to be 100% sure don't rely on getting them from sources that claim to be free of them but do your own dip and qt. Most sources that stake their livelihood on the sale of their livestock will take their own precautions and will be "safer" choices, but there's no way to be sure so the responsibility ultimately rests on you.

 

[Redfish1980]

I give people bayer all the time when they buy from me and say they don't dip. I'd rather give some away than someone try to blame me for their failure to dip. At any given time I have 100's of SPS frags and since using I started using bayer a few years ago I have had no issues with AEFW or Red bugs. I wish it worked on aptasia too!

 

[acro-ed]

Hey Ed this is Bobby from the Gainesville Reef Club. Wasn't it your wife that picked up some frags in Gainesville from me one day last year?

Hey Bobby! Good to hear from you. Yes, I got several frags from you awhile back. One was a blue Austera (or similar) that has grown from a single branch into a grapefruit size colony. I'm very happy with it. Do you still have acros for sale? Could you pm me a list or something?

Thanks,
Ed

 

[acro-ed]

I think you need to have the expectation that anyone/place you buy a coral from (or anything you put in your tank for that matter) will have pests. If you want to be 100% sure don't rely on getting them from sources that claim to be free of them but do your own dip and qt. Most sources that stake their livelihood on the sale of their livestock will take their own precautions and will be "safer" choices, but there's no way to be sure so the responsibility ultimately rests on you.

I think this is great advice. There are a lot of variables and some odds with every course of action, which is why it's so important to start with confirming that there are no pests. The Bayer, or whatever, should be used so that you can personally verify that this last course of action was done before you quarantine. The biggest issue is that a dip won't kill AEFW eggs. And I'd be equally as ****ed if I wrecked my qt tank as the measure of last resort. I'd rather move the burden forward a step and put it on the seller. If I see bite marks or other indications I walk away. And I have walked away from some very reputable stores and people along the way.

As to the point about safety from people who have a livelihood in the industry, I'm not convinced on that. I've been in the hobby 20 years or so and have also worked in the industry. I've seen everything from fanatical practices that cost way too much time and money but have exceptional ethics, to people knowingly and blatantly selling pest filled frags. There's always going to be a wide gamut as far as how people/businesses conduct themselves.

In the end we just need to have education and standards at the point of purchase, followed by the diligent methods already mentioned.

-Ed

 

[airwaybill]

Ed!!!

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