Wild sps
- Thread starter Gills 619
- Start date
mike_cmu04
New member
Just follow the directions and dip for that time. Just be careful because wild corals are harder to keep than aquacultured.
Thanks mike, what if there are eggs on it that may hatch out later?
allsps40
New member
I would stay away from wild sps. Not due to pest issues but survival. I have a LFS that gets wild sps and I have bought 4 or 5 colonies in the past. I only have 1 have has survived and it is browned out. It was a yellow wild milli frag that got knocked off the colony in shipping. I have also watched several wild sps slowly die in the tanks at the same LFS while the cultured grow color up and do great. I am keeping an eye on a nice wild sps colony now and after about 3 weeks it has started to stn. Dont know what it is about the wild sps but survival rate is lower than cultured. Could be lighting or lack of food or increased nutrients. Plus why take from the wild what you can get from a cultured environmentally friendly source.
gofor100
New member
+1... I think we should try to support the cultured corals as much as possible to support this type of collection versus taking something directly off the reef (especially since the survival rate is poor). I know they are all ultimately coming from the same place (the reef), but it seems that the cultured corals do better in our systems which means we buy less stuff in the end, and therefore, the reef is hopefully less affected.
If we stop buying the wild colonies from the LFS, then they might stop purchasing them, and then collection will slow immensely due to the lack of demand.
M007
Acro Whore
My coral shop has a great record with wild acros. If seen some arrived bleached bone white, even peeling, and bounce back. Wild acros are a skill. I have 9 and all are doing very well. It is important to look for colonies with a piece of the original reef still attached. Makes them easier to place and helps to ensure good flow around the entire colony.
In aus i would say 95%+ of the acro are wild colonies. LFS dont even sell frags/aquacultured acros this is done via other reefers only and one or two online shops but rarely.
If your tank is up to scratch you can sucessfully keep wild colonies, you just need better water quality to keep colour in them....
If your tank is up to scratch you can sucessfully keep wild colonies, you just need better water quality to keep colour in them....
menthol
New member
All i have are wild caught LS, and all i can say is that keeping wild caught vs. cultured is no different from each other. it's just that the shipping of WC sps are poorly done often times. that is why when they get to your LFS, they are in bad cond. already, and by the time it hits your tank, it's a goner. Also, it is true about wc losing color, but they get it back a few months later if everything is alright in your tank. Unwrap it, dip it, glue it!
allsps40
New member
Plus 1 good point.
I was actually going to write that originally but didnt, multiple shipping of acro in short periods of time is not ideal also, and as soon as your LFS or OLFS get the stock they want to get rid of it before it TN or brown or even increase their cash flow so there is even more stress on the coral being shipped or transported to another tank which may have different parameters yet again.
Alex T.
Active member
I've had mixed results with wild caught colonies. I believe most of them are maricultured, not wild caught. If you can have patience, assume they will lose color before they get better then you can probably keep them. They do bounce back with some amazing colors for the most part.
I'm going through it right now with a blood red millepora colony from Diver's Den. It arrived slightly brown, went almost deep purple and is now lightening up a bit. There is no tissue recession at all and my parameters are spot on. I also notice that wild caught colonies begin growing faster, then go through a color shift. This millepora has been in my tank for just over a month and has 1/4 inch new growth off its' tips as well as 5 new stubs starting. I've had a beautiful yellow bottlebrush colony with pink tips go completely green and now is turning back to its' beuatiful yellow again. Then I had my prized purple humilis that arrived deep purple, went brown for a year with next to no growth, then went crazy growing like a weed for a full year with each branch hitting close to 4 inches of growth. Then, one day it it went through an RTN event. You just never know with them. It really is a gamble.
I'm going through it right now with a blood red millepora colony from Diver's Den. It arrived slightly brown, went almost deep purple and is now lightening up a bit. There is no tissue recession at all and my parameters are spot on. I also notice that wild caught colonies begin growing faster, then go through a color shift. This millepora has been in my tank for just over a month and has 1/4 inch new growth off its' tips as well as 5 new stubs starting. I've had a beautiful yellow bottlebrush colony with pink tips go completely green and now is turning back to its' beuatiful yellow again. Then I had my prized purple humilis that arrived deep purple, went brown for a year with next to no growth, then went crazy growing like a weed for a full year with each branch hitting close to 4 inches of growth. Then, one day it it went through an RTN event. You just never know with them. It really is a gamble.
rogerwilco357
Active member
i learned the hardway qt everything , the lfs says we dip all our coral etc..but when you get them home you dip and put them in and guess what the eggs have been waiting to hatch and by the time they get big enough to see it is too late..so i learned an expensive lesson one the lfs will deny it to the end as they believe the dipp is all curing not the fact. and they move the corals so fast that they don't get the worms hatching and spreading fast enough to catch also i noticed in there tank with the wild corals or corals not from ora or fish heads or cultured corals ,,the other corals go in a tank seperate and with wrasses and dragonettes why if they dip would they need to keep them seperate and need those fish which i noticed pecking the base of one paticular wild piece lol but he would not let me inspect it with my loupe to see the base which i know had the eggs lol..oh well lesson learned ..inspect dipp and qt anyway just to make sure or you will be the only one hurt as the lfs will deny and say you got it somewhere else..even though the corals you bought all year long came exclusively from them and the tank was just setup this year from your old rock sitting in bins for 2 years since your last tank breach etc..sorry for going on just venting and hoping you don't loose alot like i have ..learn from my mistakes please.
Roger
Roger
Alex T.
Active member
Listen to rogerwilco. I'll never buy a wild or maricultured piece again. They're just not worth the risk to your tank. Sure you can have an instant reef but from my experience and others it's just not worth the risk or even necessary. It's much more satisfying too when you can grow out a aquacultured frag to a beautiful mature colony IMO.
twiggyb
Active member
I bought a wild colony bottlebrush from DD and it is doing great in my tank, I have leds so the color isn't the same as it is in the pic of theres, but it is doing well.
MechEng99
aka Reef'd Up
If you purchase a wild sps colony and don't have a QT, this is what I would do (and have done):
Use Coral Rx at recommended strength. Dip the coral (preferably all acropora in the tank) daily in the Coral Rx for one week. This will kill the adults/sub-adults of AEFW. The second week, dip every other day...this will kill any new hatchlings, hopefully before they have a chance to lay eggs. The third week, dip every third day...just to be on the safe side in case any eggs didn't hatch the previous week. I followed that process for 7 weeks when I found AEFW in my QT (and didn't want to have a separate acropora-only treatment tank with levamisole).
Now, the debate on whether to buy aquacultured or maricultured/wild sps pieces is a much bigger-picture discussion that involves a lot of factors, most discussed above. I'll stay out of that can of worms.
Use Coral Rx at recommended strength. Dip the coral (preferably all acropora in the tank) daily in the Coral Rx for one week. This will kill the adults/sub-adults of AEFW. The second week, dip every other day...this will kill any new hatchlings, hopefully before they have a chance to lay eggs. The third week, dip every third day...just to be on the safe side in case any eggs didn't hatch the previous week. I followed that process for 7 weeks when I found AEFW in my QT (and didn't want to have a separate acropora-only treatment tank with levamisole).
Now, the debate on whether to buy aquacultured or maricultured/wild sps pieces is a much bigger-picture discussion that involves a lot of factors, most discussed above. I'll stay out of that can of worms.
