Dipping

[michael_cb_125]

Are there any folks here who dip their corals prior to introduction to a display? If so, does anyone dip corals in a freshwater bath as well?
How do most corals handle a dip?

I am very concerned about bringing in parasites that could harm my fish.

Thanks for any help

~Michael

 

[greech]

FW dips can be tolerated by some corals but I wouldn't do it unless you had confirmed pest that could not be dealt with any other way.

There really isn't a reason not to dip corals. Its cheap and easy to do. I have never had an issue with coral dips (lugols, Coral Rx, etc.).

Couple things I have learned...
1. Iodine dips will likely turn SPS corals brown pretty quick. they will regain their coral but it will take a little while.
2. Coral dips may not work on everything. Red bugs, AEFWs, planaria, etc. are notoriously hard to kill. You may want to talk to your veteranarian about a prescription treatment that will work on these pests.
3. Repeat baths in a variety of different dips (iodine, then Coral Rx, etc.) can help ensure success but you should give the corals a breather in between baths.

 

[debincalif]

I use a peroxide dip on all my corals before adding them to my system. I've never had a coral suffer any ill effects from it, and I've had no issues with pests being introduced into my tank or diseases on my corals. I use a 1:4 ratio of hydrogen peroxide to RO/DI water and dip the corals for about one minute. From there, I put them in a container with tank water to rinse, then I acclimate them into the tank.

 

[tektite]

Look into Bayer Advanced insecticide dipping, can kill a lot of things on the corals. I wouldn't trust anything to for sure kill off things that affect fish like brook or ich though. If you're really concerned about that, best to put any corals/inverts through a fishless 2 month quarantine before adding to the main tank.

 

[Ghstwolf]

I've used Coral RX on all my corals so far. It doesn't kill everything like others have mentioned, but I was surprised with the amount of stuff that came off the first couple or corals I dipped...

From what I've read Zoa's are one of the few corals that you can freshwater dip..

 

[jason_bradbury]

i just recently blew the dust of and set up my tank after several years of it sitting in the basement....so to be honest i havnt dipped ....but ive been reading these forums every day and what ive read is the same thing everyone has already mentioned..i see the coral rx a lot, and the bayer advanced is great for parasites more than the rest..i do see the peroxide at a 30% ratio is good to kill the algea as well..

as i said, ive never dipped a coral

an old wholesaler friend gave me a gatorade bottle full medicine to dip my fish in its formaldihide with a blue anticeptic that he mixed in ...methyline?

anyway, for coral id try the bayer advanced, its cheap and it works..(supposedly)