Dipping corals

[Ab129]

I am currently restocking fish after I lost all but one to an outbreak of ich earlier this year. Had my tank fishless for 2 1/2 months and now every new fish goes through TTM plus an additional 2-3 week QT.
The ich started a few weeks after I added a new coral. Many have told me how unlikely it is that this coral was the source and I'm not looking to debate that point. Fact is, now I wouldn't feel comfortable just adding corals without taking some sort of precaution.
Would dipping be beneficial?

 

[Sk8r]

Dipping is a good thing to do because corals have their OWN pests. In the case of stonies, one dip will usually suffice, but in the case of SPS, (colored sticks) also go over them with a magnifying glass looking for fine reddish dots (red bug). If you see that, do not put them in: keep them in qt and consult for treatment. In the case of softies, dipping, then observing in a qt tank for a week, then dipping again is a good thing, because the softies' problem tends to be sea slugs, and they may have eggs survive the first dip. Do a little rinse-off of the coral in discard saltwater to keep the dip out of your dt.

 

[djryan2000]

Yes. Definitely dip coral.

Not dipping coral is opening the door to a whole array of pests that will crash your tank. Nudibranchs, red bugs, aiptasia anemones, sea spiders ect....


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[ROlympia]

Longer QT for the fish and QT your coral before putting them in the tank.

 

[Reeferz412]

I’d dip any coral regardless of ich. Just way too many other things that could be on that frag or coral.

 

[Oldreeferman]

Same here i double dip everything & also lightly scrub the plugs with toothbrush if i decide to use them if they look clean, also look real closely at the plug & the frag with magnifying glass for anything suspicious, surprising what will try to sneak in beyond just animals including bad algae forms that are a real bear to get rid of once established. By double dipping ive had no frag issues saw all kinds of weird critters fall off tho gulp..............knock on wood......................

 

[nereefpat]

Since it hasn't been clearly stated yet...No, dipping coral won't help keep ich out.

Setting up a fishless coral QT and keeping any new corals there for a period of time (max of 76 days) would be full-proof.

Breaking corals off the frag plug so that only living coral goes in the display *should* be a good bet too. You are trying to make sure no encysted ich is hitchhiking.

 

[Sk8r]

Yep. If only ich were as easy as coral dip. But it isn't. There's a section of RC called 'fish disease' and it's better to read it now rather than have to read it later. Coral RX is the brand I use for corals.