Wild corals are they hard to keep?

azocean

In Memoriam
I have sps that is doing fine not fantastic steal working out the bugs. I am just wondering how hard is it to keep SPS wild corals. I was thinking a slow slow acclimation, coral dip,and slow light acclimation . Does anyone have input. Thanks any help would be great .
 
The issue with wild corals is that they may or may not adapt well to captivity. I have a much higher loss rate with wild caughts than frags or aquacultured/maricultured corals.

For the ones that do make it, they may or may not look anything like they did when you bought them. Most of my wild sps lost all of their color within the first few weeks, then slowly regained color over several months.
 
Seem's like shipping really gets to them, if they make it past a couple months your in good shape.
I agree the colors do change, some will still look crazy nice but nothing like they did in the ocean because the lighting is different than in our tanks and the water is so different.
C
 
I try to resist the urge because you get such a good size for the money.. but hard to keep the colony as they don't adjust well and would just STN.

I found the aquacultured have polyps during day time and wild usually don't, I think it would take a very long time to develop this behavior.
 
i have simliar experiences mentioned above, colors always change, not to mention they are harder to keep alive, usually i will notice a slow recession from the base of the coral and it creeps up the coral till i have to frag it anyways. Do the ocean a favor and stick to aquacultured corals grown in our tanks!!!
 
i have a few small colonies. i finally see polyps and slight color change after 9 months. hpoe that helps.
 
Thanks

Thanks

Thanks you guys have been a big help just very hard to resist the wild colonys they are huge and the colors are great. I guess I will wait a little longer.
 
Another big factor is lighting acclimation. Start them low and slowly over weeks (not days) move them up and into their final position also a more gentle flow helps especially if the the colors are very vibrant. It will take more time with these corals but like everything else in this hobby going slow leads to long term success. The posts titled "I need help" are usually started because people rushed to do things and oh guess what now I need an even quicker solution to my new problem. I don't mean to sound preachy so please don't take it this way. There are lots of people on here with more experience than me. But I have read and followed their directions and taking it slow seems to be the number one rule and number one mistake when not followed. I have had nice luck with wild caughts so far and this is what has worked for me.
 
I agree with onano. Most people acclimate wilds backwards giving them a ton of light and little flow. Wilds should be placed in LOW light, not high considering they are under regular fluorescent tubes for almost 4 days before shipped. Second, they should be given a ton of flow. They are coming from huge amounts of flow that we could never replicate in captivity. I also have had great success using this method. Please also keep in mind to feed, feed, feed! Remember they are coming from the ocean which is rich in foods.:)
 
Wild caught just seem to have a harder time adjusting because they are larger colonies and have adapted to the flow they are getting in the wild. Plus the shipping stress of distance. Also they go from being held by the collector then shipped to the wholesaler where they are held again, then they are shipped again to the retailer where they are held yet again and have to adapt again and then to the end customer. Plus with wild you always have the chance to introduce a new pest to the hobby.

Honestly I like starting with frags anyway and watching how their growth progresses.

Dave
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11698961#post11698961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fijiblue
I don't know about that one. I have maybe lost 10% of my wilds. How 'bout you, onano?

From start to finsh I would bet survival is even less.. I would bet almost 50 percent die or are dieing by the time they reach the retailer, another reason to avoid. Another thing is allot of them seem to survive for like 6 months and then die for no reason esp the tableing type.

Dave
 
shred5 - You are misinterpreting what I am saying. MY survival rate on wilds is 90%. I have had wilds for years no problem. Again, the key is acclimation procedures and animal husbandry.
 
fijiblue

what is your feeding habit for the new wild colonies. anymore info on your success would be great. And thanks to everyone who has had great info on there adventures with wild corals myself I have never like those 1 inch frags I guess I am just lucky are RC frag groups in az are pretty generous when giving frag almost like small colonies if you ask the right person. Thanks to everyone.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11699189#post11699189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fijiblue
shred5 - You are misinterpreting what I am saying. MY survival rate on wilds is 90%. I have had wilds for years no problem. Again, the key is acclimation procedures and animal husbandry.

Well than I have to say thats great because that is a pretty good success rate. I would bet most people do not have that good of success rate with any coral, wild or not. I would say with sps 1 out 10 not making it is pretty good even for cb frags long term.
Dave
 
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Interesting topic, as I just had an interesting experience with two wild collected colonies. I should first mention that I am now running a zeolith system, which is based on extremely low nutrients, aiming to mimic the natural reef environment. The idea is to maintain PO4 under 0.05 and NO3 about 1ppm.

In any case, I purchased two table corals, probably A. plana and A. jacquelinae. The plana was absolutely fresh, just out of the airport 24 hours when I purchased it, while the jaquelinae was at least two weeks in the store display, which is typically somewhat nutrient rich compared to the oceans. Well, if you've not guessed, the A. plana has adapted perfectly, polyps wide and flattering in the current, while the A. jaquelinae started to RTN in 48 hours, showing the typical from basis to tips deterioration.

Now, as I see it, the jaquelinae was in the process of adapting to a high nutrient environment when I purchased it, but went into shock in my tank due to the extreme low nutrient level. It was just too much stress for the animal and it died. The A. plana hardly batted an eye as it didn't really need to do too much adjusting.

Now, the light adjustment factor mentioned by fijiblue and onana should not be underestimated. Most corals will manage with less light, but too much light will simply kill them. I've learned this a few times, until it sank in :hammer: .

I suppose it is a multifaceted problem. Knowing what coral will be most likely to adjust to your particular tank conditions. As we all know, this knowledge and wisdom is quickly out the window when we are confronted with a marvelous specimen of Coralis tropicus var. costalot.

As to frags, they are easier for the beginner, for sure. And, let's face it, they offer the chance to get something we know we want that will most likely survive and flourish. I love 'em! Can't find enough quality frags, though. I suppose I am lucky to have an international airport in my city and a major importer or two as good buddies! My wilds have an excellent survival rate, actually better than my frags! (but not much)
 
My wild success rate is 80% maybe better. I have a very good LFS that gets their corals direct. I typically show up on the day the corals arrive and take them immediately. I believe my corals hit my tank being less than 7 days from the ocean. This may play a part butI believe my slow approach helps guarantee success.
 
Good to see ya Kolognekoral!:D

azocean - I feed 1 frozen rotifer cube, 1 frozen cyclops cube and 1 mysis cube daily. This is extremely important with the wilds as this extra food will keep them happy during their light acclimation.
 
There was a poll on here several years ago and the success rate with wild corals overall was around 50%, Maricultured(or aquacultured in the ocean) around 75% and tank raised frags around 95%. Some people have more luck/success with the wild corals and as has been mentioned source, type and conditions they are being placed in probably have a lot to do with it.
Chris
 
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