Coral Qt - Zoas

Mac8128 · Jan 11, 2026

Looking thru all of the posts I could find, I am seeing a ton of posts, most of which are years old. Is there an accepted, updated QT/ Dipping Procedure for corals? I realize that this is a very broad question and for my sake, I will narrow this question down to Zoas. I currently have a small frag of Eagle Eyes that I want to process thru the proper steps before placing them in my new Nano tank.

From what I have read and sort of put together, some people use Coral Rx dips, some use Iodine solutions, some use both one right after the other. I also see that some dip their frags in Hydrogen Peroxide. I'm wondering if a good way of moving forward would be to do a short dip into a 50-50 mix of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and tank water for 3 minutes. Followed a few days later by 5 minutes in Coral RX then immediately into an Iodine solution for 5 minutes. All dips would be followed by a thorough rinse in tank water before being put back in the QT tank for a few days of observation.

I would appreciate any thoughts and or corrections to this process.

Mac8128 · Jan 11, 2026

Somehow, my thread was duplicated. Please reply to this one.

tchat · Mar 23, 2026

Well I see this thread never took off but I have the same questions.. I’m about to start my first tank and I feel like I have a good grasp of fish QT the big 5 diseases you can pre treat for… coral QT seems to be lacking any scientific consensus though… a good (species specific) protocol would ideally provide 95% ish coral pest risk reduction and prevent cross contamination of any fish related parasites that could be hitch hiking as well. Did you ever find a good source OP?

Mac8128 · Mar 23, 2026

I found tons of info all over, much of it conflicting. Bottom line, all I can speak to is what I did for two different corals.

Eagle Eye Zoa - Here is what I did:

Zoanthid Dip Process
Setup	Inspect for eggs, algae & bugs.
	Mix small container 80-20 tank water to 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
	Mix small container Coral Rx per label
	Mix small container Seachem Iodine solution to label
	Get two small containers of tank water

Process	Dip Zoas in 80-20 TW to H2O2 for 30 seconds
	Use small toothbrush to brush away any eggs or debris
	Use small knife to scrape away any eggs or areas of concern
	Then dip in Coral Rx for 5 minutes
	Then dip in Seachem Reef Dip for 5 minutes
	Remove and swirl in 1st rinse for 30 seconds.
	Remove and swirl in 2nd rinse for 30 seconds
	Place in tank

I also brushed straight 3% Hydrogen Peroxide directly on the plug and the area surrounding the zoas to kill off a little hair algae. The zoas did fine thru the process. About 3 months later they have added a number of new heads and they look amazing under my AI Blade Coral Grow LED light.

Quick note, I just looked thru my notes and I skipped the Seachem Reef Dip on the zoas as it hadn't arrived before I bought the zoas.

Mac8128 · Mar 23, 2026

For my Raja Rampage Chalice, I only used the Coral Rx and Seachem Reef dip as the chalice was unmounted and there was absolutely no algae on it. The chalice has shown some growth all around the edges and the coloring looks better today than when I bought it. Unless I see something that completely changes my mind, I will probably use this method going forward........ Please let me know if you see any other QT process that makes better sense or that worked well for you.

tchat · Mar 23, 2026

Mac8128 said:
For my Raja Rampage Chalice, I only used the Coral Rx and Seachem Reef dip as the chalice was unmounted and there was absolutely no algae on it. The chalice has shown some growth all around the edges and the coloring looks better today than when I bought it. Unless I see something that completely changes my mind, I will probably use this method going forward........ Please let me know if you see any other QT process that makes better sense or that worked well for you.

Awesome thanks for sharing! Have you considered a separate tank for coral QT and to reduce the risk of corals possibly carrying fish parasites to the display tank? Or even just to allow other coral pest eggs to hatch and then re dip to short circuit their lifecycles?

I’m just wondering if it’s worth investing in a small frag tank or if the risk is so remote as to not be worth the hassle

. I suppose I’m trying to imagine an approach which dramatically reduces the risk of ANY unwanted pest in the tank but perhaps that’s just unrealistic and I shouldn’t bother attempting, opting for pest management strategy from the start