Questions about dipping corals

[yukon]

OK I've been searching this board for a some info on dipping corals and I can't seem to find much info on how to do this or what products work for what corals. Also what will the dipping rid the corals of? I know there are some nasty little bugs and what not but what about ich? Will dipping kill off any ich living on the rock that the coral is attached to?

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by yukon
http:///forum/post/2695011
OK I've been searching this board for a some info on dipping corals and I can't seem to find much info on how to do this or what products work for what corals. Also what will the dipping rid the corals of? I know there are some nasty little bugs and what not but what about ich? Will dipping kill off any ich living on the rock that the coral is attached to?
There are a few different products people like to use for dipping corals. The main reason is to rid the coral of any pests, bugs parasites etc. FW dips have an impact on ich and if it should it reside in the pores or crevises of the plug or LR the coral is attached too, it may affect it here too. Its not a definate yes that the dip will kill it all. Ich can live for a while with out a fish host. Is it possible that it could be on the coral frag? Sure.. but IMO not probable... FW dips are used as well as iodine dips, kent makes one as well as a few other companies. Or you can go to your local drug store and by iodine (there maybe a specific type) im not sure about that. If your going to FW dip the water should be fresh RO water and match the temp water the coral came from. When I do iodine dips I just add enough iodine for the water to be a tea color and dip the coral.

 

[atrialfib22]

Originally Posted by yukon
http:///forum/post/2695011
OK I've been searching this board for a some info on dipping corals and I can't seem to find much info on how to do this or what products work for what corals. Also what will the dipping rid the corals of? I know there are some nasty little bugs and what not but what about ich? Will dipping kill off any ich living on the rock that the coral is attached to?
I use Seachem's Reef Dip and it works great for all corals. It's an iodine based dip. All you do is follow the directions...after temp acclimating your corals place in a container with water from your tank and add the dip solution (1 capful per gallon of water in the container). Leave for 5-10 minutes or so and then introduce your corals to your DT.
It does a great job at getting rid of flatworms, bacteria and fungi. But it will also draw out hitchhikers you may want (stars, etc). Either way I use it as a prophylactic for all new colonies/frags I introduce to my tank.
As far as ich...well, ich is an obligate parasitic protozoan...meaning that it needs a host in order to survive (fish)...while it is in theory possible to introduce ich with a coral and the saltwater in which it came, this is very unlikely due to the life cycle of parasite. I am fairly certain of all this, of course, others may have a different opinion about the matter.

 

[saltn00b]

the stage in the ich parasite's life where it would have burrowed into the LR or skeletal calcium on a coral (rare case) , is not a stage where the parasite would be suceptible to low salinity levels. FW dips are not really the recommended method for dipping coral colonies as it can be shocking and harmful to the corals, which are invertebrates and very sensitive to salinity changes. iodine dips are your best bet.

 

[yukon]

Thanks guys great info!! I don't think I'll be trying any FW dips on the corals as I believe that would be pretty harsh on them. I just want to do everything I possibly can to avoid bringing ich back into my tank once I'm done getting rid of it. I am currently doing HYPO on all my fish right now and I am still wondering how it got in. I might have missed the ich during quarintine on one of my fish but I noticed the Ich about a week after adding a Ric I bought at a LFS. It could just be coincidence(SP) and probably is. I think from now on I'll be doing Hypo on all new fish during there quarintine time and I'll also be dipping all new corals just to be safe.
One more question,
Are there any corals that don't do well in the iodine dip or all corals safe for this treatment?

 

[saltn00b]

i have not heard about any corals reacting poorly to an iodine dip.
if you are trying to rid your tank of ick, it is good you are doing hypo, but remember to run your DT fishless for 6 weeks before re-introducing your fish. it should time out to be about the length of the hypo process.

 

[atrialfib22]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
http:///forum/post/2695091
i have not heard about any corals reacting poorly to an iodine dip.
if you are trying to rid your tank of ick, it is good you are doing hypo, but remember to run your DT fishless for 6 weeks before re-introducing your fish. it should time out to be about the length of the hypo process.
+1

 

[yukon]

Thanks - yes I do plan on keeping DT fish free for 6 weeks.