Does Captive Grown = Pest Free?

[DrBrownThumb]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced any unwanted hitchhikers on captive grown frags. I’m talking frags from WWC, LiveAquaria CCGC, and the like. Do you still dip and QT corals from these guys?

I just found some aiptasia, and the only thing I’ve added so far has been 6 CCGC frags, small ball of Chaeto, and 3 snails from the lfs. Wondering which item brought them in. Started with all dry rock to avoid this kind of pest. Now I’m worried about bugs and worms from even captive grown frags.

 

[Softhammer]

Pest free doesn’t even mean pest free. You really should examine anything you put in your tank.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Not all hitchhikers are pests, but yes I would dip, quarantine, and if I could, replace the plug from any vendor. If I found bristleworms under the coral on the old frag plug, those I pull out and place in my system. Can't have too many ditritivores...

 

[GMay]

No such thing as pest free, regardless of the source. One needs to inspect and dip every frag and quarantine all critters. Pests can also be brought in on plant material as well. Plants can also be treated for pests. Plant biologists sterilize tissue with a dip in 70% ethanol or dilute bleach, but I don't remember the specifics.

Happy reefing!

 

[Subsea]

Not all hitchhikers are pests, but yes I would dip, quarantine, and if I could, replace the plug from any vendor. If I found bristleworms under the coral on the old frag plug, those I pull out and place in my system. Can't have too many ditritivores...

Detrivores process inorganic & organic detritus through complex food webs and feed the reef inhabitants when they reproduce larvae.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Detrivores process inorganic & organic detritus through complex food webs and feed the reef inhabitants when they reproduce larvae.

Exactly. The more the better in my eyes as long as you can add them while preventing "pests" that would be detrimental to our systems.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I wouldn't trust frags from any source. Always inspect and dip.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Always inspect, dip, and remove/replace plugs... at minimum. QT is better...

 

[User]

Is there a link to the ‘best’ dipping protocol? Asking for a lazy friend. Thanks

 

[Earl A]

Is there a link to the ‘best’ dipping protocol? Asking for a lazy friend. Thanks

BRS did an episode of what they do...

 

[User]

Thanks.

 

[PatW]

And the better captive coral venders have fiendishly rigorous quarantines for new corals that they are thinking of farming in their systems. Even then, sometimes something sneaks through.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Closest you could get to least likely pest inhabited. You bought frags from a friends system which you had previously spent enough time in front of his system, that you felt confident their were no pests.
Fish there are too many microbe diseases that are impossible to remove, be it vibrio or bacterial, its almost guaranteed at least something pathogenic is present in the water regardless of source.

 

[Subsea]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced any unwanted hitchhikers on captive grown frags. I’m talking frags from WWC, LiveAquaria CCGC, and the like. Do you still dip and QT corals from these guys?

I just found some aiptasia, and the only thing I’ve added so far has been 6 CCGC frags, small ball of Chaeto, and 3 snails from the lfs. Wondering which item brought them in. Started with all dry rock to avoid this kind of pest. Now I’m worried about bugs and worms from even captive grown frags.

After 48 years of reefkeeping, this made me chuckle. Anyone with more than a year of reefing has, in all likelihood, experienced unwanted hitchhikers. At my level of involvement in this hobby, I embrace diversity.

New tanks and mature tanks operate differently, so take what I say as applied to Oceeneering in general and holistic in nature.

I feed heavily and allow diverse micro fauna & fana, desirable hitch hikers, to use organic & inorganic nutrients to recycle up the food chain and grow fish & coral.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/2...m-on-top-with-30g-ecosystem-mud-macro.421526/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/wet-salty-for-christmas-2017.428100/

 

[Subsea]

No such thing as pest free, regardless of the source. One needs to inspect and dip every frag and quarantine all critters. Pests can also be brought in on plant material as well. Plants can also be treated for pests. Plant biologists sterilize tissue with a dip in 70% ethanol or dilute bleach, but I don't remember the specifics.

Happy reefing!

If possible, can you elaborate on how plant biologist sterilize plant tissue. I am attempting to be a commercial grower of seaweed: Mariculture, both utility & ornamental. With respect to ornamental macro, I used hydrogen peroxide as the sterilizing agent on Halymenia digitata. Because of its high resale value in reefkeeping hobby it merited special effort.

Fo me, a hydrogen peroxide dip of 10% concentrate oxidizes all organics, including human skin. Given time, it will eat away slime coat on coral. When I am not wanting hitch hikers, especially nuisance algae, I dip coral for 10 minutes. It is utter destruction for micro inverts as I see pods & mini starfish along with bristle worms and Red Planaria die within 30 seconds. For delicate corals, I ramp soak time down.

Hoping to find a cocktail dosage & soak time that was detrimental to biofilm & nuisance epilates on macro surface without distroying ornamental macro algae. I used differrent concentrations and differrent soak times. Details are in a thread somewhere, but so as not to bore you, I will surmise findings.

Bad stuff is more hardy than good stuff. Just as in a garden, you must work to enhance the good by eliminating the bad. In the case of my garden, I weed by hand.

I inadvertently destroyed my inventory of Dragons Tongue by testing away my inventory. I left one specimen isolated in quarantine to protect it from extinction. It died in quarantine to Cynobacteria which was not apparent to visual inspection.