PLEASE DON'T BUY ANY NEW CORALS...

[uniquecorals]

Please don’t buy new corals…





-Unless you research their needs before you purchase.

-Until your aquarium environment can support them



-If you don’t have room to accomodate them as they grow



-If they are chemically incompatible with your current coral population



-If you don’t want to commit to their ongoing care

-At the risk of your overall financial health



-Without being able to provide them the food that they require



-Unless you plan on sharing your experiences (and frags) with them with other reefers



-Before you find out about the conditions the seller kept them under



-Without seeing an accurate photo of the coral first

-Unless you plan on inspecting and dipping them on arrival



-That are scarce in the wild and at the limit of your skill level to care for



-Which you might be allergic to

-During the winter if you’re expecting a major storm in your area



-From a source you are unsure of without some feedback from others reefers first



-That have a dismal survival record in captivity without expert care



-Which require conditions that cannot be currently met in captivity



-That are freshly cut and glued to a frag plug (unless it’s from a local fellow reefer)

-That need to be “nursed back to health”, unless you have the facilities to do so



-Unless you’re ready for a lifetime addiction!



And, of course, unless you’re willing to….


Stay Wet.


Of course, you can probably think of 20 plus more reasons…please share and discuss!



Scott Fellman

Unique Corals

 

[ReefCave]

All truth right there. Sure see alotof folks pull the trigger on animals assuming all they need is a bit of salt in the water....and no not just table salt

 

[zwulfke]

very true I know many that do not think of the growth and care and end up in trouble. Well there is always a tank upgrade

 

[uniquecorals]

I was thinking this morning that sometimes we have to almost take a "negative spin" on topics sometimes, in order to make positive decisions in the hobby. I've made/make plenty of mistakes, and if I can at least get others thinking through some of the other aspects of the "I want to get this coral..." process, I think it's not a bad thing. Thanks for taking this and adding to it in the spirit in which it was intended.

-Scott

 

[ReefCave]

In the SPS Category especially let's not forget to be wary of fresh IMPORTS! (< 30 days) minimum pref 60-90 IMO to allow them to show their true colors and stabilize. Especially freshly cut imports

 

[uniquecorals]

In the SPS Category especially let's not forget to be wary of fresh IMPORTS! (< 30 days) minimum pref 60-90 IMO to allow them to show their true colors and stabilize. Especially freshly cut imports

Excellent point! And, for that matter, a whole lotta frags take weeks to color up or regain their former color- and encrust- after being cut!

 

[reeffirstaid]

The fresh cut frag thing is a big one. I love when I get of Facebook and see an auction of, " Beautiful frags all fresh cut!" People rush on and start bidding, raving how they love fresh cut frags. Corals aren't veggies from the local farmer's market and fresh isn't necessarily a good term in the coral world. It can mean the frags have just been cut and are not healed, or that they just arrived from the wild and could be crawling with bugs or simply waste away.

 

[ReeferBee]

seems like a lot of redundancy in the list. And some that just make my scratch my head..

 

[ReefCave]

I feel Fresh cut from a established colony the risk is significantly less. Especially if local. Still risk but not even close to that of newly imported colony. There is much method and technique to newly imported SPS. They are extremely sensitive even prior to being fragged. Let alone chopped and re-sold and shipped immediately then blasted with light they are not climatized too. Usually before being dipped by the vendor for almost certain pests picked up from point of origin. I have yet to receive a maricultured Acro order in the last few years that major pests were not discovered after landing and dipping

 

[uniquecorals]

seems like a lot of redundancy in the list. And some that just make my scratch my head..

If you had to field the same questions that I do day in and day out, you'd understand the need for redundancy, trust me...Redundancy and the need to repeatedly repeat the same thing repeatedly is a repeated theme of the repetition that I repeatedly use on a repetitive basis during my repetition here. Do I need to repeat?

 

[uniquecorals]

I feel Fresh cut from a established colony the risk is significantly less. Especially if local. Still risk but not even close to that of newly imported frags. There is much method and technique to newly imported SPS. They are extremely sensitive even prior to being fragged. Let alone chopped and re-sold and shipped immediately then blasted with light. Usually before being dipped by the vendor for almost certain pests picked up from point of origin.

Great points...I can't say with 100% certainty, but I don't think that I've lost but a few frags over the years when cut fro m a fellow local reefer's well-established colony. The real "X" factor, of course, is shipping...And the hideous "chop shop" tactics that you allude to really take a toll on corals. The concern about inspecting for pests, even when purchasing from well-known coral vendors (us included) can never be minimized...Everyone does their best not to introduce of spread pests, but it's extremely difficult to do so with 100% certainty, given the sheer number of corals that are sold in the industry each year. Absolutely, measures to reduce, control, or even eliminate pests are on the "to do" list of every legitimate vendor out there; However, inspecting all new frags on arrival-from any source-is just part of the responsibility of being a reefer.

 

[ReefCave]

Absolutely!! Pests are a inherited risk of the hobby. Always treat new corals as if they are littered with them. A pest can elude a dip by hiding deep in a crevice and dodging the dip, Or surviving eggs etc. Also the most important factor when dipping coral is properly dipping coral. I have had customers take a beautiful specimen and not start their timer or not really measure dip solution, not properly rinse prior to re introduction etc and create larger problems than what they began with.

 

[uniquecorals]

Absolutely!! Pests are a inherited risk of the hobby. Always treat new corals as if they are littered with them.

The last part of your reply should be like a standard operating assumption for every reefer! Well said!

 

[Battlecorals]

Excellent point! And, for that matter, a whole lotta frags take weeks to color up or regain their former color- and encrust- after being cut!

try years lol not kiddidng at all

 

[revhtree]

Great points @uniquecorals!

 

[whixley101]

So very true. I definitely made this mistake in the beginning.

 

[D maul]

Yes repeat it some people may not know.

 

[tweeter]

If you had to field the same questions that I do day in and day out, you'd understand the need for redundancy, trust me...Redundancy and the need to repeatedly repeat the same thing repeatedly is a repeated theme of the repetition that I repeatedly use on a repetitive basis during my repetition here. Do I need to repeat?

Very well said!

 

[ReefCave]

The ironic thing about this is...What other industry is the vendor telling the customer not to buy their product?
Vendors looking out for their customers and their success, ultimately translates into the the success of the industry. When a animal/coral is purchased, dies, introduces pests whatever it's another red mark on how this is a 'hard' hobby. If the rules are followed success is easy which makes it good for all.

 

[uniquecorals]

Very well said!

Was the caffeine speaking, for sure..

-Scott