Acropora dipping protocol

[BriansBrain]

I’ve been using KCL for Acropora because it’s very effective against aefw but has no real effect of parasitic copepods from my experience. I feel white bugs have become so annoyingly prevalent recently, so much so, I’ve become hesitant buying anything new. I’d rather not regularly bomb my tank with interceptor.

I had good luck dipping torches in bayer (for torch black bugs, also super common now). Maybe just suck it up and set up a QT Or I can put in another system with no acros and repeatedly dip?

My question is what are the hardcore acro keepers dipping and protocol for incoming frags? Thanks

 

[underwaterwonders]

We have had plenty of success killing parasitic copepods with KCL. That being said, I don’t believe just dipping a bug infested coral and tossing it in your tank is a good plan. But the bugs who taste the potassium die for sure.

What concentration kcl are you using and for how long?

 

[kartrsu]

KCL at 2 tbsp per gallon for 10 minutes is great for eliminating any flatworms. I never keep the plug and cut frags above living tissue to avoid the eggs which are unaffected by KCL. As for bugs, interceptor is the only way to be 100% certain, but obviously if you have inverts, it most likely will kill them at the concentration required for white bugs. Best method is to KCL dip, cut and rebase, then a 2 week QT with interceptor dosing (days 1, 8, and 15). You can dip in KCL again during that process, but that’s the surest way. If you can guarantee the seller has recently dosed interceptor for white bugs, the separate QT can be skipped albeit with a bit more risk. Either way, interceptor in tank isn’t traumatic, especially if you can temp house your inverts, which are more durable in a separate tank than an acro.

 

[BriansBrain]

We have had plenty of success killing parasitic copepods with KCL. That being said, I don’t believe just dipping a bug infested coral and tossing it in your tank is a good plan. But the bugs who taste the potassium die for sure.

What concentration kcl are you using and for how long?

KCL at 2 tbsp per gallon for 10 minutes is great for eliminating any flatworms. I never keep the plug and cut frags above living tissue to avoid the eggs which are unaffected by KCL. As for bugs, interceptor is the only way to be 100% certain, but obviously if you have inverts, it most likely will kill them at the concentration required for white bugs. Best method is to KCL dip, cut and rebase, then a 2 week QT with interceptor dosing (days 1, 8, and 15). You can dip in KCL again during that process, but that’s the surest way. If you can guarantee the seller has recently dosed interceptor for white bugs, the separate QT can be skipped albeit with a bit more risk. Either way, interceptor in tank isn’t traumatic, especially if you can temp house your inverts, which are more durable in a separate tank than an acro.

I will certainly up my dose. I’ve used 1tbsp/gal for 10-15min.

I did just get done with an interceptor treatment a couple weeks ago. I don’t have any inverts other than snails the sps tank. I don’t really like using my dog’s prescription regularly for this I guess. Maybe prophylactically treat once a year or so would be ok.

Do these white bugs only affect Acropora to your knowledge? I could repeatedly dip acro frags in KCL while temporarily held in a lps tank with no acros.

I ask because I did have torch black bugs in the lps tank but (hopefully) killed them by dipping all torches weekly in bayer a few months ago

 

[X-37B]

3 grams per liter KCL for 5 minutes has worked well for me.

 

[kartrsu]

@BriansBrain I have seen mixed responses on whether KCL kills white bugs and it’s unclear to me. If you could get a sample of copepods from your sump or fuge, you can test to see if it is effective. I just know that interceptor is highly effective and won’t affect snails, only crustaceans.

The problem with most dipping protocols is that the white bugs can hide in polyps and, to the best of my knowledge, I don’t know if they are live bearers or lay eggs, hence the repeated doses to kill future generations.

I have had Bayer melt acros for me at recommended dosages, especially after stress from shipping and rebasing, so I no longer use it as a dip.

Honestly, if you just dip in KCL, rebase, can confirm with a magnifying glass in a small clear container that there are no signs of white bugs, then it’s a good chance you could be in the clear, but it isn’t a guarantee.

I hope this helps. If you’re like me and tolerate zero pests, both fish and coral, then extra effort is needed. If you want to add stuff faster, there are expedited methods but just less absolute certainty. The trade off as always. I will say, it’s absolutely made my journey into acros a lot more enjoyable without having to worry about pests.