10G Coral QT Setup Questions

[sck90]

No I am more concerned with coral pests (AEFW, red bugs, nudi)

I was confused because you cited statements related to the fish diseases that can be carried by corals.

I am by no mean a coral disease expert. Of course you can always introduce new pests by adding new corals to the qt and these pests can infest the corals that were already there. But the time perdiod doesnt matter here, even if you wait 72 days, pests will still be there. You have to treat corals or dip them to get rid of them. The 45 or 72 day periods are related to fish diseases.

 

[sternicus]

I was confused because you cited statements related to the fish diseases that can be carried by corals.

I am by no mean a coral disease expert. Of course you can always introduce new pests by adding new corals to the qt and these pests can infest the corals that were already there. But the time perdiod doesnt matter here, even if you wait 72 days, pests will still be there. You have to treat corals or dip them to get rid of them. The 45 or 72 day periods are related to fish diseases.

Okay so for a coral QT, what do you recommend?

 

[sck90]

Okay so for a coral QT, what do you recommend?

A 30-45 days in qt to make sure you dont introduce ich tomonts to your Dt. During this time, a careful observation of the corals is required to spot any coral pests (red bug, flatworm, etc). Dip and treat accordingly.

 

[Fish Fan]

The clock does not restart when you add a new coral or invert in the qt. This is different from a fish qt. The reason is that ich tomonts (or velvet encysted stage) cannot tansfer from a coral to another. When a coral has been in the qt for 45 days (I personally do 30), just dip it, rince it with fresh saltwater or dt tank water, and it is good to go in the dt.

You raise a good point about the tomonts not having a fish to host on, but if a neighboring coral brought in “fresh” tomonts, why is it that they couldn’t find their way to the original coral in QT? It’s not so much the coral, it’s the base or frag plug that they could be on.

I want to say, I’m no expert here, I don’t claim to be. Everyone should do what they feel is right. But out of an abundance of caution, I would restart the clock when I add anything new to my QT tank.

 

[sck90]

You raise a good point about the tomonts not having a fish to host on, but if a neighboring coral brought in “fresh” tomonts, why is it that they couldn’t find their way to the original coral in QT? It’s not so much the coral, it’s the base or frag plug that they could be on.

I want to say, I’m no expert here, I don’t claim to be. Everyone should do what they feel is right. But out of an abundance of caution, I would restart the clock when I add anything new to my QT tank.

What do you mean by "fresh tomonts" ? A tomont, 1 day old or 20 days old, cannot move and transfer to another coral or coral plug or anything. If you are talking about a protomont stage, where the parasite is looking for a good place to encyst, then these are easily dislodged by a rince. So I always dip new corals and rince them before introducing them in the qt.

 

[Fish Fan]

I was saying when you add a second coral to a QT tank sometimes after other viral have been in there. Are there not at times when the timings would be free floating in the water column, and could they not settle in another drag plug even without a fish? I mean, most people keep frags like an inch apart from each other in these tanks. It just seems too close to risk to me.

 

[pwoody]

I was saying when you add a second coral to a QT tank sometimes after other viral have been in there. Are there not at times when the timings would be free floating in the water column, and could they not settle in another drag plug even without a fish? I mean, most people keep frags like an inch apart from each other in these tanks. It just seems too close to risk to me.

I am with you on that logic, if the free swimming stage goes into the next stage where they settle on the bottom, they could fall onto a newly introduced coral etc.

However I see the point that if you dip then you SHOULD end up washing them off as they cannot latch on to corals like they do fish.

Still…personally I’d be sticking with timer resets. Just my personal preference.

 

[Fish Fan]

I am with you on that logic, if the free swimming stage goes into the next stage where they settle on the bottom, they could fall onto a newly introduced coral etc.

However I see the point that if you dip then you SHOULD end up washing them off as they cannot latch on to corals like they do fish.

Still…personally I’d be sticking with timer resets. Just my personal preference.

I get what you're saying too, I do. My concern has been the frag plug, mostly, not so much the corals themselves. I have seen where some take the plug right off and reglue the frag when they first get the coral. I think that would help minimize a lot of pest, coral bugs and fish parasites alike.

And I had taken this post to be more concerned with fish parasites than coral bugs, so that's where I've been coming from.

 

[sck90]

I was saying when you add a second coral to a QT tank sometimes after other viral have been in there. Are there not at times when the timings would be free floating in the water column, and could they not settle in another drag plug even without a fish? I mean, most people keep frags like an inch apart from each other in these tanks. It just seems too close to risk to me.

I understand your concern, but no worry, because free floating form released from tomonts won't ever reattach to another hard surface. They can only attach to a fish. This is why you still have to rince corals before adding them to the dt after their qt is done, because there is a slight chance a free floating parasite is sitting on them (but not attached). A good rinse is more than enough to get rid of it.

 

[sternicus]

I get what you're saying too, I do. My concern has been the frag plug, mostly, not so much the corals themselves. I have seen where some take the plug right off and reglue the frag when they first get the coral. I think that would help minimize a lot of pest, coral bugs and fish parasites alike.

And I had taken this post to be more concerned with fish parasites than coral bugs, so that's where I've been coming from.

Sorry for creating a devise post. I have been mainly concerned with coral pests, so I think for now I will have to figure out what is best for me and my setup.

 

[Fish Fan]

Sorry for creating a devise post. I have been mainly concerned with coral pests, so I think for now I will have to figure out what is best for me and my setup.

No apologize, this is great, I'm learning too!

I understand your concern, but no worry, because free floating form released from tomonts won't ever reattach to another hard surface. They can only attach to a fish. This is why you still have to rince corals before adding them to the dt after their qt is done, because there is a slight chance a free floating parasite is sitting on them (but not attached). A good rinse is more than enough to get rid of it.

I was indeed thinking of it like the free swimming theronts could kind of "revert" back to the encysted tomont stage, but in thinking that through, that doesn't make sense, so I do see your point.

 

[Fish Fan]

I understand your concern, but no worry, because free floating form released from tomonts won't ever reattach to another hard surface. They can only attach to a fish. This is why you still have to rince corals before adding them to the dt after their qt is done, because there is a slight chance a free floating parasite is sitting on them (but not attached). A good rinse is more than enough to get rid of it.

This post from Humblefish seems ot back this up:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/can-ich-travel-on-coral.221400/post-2549348

 

[sternicus]

Still somewhat confused on what my next best steps should be.

Since I buy only online, maybe I should set up multiple tanks to not incur the 45 day wait period multiple times in one period with only one tank? Not sure what to do

 

[sck90]

Still somewhat confused on what my next best steps should be.

Since I buy only online, maybe I should set up multiple tanks to not incur the 45 day wait period multiple times in one period with only one tank? Not sure what to do

Maybe I don't really understand what you are asking, but the 45 days wait period is related to fish diseases (notably ich) and you don't have to restart the wait clock when you add another coral to the qt (as explained in earlier posts). For coral specific bugs and pests, the 45 days wait period is irrelevant. You can observe corals for as long as you want and use different dips according to what bugs you want to get rid of. Good luck !

 

[sternicus]

Maybe I don't really understand what you are asking, but the 45 days wait period is related to fish diseases (notably ich) and you don't have to restart the wait clock when you add another coral to the qt (as explained in earlier posts). For coral specific bugs and pests, the 45 days wait period is irrelevant. You can observe corals for as long as you want and use different dips according to what bugs you want to get rid of. Good luck !

Okay got it. I am not sure what to do. I hear loads of conflicting information and just wanted a concise way to go about my strategy.

I buy coral online, and so it would be a lot of work to buy one coral ($100+) and wait 50 days or longer to get the next coral. It’s not exactly about patience and more about wanting to find the best way to go about this.

 

[sck90]

Okay got it. I am not sure what to do. I hear loads of conflicting information and just wanted a concise way to go about my strategy.

I buy coral online, and so it would be a lot of work to buy one coral ($100+) and wait 50 days or longer to get the next coral. It’s not exactly about patience and more about wanting to find the best way to go about this.

Personally, I buy corals online or in local shops. I dip then as soon as I receive them, put them in the qt tank for 30 days, then dip them again, and they go in the dt. I carefully observe them during the 30 day period to make sure I dont see coral pests and bugs.