M&C Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 This may seem pretty obvious to some, but maybe not so much to beginners (like myself). I thought I'd share my experiences with others who are new to the hobby so they don't make the same mistakes. I don't have the greatest LFS in my area, so I've been ordering coral online from two highly reputable dealers. Both of my zoanthid frags from one dealer came in pretty bad shape. One had a bunch of algae on it, which I guess can be managed. The other was poorly mounted on it's plug--lots of super glue, tissue damage. Eventually I just fragged off a piece that looked healthy and tossed the rest. A candy cane frag I ordered from the same dealer looked great when I first got it, but a few days later, seemingly out of nowhere, it was covered in aiptasia. I was totally unprepared for this, so I just tossed the frag out. A few days later, I decided I wanted a new candy cane, so I tried a different website--again, these are highly reputable dealers. I got a truly terrible frag from them too. It was completely covered in different kinds of algae (including bubble algae), some off-white fungus-looking stuff, idk. There was some pretty bad tissue recession. I had to sit there for 30 minutes and manually clean off the worst of it (which just stressed it further). It's looking better now (you can see a picture in my build thread) but I'm still in the process of nursing it back to health. I'll probably have to take it out again to clean some of the places I missed. At least this one didn't come infested with aiptasia... So what do all of these have in common? I didn't buy from the WYSIWYG sections. Apparently, you can't trust even the best websites to send you a quality frag unless it's the one you can see for yourself in the picture. Now don't get me wrong, WYSIWYG is not perfect (nothing is 100%), and you will still probably get frags that have one or more problems--this highlights the main reason to always quarantine new arrivals, or at the very least give everything a good dip. But a dealer is not going to put an algae/pest covered or damaged frag up for everyone to see, and if they do, then you will know not to buy it. Generally, while more expensive, the WYSIWYG section houses the best frags. So pony up a bit more for the nicest ones you see. You will save more money in the long run, and will have a better overall experience with the hobby. Happy reefing! Edit: To clarify, I have dipped every new coral arrival in Revive. I already quarantine and dip all new fish. Link to comment
asstastic Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 i take it you dont dip or quarintine stuff? Link to comment
M&C Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 i take it you dont dip or quarintine stuff? I have dipped every coral that's come in, and I do quarantine my fish. Now I will quarantine all new coral arrivals in addition to dipping them. Link to comment
shaneandjohn Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Great post!! I cant stress enough the importance of dipping all new Corals and to quarantine all new Fish. This will help to ensure you of a healthy display tank. I dip everything. I tell my buddy not to get offended when I get frags from him. His tank is prestine, yet I dip anyway. It gives me just that addeded assurance that I am doing everything I can to keep my livestock as healthy as I can!!! Forgot to mention, that even dipping sometimes thing still get introduced. I now have been fighting a bit of bryopsis that snuck by me on a dipped coral frag. It happens some times, but Atleast I know I did what I could to try to prevent it!! Link to comment
M&C Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Forgot to mention, that even dipping sometimes thing still get introduced. I now have been fighting a bit of bryopsis that snuck by me on a dipped coral frag. It happens some times, but Atleast I know I did what I could to try to prevent it!! Yup, nothing is 100%. But in this hobby, it's definitely in your best interest to do whatever you can to increase your chances of maintaining a healthy, pest-free tank. Link to comment
Seiryoku Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Who did you buy from (that gave you terrible frags)? Link to comment
Deckoz2302 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Dump some mag powder on your bryopsis see how it likes it...then talk dirty to it Link to comment
asstastic Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 ^kinky i prefer to choke them with peroxide Link to comment
M&C Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Who did you buy from (that gave you terrible frags)? VividAquariums and Liveaquaria. I hesitate to call them out though. They have good reputations for a reason, and I still plan on ordering from them in the future. I'll just be careful to order wysiwyg, followed by dipping and quarantine. Link to comment
Deckoz2302 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Peroxide doesn't work on bryopsis bro Link to comment
asstastic Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=se...f.osb&cad=b Link to comment
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