Dyed Corals

[Derek Skillings]

Hi Eric-

Obviously I just read the article, and I share your concern. I have been working at an lfs for the last couple years. Actually I just moved and started at another a couple of days ago. But that is beside the point.
I will activly help you any way I can with tracking down direct suppliers. IME every distributer I have ever dealt with (which is about every one) has at some point or another offered dyed corals, either knowingly or not.
I have quite a few contacts within the industry and will try as I can to get info from actual collecting stations. If you need any additional help besides that of info gathering, let me know and I will do what ever I can.

 

[EricHugo]

Hi Derek:

Thank you very much for the offer and iwould be grateful for anything you can provide. I am equally upset at the practice, but I want you and anyone else to know that my request for information is not to track down and slay anyone participating in the practice, but to find out the sources and inform them of the problems with the practice and why it should not be continued. I think education, proper complaint of the practice and non-support is probably the best way to deal with this issue.

 

[barryb2]

Dyed corals

Dyed corals

I'm pleased to see that so much pressure is to put on suppliers and dealers to put an effective stop to this unacceptable practice.

My LFS here in the UK was caught out with 3 yellow dyed Cladiella, he sold one unsuspectingly but retained the others, which faded back to a a totally bleached-out almost colourless 'white'. One died pretty soon, but the other struggled on and eventually survived, but was not sold, and was put into a display tank where it is now a normal colour. It's survival is probably due to the fact that the coral sales tanks are fed each day with frozen plankton, brine shrimp 'juice' and mysis.

I am setting up one half of my new system to be a colourful 'softie' zone, inspired by page 106 of the soft back version of Aquarium Corals, but under no circumstances want to be conned with dyed junk.

I hope that you and Mr Calfo can get this unacceptable practice stamped out (especially the Los Angeles link). I will support you in any way that I can.

 

[Derek Skillings]

I am equally upset at the practice, but I want you and anyone else to know that my request for information is not to track down and slay anyone participating in the practice

you mean that killing people isn't acceptable as a means for ending the dying of corals . But I totally agree, you have to make these people want to stop the practice, not force or pressure them to stop.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

"I think education, proper complaint of the practice and non-support is probably the best way to deal with this issue." EB

Eric... are you sure you wouldn't rather just find some of the folks doing this peculiar if not abhorrent deed and dye them to see how they like it?

It's like our good friend Bob Fenner says... anyone that says a skimmer is not necessary on a tank need only to drink a cup full of skimmate to prove it to him

I say, we dye the rat buggers dipping corals and if they still feel frisky after the color wears off, then we can concede that it is a safe practice.

Lets put it to a vote

 

[Anthony Calfo]

BTW... Just doing my part to help the environment: one cheeky remark at a time

 

[EricHugo]

We could have supplier hunts, like the days of McCarthyism. or, better yet, Puritan-style. Big pink and yellow "A'" on their garb. Problem is, they be easy to find looking like easter eggs that way.

As for Bob's comment, I wouldn't suck the poo out of a fish anus, either, but apparently corals and other fish think its yummy. Why you, yourself, can vouch for that as you have had quite a history of licking coral mucus. I say a cup of skimmate might be just the ticket!!

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Sheesh...

... A fella poisons himself a few times with palytoxin and he's labeled a "Coral Licker" for life.

Heehee... that toaster pastry "pant licker" commercial kills me.

 

[Derek Skillings]

dyeing them might not neccesarily help; In my punk-rock days I voluntarilly dyed my hair bright blue and thought it was cool. So that might just encourage them.

 

[PetConnection]

Palytoxins...and dyed corals

Palytoxins...and dyed corals

Hello,

Interesting articles, Anthony and Eric! As someone who has done quite a bit of research on opening a wholesale facility, I can say the dyeing (and dying ) practice is widespread throughout Indonesia. The "best" suppliers I have found list dyed corals, yet mention they are dyed with exclamation points! Suppliers can then avoid these corals... Most just list the coral, with un-natural colors: purple, yellow, orange colt corals, etc.. Of course the problem is worsened by the use of the same common name for many different coral species.

Just to note, as it was not mentioned yet, the practice of dyeing freshwater fish is very common! Many species are regularly dyed or even "painted" with neon colors! Some breeders even use hormones to artificially color their fish. Fortunatly for the fish, these awful practices do not always kill the fish. They mostly fade after a month or so, but the stress makes the fish more susceptable to disease, from my experience...

On the palytoxin stuff...I've probably hurt myself every possible way you can with marinelife (with the exception of stonefish, sea snakes, blue-ring octopus, and Conus sp. envenomation)! The oddest event occured when I broke down a customer's reef tank, in order to replace the stand. The tank contained large numbers of palythoa sp. (almost 25% of a 90 gal.). After about 1 hour my nose started running, after another hour I was sneezing almost uncontrollably. My eyes were tearing, and I had asthma and trouble breathing. My coworker on the job, who is never allergic to anything, was having the same problems. It took me a day to recover, then every single little cut on my hands became severely infected, to the point where I had trouble using my hands! Luckily, the customer was a physician, and had been affected by this "tank of doom" the same way! He prescribed the antibiotic Levaquin, and after several days the infection went away. I wish I knew whether this was a palytoxin reaction, or a bacterium, or both?

 

[EricHugo]

Wow - great information, thanks!!

On your reaction, I suspect bacteria given the systemic-type reaction. The only times I have similar things happening has been with sand beds and live rock and was due to polychaetes. My hands get swollen from small polychates anytime signfiicant work gets done. Homestly, all sorts of things can do this from sponge spicules to soft corals.