Which soft corals can tolerate being out of the water the longest?

[staylor1490]

Currently a college student picking out corals for my pico in dorm. Due to traveling back home for breaks (5 hours), I'm looking for a coral for my tank's back wall that can tolerate being out of water for that long. I will put wet paper towels to ensure they don't dry out. What coral that isn't super invasive can handle that? I'm thinking zoas and disco mushrooms.

 

[Dbichler]

Why not put them in a Tupperware container with water

 

[staylor1490]

Why not put them in a Tupperware container with water

I can't detach the back wall of my AIO tank, where the corals will be growing.

 

[Dbichler]

Why can’t you detach them razor blade and they come off super easy

 

[EricR]

I'm confused:
Transport them (5 hours) in water (any container or even a bag).
I don't understand the "AIO back wall" point but deal with that when you get them back to your dorm.

*I'm obviously missing a key point...

 

[damsels are not mean]

Any coral will survive 5 hours out of water provided they don't completely dry out. Corals and live rock used to be shipped overnight or carried on long flights just in wet tissue.

Zoanthids, mushrooms, and GSP probably won't be stressed much if at all by the experience. But I would not feel obligated to choose only those.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I'm confused:
Transport them (5 hours) in water (any container or even a bag).
I don't understand the "AIO back wall" point but deal with that when you get them back to your dorm.

*I'm obviously missing a key point...

OP is implying (I think) that the tank will be moving and won't be full during the move. The back wall cannot be removed so corals encrusting on it will be in the dry tank for the 5 hour trip.

 

[EricR]

OP is implying (I think) that the tank will be moving and won't be full during the move. The back wall cannot be removed so corals encrusting on it will be in the dry tank for the 5 hour trip.

Oh,,, I see,,, my bad.
How big of a tank are we talking about?

 

[staylor1490]

Yup I will be taking the live rock with the corals growing on them and putting them in buckets during my travels to and from college. The tank will be drained but I have no way of removing the corals that encrust on the back wall of my 3 gallon AIO. I could use a razor blade but I don't want to do that two or three times a school year.

 

[EricR]

I'm not questioning the validity of post #6 but, for a 3 gallon tank, why not just transport it with water in it?
*that's just me but I'll shut up now

 

[terraincognita]

I think someone already said this, but I imagine most encrusting corals, if you keep the tissue at least slightly wet, paper towels, or soaked towel with saltwater, you should be fine?

then again you're taking a risk every single time, and I'm sure you'll have partial die off of some kind or recession slightly every trip.

Why not just avoid the headache? tons of great joy to come from the ones you keep just on the rocks! :-D

 

[Chrisv.]

Yeah, I'm with the "keep your coral on the rocks" crowd on this one. Even if you somehow manage to keep them damp, and keep the temp consistent while they are damp, the stress of it all would make most corals look pretty bad for a while. There will inevitably be some die off every time. Grow the corals on the rocks and this problem goes away.

 

[staylor1490]

I'm probably going to stick with growing corals on rocks, but wouldn't keeping corals in a bucket for several hours without strict temp control also be stressful and also lead to a die off?

 

[staylor1490]

I thought about transporting the tank with water inside but I'll be driving home and there's the risk of water splashing out of the tank.

 

[Chrisv.]

I'm probably going to stick with growing corals on rocks, but wouldn't keeping corals in a bucket for several hours without strict temp control also be stressful and also lead to a die off?

That's why when we ship coral, we use foam coolers and heat packs!

 

[terraincognita]

I'm probably going to stick with growing corals on rocks, but wouldn't keeping corals in a bucket for several hours without strict temp control also be stressful and also lead to a die off?

Not positive, but I think this could power a heater.