Risk of RTN from newly arrived colonies?

[AkoAung]

I did something I never did before this weekend - I bought just arrived colonies of SPS from LFS. And I have lost a few to RTN. I did drip, put them in quarantine. It happened one after another. I haven't lost any from buying frags or colonies that's been there for sometime. It's occuring to me that might be the cause - buying and bringing home newly arrived colonies - as the corals are already under stress from 1) shipping 2) change in water and temp at the LFS and then 3) change in water and temp at the hobbyist's home, all in the space of 24 hours, just might be too much for some of them.

 

[sahin]

I did something I never did before this weekend - I bought just arrived colonies of SPS from LFS. And I have lost a few to RTN. I did drip, put them in quarantine. It happened one after another. I haven't lost any from buying frags or colonies that's been there for sometime. It's occuring to me that might be the cause - buying and bringing home newly arrived colonies - as the corals are already under stress from 1) shipping 2) change in water and temp at the LFS and then 3) change in water and temp at the hobbyist's home, all in the space of 24 hours, just might be too much for some of them.

What you assert is quite possible. Survival depends on what condition the corals were when they arrived at the LFS and the health of the LFS systems.

One of my LFS get stuff in and I see colonies STN days later or even a week later...but they have perfectly growing frags in the same tanks.

Another LFS has a superb system which is very healthy and this guy rarely losses stuff...ie only when the coral came in a real bad state.

Since I've been buying SPS corals for nearly 15 years, I can now see if a potential coral looks unhealthy etc.

Just double check all your parameters though, as it is very possible that corals in your tank may have adapted to a less than ideal parameter (and continue to live), but stressed out corals which have travelled 1000's of miles aren't able to deal with this and die.

Sorry about your loss. Did you spend a lot on these colonies?

 

[AkoAung]

Thanks for validating my little theory. Of course pests was a possibility. Might be a combination of the weakened corals and a slightly aggressive flow in the QT.
I'll have to double check the parameters. Lost some $$ and that seems to be a common theme with this hobby. I regret losing the colonies more. One was a good size red dragon colony.

 

[reef80]

Sorry about your lost...These reasons why I don't want to buy wild colonies yet...

 

[sahin]

Thanks for validating my little theory. Of course pests was a possibility. Might be a combination of the weakened corals and a slightly aggressive flow in the QT.
I'll have to double check the parameters. Lost some $$ and that seems to be a common theme with this hobby. I regret losing the colonies more. One was a good size red dragon colony.

There is always a chance of pests, however, the way you describe the death of the corals implies that pests wasnt the cause. It can take several weeks/months for AEFW's to kill off a coral...same goes for Redbugs etc. And you usually see other signs like the corals becoming pale before STN starts.

This sounds like typical wild colonies coming in stressed and not making it.

Flow could be a cause...but again...I put my money on stress and not being able to adapt to too many changes in such a short while.

To save losing the $$$ I would definitely double check all your parameters:

Ca, Alk, Mg, Specific Gravity and Temperature. If these all check out, then try buying just one and see how it does in your tank.