Are 'Pests' ultimately unavoidable?

[RaymondL]

Finished cycling tank and with 2 clowns, next phase would be soft corals - at the LFS yesterday just to browse, and there sure are many products to kill pests - is it a safe assumption then that eventually any new tank will face some sort of pests to contend with? I'm assuming these will come from the corals, but if one is dipping corals before placing into the tank, how are pests getting in?

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

Yes

 

[Lavey29]

And yes

 

[Garf]

And thrice, yes

 

[Lavey29]

Finished cycling tank and with 2 clowns, next phase would be soft corals - at the LFS yesterday just to browse, and there sure are many products to kill pests - is it a safe assumption then that eventually any new tank will face some sort of pests to contend with? I'm assuming these will come from the corals, but if one is dipping corals before placing into the tank, how are pests getting in?

Did you QT your fish with preventative medication? If not, what did you unknowingly introduce to the tank? Are you going to QT all your corals for 60 days after dipping? If not, what will unknowingly get into the tank? Pest eggs? Who knows, there is so much stuff in my tank now and I have no idea where it originated. This is where utilitarian fish are a great addition.

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

Type in aiptasia into the search bar lol. Youll see especially when it comes to coral the answer is yes absolutely. Check out the sick fish posts that have been posted by ppl who are setting up qts AFTER the fish have in question has been in display. A few fallow tanks out there.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Unless everything that touches your tank goes through incredibly extensive quarantining, organisms will always find their way in. You’ll do so much trying to stop every worm, nem, or pod though that you wind up hurting the corals more than you help it.
As long as nothing too bad gets in (disease, bobbits, mantises), let it ride and have natural predators in the tank and ready to go.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I'll be another yes. With any activity of addition to the tank, it's only a matter of time.

That isn't to say that preventative measures shouldn't be used. Dipping of coral, manual inspection, removal of all frag plug material, qt of coral, all good options.

Unique Corals sold me a beautiful multi head rainbow acan. Day 3,I found small blue clove polyps living Between the heads...

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

Plus its fun - IMO - to look at the tank at night! See what “uglies” come out to do work. The night crew is just as interesting in my book as the day.

 

[RaymondL]

Thanks everyone for the responses - kinda difficult to imagine one day having to start the pest control warfare. Like some have said, nothing much can be done but deal with it when the time comes.

 

[kevgib67]

Unfortunately it is inevitable but there are ways to deal with just about everything.

 

[Reefer Matt]

While some pests are destructive, most are just part of the ecosystem of a reef tank. There is no way that I know of to have a sterile environment in a reef that is successful. Some people go crazy trying to control everything in their tanks. The truth is, nature always wins. Sooner or later, you learn how to follow (her) rules.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

for me I have literally done everything by the book/ asked reef2reef members for Thier thoughts along with research on what I should do next.
so far for me 2 years in, I have not dealt with anything major, I have taken advice from all and used it before anything got out of control.
From reading/ researching/ reef2reef posts it gives you that advance knowledge before/ if it happens.
Honestly.. reef2reef members have honestly been the best help

 

[jmatt]

Like some have said, nothing much can be done but deal with it when the time comes.

Actually, if you look at the video Ryan Batcheller with BRS did at RAP 22 in NY, he suggests being very pro-active about pests. The takeaway from the entire thing is don't wait for problems, prevent them before they occur. Use plenty of copepods. Have something that eats hair algae. And aptasia if appropriate. And so on.

Go beyond the nitrogen cycle and attack the uglies before they attack you, essentially.

I plan on doing this with my new tank in the next few months.

And when I ran tanks back in the 80s early 90s, that's exactly what we did... and I never heard of "uglies" dominating a tank for months on end. When I first arrived on this board and read about people cycling their tanks for six months, or leaving the lights off for months on end, I have to admit I was surprised. I had never heard of such a thing.

Back then, you cycled with a few damsels for a couple of weeks and then populated the tank. I dunno. Maybe I was lucky.

 

[Barb0713]

While some pests are destructive, most are just part of the ecosystem of a reef tank. There is no way that I know of to have a sterile environment in a reef that is successful. Some people go crazy trying to control everything in their tanks. The truth is, nature always wins. Sooner or later, you learn how to follow (her) rules.

I am teaching myself , sometimes less is more .

 

[Garf]

You just gotta look at it like gardening. You get weeds, and if you don’t get your hands dirty your gonna have a weed garden.

 

[G Santana]

The method I use to control pests, and yes to the question!!!