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View Full Version : It pays to inspect and dip!



Mr Cob
Thu, 24th Feb 2011, 10:29 AM
I just want to raise caution to those that purchase colonies and especially those that don't dip their coral.

It does not matter what the person, vendor, LFS whoever and whatever says....always be sure to DIP and inspect your specimens thoroughly. Our acclimating kit says "We dip all of our coral but that doesn't mean you shouldn't", and that's for good reason! You just never know what can and does get through a dip.

Lastnight I found a little hairy crab in one of the colonies from our newest shipment which then caused me to break the entire rock up, you'd be surprised the stuff I found in there hidden in the tiniest of holes. Even after dipping for almost an hour there were still creatures moving around. All of the remaining rock was discarded to dry out.

Because of this, one of our new procedures for aclimating, dipping and preparing corals for entrance into our stock will be to break down colonies and rock. Because of this we will no longer offer colonies that are a part of large pieces of rock. If you buy a colony from us it will be a propagated piece.

Just another bonus for buying frags, less chance of pesky pests. Avoid pieces with large rock whenever possible is our recommendation and don't hate on the frag plugs and discs! They are your assurance that the person before you did their part for responsible reef keeping.

Take these same precautions with whoever you buy from including other vendors and hobbyists.

We're keeping score...
Frags: +10
Colonies: -10

Mr Cob
Thu, 24th Feb 2011, 10:41 AM
also...this shipment was not direct from the wild, it was from a reputable wholesaler who also dips which makes my point even more clear; Always dip and inspect regardless of what you are told.

Breaking all of the colonies down and fragging while dipping is definitely more stressful on the corals and did cause us to lose some coral, not to mention increased the process time x 4! But, it's just an extra step to strengthen our own quality of stock and lessen the chance of passing pests around.

hobogato
Thu, 24th Feb 2011, 11:09 AM
nice to see that you are going the extra mile on this.

saabtech
Thu, 24th Feb 2011, 06:28 PM
wow... bravo!

Kristy
Thu, 24th Feb 2011, 06:36 PM
Hey Rob, thanks for being honest and upfront about this. Pests happen.... to all of us, whether hobbyist or retailer. The more we can admit it and talk about what to do about it, the better equipped we are to protect our corals and reefs!

justahobby
Thu, 24th Feb 2011, 06:37 PM
nice to see that you are going the extra mile on this.

X2!!!!!!