Do you QT your new frags??

[krzyphsygy]

A good question? Well for how long? I have heard 9 weeks. For me, that means basically, a whole other reef set up right? Correct me if I am wrong here, lighting, skimmer, all that right?

Is there a easier way? I am just thinking economicaly. I cant really afford another lighting set up. The time does not bother me, its the expense and husbandry duties for 2-3 tanks that is killing me.

 

[MammothReefer]

No, I dip and add.. or well I did before I found AEFW (early summer) now I just assume everything has it, and blast/baste away a few times a week even if I don't see an issue figure worse case I'll kick up some detritus.

 

[64Ivy]

+1 here. I just dip, examine, and add. Haven't had a problem so far. Kudos to those who have the time and space though as I suppose it couldn't hurt.

 

[chefzif]

Always dip and inspect and remove from the plugs!

 

[D' kingfisher]

if fresh cut , i dip and examine. if encrust the plug, i cut, dip and transfer to a new plug and examine again.

 

[njreefermadness]

We probably all should, but most don't. Dip 'em, give them a look, and put 'em in seems to be what most folks do, including myself.

Herb

 

[krzyphsygy]

Thanks! A few questions now.


1) What are you dipping them in and for how long?

2) So if they come on a plug, disc, or rock, you are cutting it off the rock and appling it to you own? I guess that keeps ICK out also huh?

 

[chrishayes]

I keep a qt setup. Not for much longer though as its just become a home for unwanted livestock. Not the Qt it needs to be. Im fully stocked too so I dont need it anymore. The way I see it, you dont need anything high dollar to use as a qt. Dont sweat it, get a 10 gal setup from walmart that has the incandecent hood. Swap the bulbs for the highest k rating cfl twisties you can find. Add a few powerheads and some eggcrate to elevate the coral off the bottom so you can keep it clean. Leave the setup running or keep the hob filter running on your display for when needed.

My opinion is that at the least this gives you a few days to look over your corals to find the things you WILL miss from a hurried dip and pick process. Acros get 2-4 weeks in QT mandatory sentence with no good behavior. Everything else stays til im satisfied theres nothing that i missed yesterday or the day before. All it takes is one egg or specimen in some cases to make you quit reefing altogether. Ask the 1000's of folks that have aefw, the aggressive variety. No way, not in my reef! Couldnt stomach that much money just going poof in front of my eyes...its like sex, I mean how many of you have done it with assured "im clean and cant get pregnant cause xyz" Roulette is for the mentally insane, imo.

Also, even though I QT sps, I still remove from the plug by clipping. Itll take time to heal from the transfer anyways so why not get that ugly thing out while youre at it. Plus it gives the coral a boost to growth ime.

 

[RynosReef]

Quarantine. Imagine adding something like aefw to a fully stocked tank with all your expensive corals. It only takes one. This is an expensive hobby by its very nature. Don't skimp on a qt and risk wasting your investments in corals.

I heard a great analogy about whether or not to quarantine: not quarantining is like playing Russian roulette. No won really wins. Some just get to play longer. My qt set up cost under $200 and gives me some piece of mind. Its worth it.

 

[REEF SMAC]

No, I dip and add.. or well I did before I found AEFW

+1 here. I just dip, examine, and add. Haven't had a problem so far.

Always dip and inspect and remove from the plugs!

if fresh cut , i dip and examine. if encrust the plug, i cut, dip and transfer to a new plug and examine again.

Dip 'em, give them a look, and put 'em in seems to be what most folks do, including myself.

Herb

This is what everyone does just before they end up on the "Where do I get Interceptor" thread or the "How do I get rid of AEFW" thread. Read the threads from the people that are on those threads already. Read back to the beginning of their tank threads, where they are doing all that "dipping and inspecting". You will begin to see a pattern of how well that worked out for them.

To answer your original post-

DEFINITELY

Thanks! A few questions now.


1) What are you dipping them in and for how long?

2) So if they come on a plug, disc, or rock, you are cutting it off the rock and appling it to you own? I guess that keeps ICK out also huh?

Dipping can't hurt, but it's definitely not a guarantee.

As long as you are aware that you risk infecting/loosing all of your livestock each time you add something new to your tank.

Like Chris stated above, a QT can be very basic. It doesn't need to be anything fancy.

 

[Finland]

This is what everyone does just before they end up on the "Where do I get Interceptor" thread or the "How do I get rid of AEFW" thread. Read the threads from the people that are on those threads already. Read back to the beginning of their tank threads, where they are doing all that "dipping and inspecting". You will begin to see a pattern of how well that worked out for them.

LOL, That was me!. Now I qt everything. I used to do the dip, examine, and into the tank it went. Ended up with redbugs and aefw. I thought I was really careful, but just dipping isn't good enough.

 

[gon08]

Thanks! A few questions now.


1) What are you dipping them in and for how long?

I use Imidacloprid. I use 0.50ml in 2 cups of tank water and dip for 15 minutes.
You can get Imidacloprid at Lowes or Home Depot as Bayer Complete Insect Killer COncentrated. Warning this will kill everything but the coral so you ABSOLUTELY DON'T want to use it in the tank. It is 100% effective on arthropods ( RED BUGS ) and will cause AEFW to fall off the coral but takes some time to kill them.

2) So if they come on a plug, disc, or rock, you are cutting it off the rock and appling it to you own? I guess that keeps ICK out also huh?

I remove them from the plug or rock if I can but sometimes if its too encrusted I use a tooth brush to scrub the plug right up to the live tissue. If there is any exposed skeleton I inspect it for as long and as much as I need to with a magnifying glass till I am satisfied there no eggs present.

With all that said it is still better to quarantine. I don't have the space for a quarantine so I just dip.

 

[Nomad37]

I picked up a small jeweler's scope a few years back at an estate sale that really gets up close. Its great for inspecting but qt is the way to go!

 

[RynosReef]

if you do pick up a new coral from a store or online and you're like me, im in a "controlled rush" to get them out of the shipping bag and into a real tank. So what if you do find out a new frag does in fact have a parasite on it and you have no qt? Then what? Dip and hope the dip got them all? Just throw it away? You've got a very limited amount of time to get them from the bag to a tank before you risk killing the coral and now you've got an infected coral and no time and no safe place for it. A qt gives you some options.

 

[krzyphsygy]

Good stuff!! I do have a 11gl tank with a 36watt power compact on top 10k and actinic. I wonder if I made a plastic stand to set up high in the tank to place SPS corals, if this lighting would be ok for 4 weeks??
See I already have this tank set up with 20lbs LR and 10lbs LS, however the tank is fallow now for 6 weeks due to ICK. As coincidental enough.....!! There is not fish in the tank. Ihave not changed out any water or filter media since my fish died. So I guess I guess I could wait about 6 more weeks and use it as a coral QT and then use another 10gl as the fish qt.

 

[SDguy]

6 hr dip minimum in interceptor, and another dip in revive prior to being added to the tank. I also remove any dead skeleton, etc.

 

[krzyphsygy]

6 hr dip minimum in interceptor, and another dip in revive prior to being added to the tank. I also remove any dead skeleton, etc.

Is that before going into QT

 

[Dyzio545]

I use Lugol's solution for my sps frag dips.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Always dip and inspect and remove from the plugs!

+1 Remove from the plugs is crucial or obtaining fresh cuts!

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

6 hr dip minimum in interceptor, and another dip in revive prior to being added to the tank. I also remove any dead skeleton, etc.

What if you forget to take it out of the interceptor dip, man that's a longg time!? lol

On a serious note, do you really do that for each of your new additions?