Dipping hammer coral before adding to tank

[IXA1929]

Hello, Just started up my tank and have it going now to the point where everything is stable and i am ready to add coral. I found someone selling some hammer coral frags on craigslist and I would like to purchase them an add them to my tank. However I am concerned as I have herd mixed reviews , Should I dip the coral as a precaution ? I don't want to introduce any pests to my tank and I am not sure yet what pests would be on there if any. Would a fresh water dip be sufficient or would something more serious be needed ? I would hate to get those red bugs in the new tank.

Thanks

 

[FishN00b83]

I have just learned this the hard way...QT that coral and treat it like you would a fish. I put a hammer in my 180 without putting through a full QT (I did a week) and I now have Ich in my display. Avoid the nightmare and QT it

As for dips I use coral rx and h2o2 on everything

 

[IXA1929]

Thank you what about leather corals like toadstool?

 

[FishN00b83]

I have never had leathers, but I THINK you can do the same h2o2 then coral rx. I would do a little research before hand just because like I said, I dont have any experience with them.

 

[skeeter_ca]

A lot of people use a dip product to kill off unwanted pest. it's called Coralrx. do a search and you will find a lot of threads on it.

 

[MondoBongo]

i wouldn't go with a fresh water dip, i would dip in saltwater with an iodine based dip. there are several good ones to choose from on the market.

i've started using Bayer Insecticide, at least for my acros. i'm not sure of the safety of it on other types of corals, but it might be worth looking in to. it takes no prisoners.

 

[hkgar]

i wouldn't go with a fresh water dip, i would dip in saltwater with an iodine based dip. there are several good ones to choose from on the market.

i've started using Bayer Insecticide, at least for my acros. i'm not sure of the safety of it on other types of corals, but it might be worth looking in to. it takes no prisoners.

How do you use Bayer Insecticide?

 

[CStrickland]

I use an iodine dip on lps too, it helps them heal if they got banged up cause their bones can pierce their tissue in transit. I only do the h202 if i see something funny on it, or wriggling out of it in the iodine dip, though I do all my hardier corals with peroxide. I think bayer is more for stuff like red bugs that are concerns for sps.

 

[MondoBongo]

How do you use Bayer Insecticide?

Mix it heavily with tank water and let the coral soak. Same as you would dip anything else.

It scorches the earth.

 

[IXA1929]

Okay just ordered some coral rx and i Think that I am going to pick up the hammer frag next week once that arrives. Planning on getting a clownfish pair this weekend or early next week. Tank has been running for about 2 weeks, I threw some bio spria and a damsel in the tank and after a week I already had nitrates. I figured I would wait a few more days just to play it safe but if I have nitrates my cycle should be working fine.

 

[IXA1929]

I also threw in some GSPs as a test from my other tank and they opened right up after a few days so I am sure the hammer and clownfish should be just fine. Just a little cautious though that I am using dry live rock and I dont want to introduce anything unwanted into my tank.

 

[hkgar]

Quarantine that clown fish before adding to your tank.

 

[MondoBongo]

in the future, please don't use fish, or any living animals, to cycle a new tank. it's cruel and entirely unnecessary.

there are many different ways to cycle a tank that do not involve tormenting a living creature with high ammonia and nitrite levels.

 

[IXA1929]

The damsel was not used to cycle the tank. It was the first fish in the tank. I used bio spria and monitored my ammonia everyday and had no spike in ammonia. After 1 week I had nitrates.