Acclimation steps for wild corals

[lonewonderer]

hello, this is the first time i ordered corals directly from overseas. What are the steps on acclimating wild corals? How long does they usually open up? And what par do they need to be? I ordered sps and lps colonies. TIA!

 

[tankstudy]

I find it's best to imitate the water parameters of where they are collected, if possible. Some species are pretty sensitive and can die rather quickly. The recovery time can vary greatly from species to species. Hardy species can be within 1-2 months while it can take 6 months or more for others.

 

[MSB123]

hello, this is the first time i ordered corals directly from overseas. What are the steps on acclimating wild corals? How long does they usually open up? And what par do they need to be? I ordered sps and lps colonies. TIA!

Where did you buy them? I’m looking for some nice colonies

 

[lonewonderer]

Where did you buy them? I’m looking for some nice colonies

Well to start I went with Tonga. Me and my friend split the whole box. Its about 18-20pcs in total

 

[MSB123]

Website?

 

[Sea MunnKey]

Be a little careful with Tonga shipment as I've heard that they're a little more sensitive stuffs unlike Indo or Aussie corals. Never own Tonga but that's what I've heard all along.

 

[acro-ed]

I would recommend acclimating to a holding tank and letting them rest there until they look healthy. You will then want to dip as appropriate (Bayer for SPS, light lugols for LPS) and put them into another "clean" quarantine tank as you continue to inspect/evaluate them. You may want to run an antibiotic in the LPS holding tank as "brown jelly" type disease can be fairly common with wild wholesale LPS. Likewise, you will want to watch the SPS for any pests and treat as needed. Once they look good and you are sure you've eliminated the pests/disease you can put them in your display.

This may sound extreme but there are many risks with wild corals and you have to think about the long term implications with your display tank. Wholesalers and many retailers don't mind the risks because they will throw away the sick ones and hope to quickly flip the others. Likewise, they have many tanks, so if they have to take one down and re-boot it its not a big concern. With a hobbyist doing this it can go sideways quickly if you only have one tank and are thinking of filling it with wild corals with unknown issues.

Hope that helps!

 

[lonewonderer]

Website?

My friend has an importer license that is why we got it direct. we just have to pay customs and tranship fees

 

[lonewonderer]

I would recommend acclimating to a holding tank and letting them rest there until they look healthy. You will then want to dip as appropriate (Bayer for SPS, light lugols for LPS) and put them into another "clean" quarantine tank as you continue to inspect/evaluate them. You may want to run an antibiotic in the LPS holding tank as "brown jelly" type disease can be fairly common with wild wholesale LPS. Likewise, you will want to watch the SPS for any pests and treat as needed. Once they look good and you are sure you've eliminated the pests/disease you can put them in your display.

This may sound extreme but there are many risks with wild corals and you have to think about the long term implications with your display tank. Wholesalers and many retailers don't mind the risks because they will throw away the sick ones and hope to quickly flip the others. Likewise, they have many tanks, so if they have to take one down and re-boot it its not a big concern. With a hobbyist doing this it can go sideways quickly if you only have one tank and are thinking of filling it with wild corals with unknown issues.

Hope that helps!

thank you for the input. My mistake for saying wild corals. I should have said Imported corals from overseas "farmed"

 

[acro-ed]

thank you for the input. My mistake for saying wild corals. I should have said Imported corals from overseas "farmed"

"Maricultured" is the term that describes this. They are basically grown in a lagoon (in the ocean near shore) and then transferred to holding tanks indoors/covered that use natural seawater, then transshipped over here. The same concerns still apply, but are easily overcome with quarantine and patience.