Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

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Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

Preface: The purpose of this article is to outline time periods required to properly quarantine (QT) marine corals & invertebrates. While unable to host ectoparasites the way fish do, corals/inverts are still able to “carry” fish diseases in one of two ways:​
  • Free swimmers inadvertently attached if the coral/invert was taken from infected water.​
  • Tomonts encysted to the animal, which can occur if the coral/invert was previously housed in an infected tank.​
The information contained in this article only takes fish diseases into consideration, as discussed here: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-to-quarantine-coral-and-inverts.228/

It DOES NOT take coral specific pests into account, such as Red Planaria, Acropora Eating Flatworms (AEFW) and Montipora Eating Nudibranchs. In most cases, these threats can be dealt with by using a coral dip (e.g. CoralRx) upon receipt and then placing the coral into a dedicated QT for observation. The point of post dip observation is to watch for hatchlings that emerge from eggs, which oftentimes coral dips do not eliminate.
100_2052_zpsd9b7025b.jpg

A simple coral/invert quarantine tank.

Free Swimmers: This is the infective stage, which propels through the water seeking fish to infect. However, it is possible for this free swimming stage to come into contact with any coral/invert and remain there. Especially if it has become weakened (unable to swim) or damaged in some way. A free swimmer could then hitchhike its way into your Display Tank (DT) if you were to buy an “unlucky” coral/invert. There are two ways of alleviating this threat:​
  1. Due to weak adherence, a simple rinsing (using tank water) should wash away any potential free swimmers. However, some animals (like anemones) absorb a lot of water, so Option #2 may be better:​
  2. Isolate the coral/invert to a fishless environment (e.g. frag tank) for 16 days. Ich free swimmers (called theronts) can remain infective for only 48 hours; however velvet free swimmers (called dinospores) can use photosynthesis for energy and thus can survive for up to 15 days without finding a fish host to feed upon. In both cases, denying the pathogen a fish host is key to breaking its life cycle.
Tomonts: This is the “egg” stage, which encysts upon hard surfaces. It cannot be washed away like free swimmers, and scrubbing tomonts off is likely to be very hit or miss. In addition, it is unlikely that coral dips have any impact on tomonts, since not even copper can eradicate them (copper only kills free swimmers). So, the only way of dealing with this threat is to wait out any tomonts by isolating newly purchased corals/inverts to a fishless environment. As previously mentioned, a frag tank is ideal to use as a coral/invert QT so long as no fish are being housed in it.

Tomonts inevitably rupture and release free swimmers (previously discussed) into the water. When a free swimmer fails to find a fish to feed upon, it starves to death. How long this entire process takes, and thus how long you must QT a coral/invert, is what I will discuss below.

ich.jpg

Could this be on a new coral or invert you just purchased?

In most cases, 45 days worth of isolation will eliminate most threats. This includes velvet, brook, flukes, bacterial infections and all but one strain of ich. In a 1997 study (Colorni and Burgess) it took 72 days for all the theronts to be released from a group of tomonts. However, that study has been the subject of debate, because the longer excystment period occurred at 20C (68F), and it is possible that lower temperature slowed down the parasite's life cycle. More on this can be found here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/marine-ich-and-temperature.232825/

In any case, the Colorni and Burgess study directly influenced the “76 day rule” (explained here) – which is the widely accepted fallow (fishless) period to rid a DT of marine ich (and all other diseases except Uronema marinum.) Therefore, 76 days worth of isolation in a fishless environment is also the safest time frame to QT all corals/inverts. However, whether you choose to QT for 45 or 76 days really comes down to your tolerance for risk. There are always exceptions to every rule, so let's break down exactly how long you need to QT various corals/inverts:

Chart.png

* Whether to isolate to a fishless environment for 45 or 76 days comes down to your tolerance for risk. Obviously, a longer QT period is always better from a disease prevention standpoint.

** Starfish & sea urchins cannot carry the encysted stage (Peter Burgess 1992).

*** Use a coral dip (e.g. CoralRx) to eliminate any hitchhikers or tiny crustaceans, such as pods.

(a) Or until first molt is observed. Any tomonts will be on the shedded exoskeleton.

(b) LPS & SPS both have stony components that tomonts can easily adhere to. Most soft corals contain sclerites (skeletal needles) which they use for absorbing calcium. Zoas often come on a small rock or coral plug, both of which a tomont could encyst upon.

(c) No available information on these (and others not mentioned above), so best to play it safe and QT for 76 days.

Note: The information contained in the chart above was mostly derived from Dr. Peter Burgess 1992 thesis: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10026.1/2632/PETER JOHN BURGESS.PDF?sequence=1

The table (below) was taken from that publication and to my knowledge, is the only time Cryptocaryon attachment and cyst development has been studied on corals & inverts.

Encystment%20Substrates_zpsb4i4oawy.jpg


Quarantine these just as you would a fish:
100_2068_zps67124132.jpg
100_2004_zpsd2bcfbf2.jpg
Excellent info as always, @Humblefish. I had plans to drop Macroalgae directly into my refugium and a couple of sea urchins into my DT, but after reading your write-up, I have a few questions:
1. Do I leave the Macroalgae in a fishless tank for 16 days w/o adding any meds prophylactically (aside from coral dip)? Is this applicable to Macroalgae purchased from AlgaeBarn? It sounds like they clean and QT their Macroalgae proactively but I can’t be too sure.
2. Per your write-up, I can just rinse starfish and sea urchins with DT water. Is this still the current acceptable protocol since a 1992 reference was made?
 

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Excellent info as always, @Humblefish. I had plans to drop Macroalgae directly into my refugium and a couple of sea urchins into my DT, but after reading your write-up, I have a few questions:
1. Do I leave the Macroalgae in a fishless tank for 16 days w/o adding any meds prophylactically (aside from coral dip)? Is this applicable to Macroalgae purchased from AlgaeBarn? It sounds like they clean and QT their Macroalgae proactively but I can’t be too sure.
2. Per your write-up, I can just rinse starfish and sea urchins with DT water. Is this still the current acceptable protocol since a 1992 reference was made?

My clean chaeto from algaebarn came with a free snail and a small white shell.

I QTd it in a Home Depot bucket with a clip on shop light over it. Hand stirred it daily just to mix it up. I used water change water from my DT and did 2 x 15% WC in the bucket.
5ab890964d3f4bb4dc409617c56196a1.jpg
plan was to dip it but it was pretty fragmented coming out of the jar and I wasn’t really happy with it


And yes- I just rinsed my urchins. Basically put them in a plastic colander and gently poured 3x 1gallon apple jugs of water change DT water over them. Then put them into the DT. I have a number of fish, none have gotten sick (I fully QT all fish before they hit DT) and the urchins were from petco. So you know they probably weren’t clean, but it seemed to work fine.

The aim is to wash away freeswimmers trapped in the water layer left when you take the urchins out of the water. A generous flow of water should be fine
 

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My clean chaeto from algaebarn came with a free snail and a small white shell.

I QTd it in a Home Depot bucket with a clip on shop light over it. Hand stirred it daily just to mix it up. I used water change water from my DT and did 2 x 15% WC in the bucket.
5ab890964d3f4bb4dc409617c56196a1.jpg
plan was to dip it but it was pretty fragmented coming out of the jar and I wasn’t really happy with it


And yes- I just rinsed my urchins. Basically put them in a plastic colander and gently poured 3x 1gallon apple jugs of water change DT water over them. Then put them into the DT. I have a number of fish, none have gotten sick (I fully QT all fish before they hit DT) and the urchins were from petco. So you know they probably weren’t clean, but it seemed to work fine.

The aim is to wash away freeswimmers trapped in the water layer left when you take the urchins out of the water. A generous flow of water should be fine
If I were to use a coral dip for Macroalgae, how often should I do this? I’ve undergone the first coral dip but not sure whether I should leave the solution in the bucket with the Macroalgae or drain it ? Any suggestions?
 

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Hi @Humblefish - I plan on buying a CUC pack from LA but I don’t know whether to QT since it’s from LA. The CUC pack consists of hermits and snails. Should I still QT for 45/76 days, regardless of online LFS?
 

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Going to be getting a cuc from john at reefcleaners in the next couple of days. got a question regarding QT: I'm getting some mangroves and chaeto with the cuc...i can put them in the QT tank with the rest of the inverts for 16 days (according to the chart) then I'm good to go?
 

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Going to be getting a cuc from john at reefcleaners in the next couple of days. got a question regarding QT: I'm getting some mangroves and chaeto with the cuc...i can put them in the QT tank with the rest of the inverts for 16 days (according to the chart) then I'm good to go?
The mangroves and chaeto for 16 days yes - rinse them a few times before transfer to wash off any hatched freeswimmers

All other CUC- the full 76 days.
 

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Humblefish, could you do tank transfer method for inverts and corals? Or would the logic/method not work?
 

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Humblefish, could you do tank transfer method for inverts and corals? Or would the logic/method not work?
no, TTM takes advantage of the cyst stage of the parasite life cycle. in this stage they are encrusted on an object somewhere in the tank (not on the fish itself, but something like the glass, hiding places, heater, etc.). with TTM, you are removing the fish away from all the encrusted cysts, thus preventing new parasites from 'hatching' and finding their way on to the fish.

these cysts can and do encrust on to some/most inverts and on the bony structure of coral. therefore moving the inverts/coral from one tank to another with TTM doesn't accomplish ridding the environment of that stage, and thus the life cycle continues.
 

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Humblefish, could you do tank transfer method for inverts and corals? Or would the logic/method not work?
no, TTM takes advantage of the cyst stage of the parasite life cycle. in this stage they are encrusted on an object somewhere in the tank (not on the fish itself, but something like the glass, hiding places, heater, etc.). with TTM, you are removing the fish away from all the encrusted cysts, thus preventing new parasites from 'hatching' and finding their way on to the fish.

these cysts can and do encrust on to some/most inverts and on the bony structure of coral. therefore moving the inverts/coral from one tank to another with TTM doesn't accomplish ridding the environment of that stage, and thus the life cycle continues.

One could wait until the invert molts (if it does) and give it a fresh shell. That's the closest thing to a TTM for a hermit crab I can think of.
 

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Couple questions:

I assume a serpent star can be rinsed then added to Display? Correct?

How long for a feather duster (soft tube)? 16 days?

Plan to keep coco worm (hard shell) for the full 76.
 

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Couple questions:

I assume a serpent star can be rinsed then added to Display? Correct?

How long for a feather duster (soft tube)? 16 days?

Plan to keep coco worm (hard shell) for the full 76.
re: starfish - my understanding is that this is correct, a simple rinse... since there isn't any hard surface for a tomont to form on... i am personally skeptical of this and have always 76+ day'd my stars, but plenty of the experts on this forum say "rinse and let loose" with starfish

re: feather duster soft tubes - likely the same as star fish but should inquire with @Humblefish , i am interested in this answer also; given even urchins can be simply rinsed makes me thing the same for these guys.

re: coco worm hard shell - for sure 76+ days
 

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re: starfish - my understanding is that this is correct, a simple rinse... since there isn't any hard surface for a tomont to form on... i am personally skeptical of this and have always 76+ day'd my stars, but plenty of the experts on this forum say "rinse and let loose" with starfish

re: feather duster soft tubes - likely the same as star fish but should inquire with @Humblefish , i am interested in this answer also; given even urchins can be simply rinsed makes me thing the same for these guys.

re: coco worm hard shell - for sure 76+ days

@HotRocks @4FordFamily

Any insight on this? Seems like there’s are a few organisms that the protocol isn’t clear on

Much appreciate!!
 

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Stars and urchins are definitely safe to acclimate right away. No holding period fallow needed. The thorough rinse is very important though as a free swimmer could definitely hitchhike in.

A simple 16 day fishless QT would eliminate that possibility. Just like nems you can’t be certain the water within them is clear of free swimmers so the 16 days will allow any free swimmers to die off. I am not sure on feather dusters I think they have enough hard surface for a tomont to encyst upon and I would be skeptical about just giving them a thorough rinse and adding them.
 

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Stars and urchins are definitely safe to acclimate right away. No holding period fallow needed. The thorough rinse is very important though as a free swimmer could definitely hitchhike in.

A simple 16 day fishless QT would eliminate that possibility. Just like nems you can’t be certain the water within them is clear of free swimmers so the 16 days will allow any free swimmers to die off. I am not sure on feather dusters I think they have enough hard surface for a tomont to encyst upon and I would be skeptical about just giving them a thorough rinse and adding them.
What he said
 
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Humblefish

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re: feather duster soft tubes - likely the same as star fish but should inquire with @Humblefish , i am interested in this answer also; given even urchins can be simply rinsed makes me thing the same for these guys.

There is no data on whether tomonts can encyst to a feather duster, but my guess is they cannot due to how parchment-like it's tube is. However, free swimmers could get trapped down inside the tube (no matter how well you rinse) so I think a 16 day QT period in a fallow environment is wise.

Starfish & sea urchins can just be rinsed thoroughly. Or at least swished around inside a bucket.
 

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Question for you all....

I'm picking up a couple of RBTAs at the local club meeting at the end of October. My DT is currently in a fallow period anyways, and fish won't be in there until mid-December. Therefore, any free swimmers in the nems should die off well before the fish get back in the tank.

But do I need to worry about other items in the nems' retained water? Small algae, pests, ettc. Therefore, still better to QT them for a couple days anyways?
 
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