Ok I'm excited! :)

[Kate]

Well, I found the birdsnest coral frags, and digitata that I've been trying to find for a year, on ebay, with free shipping! If you bought six corals, you got free shipping! I will need to wait for the weather to get warmer, for shipping though. He said he would hold them for me, until then. I got an ORA green birdsnest, a pink/yellow birdsnest, an orange and green birdsnest, a German blue digitata, a small green candy cane, and a large polyp neon green leather frag! I totally decided against a clam, and I will have to keep these trimmed, so maybe I can start some frags eventually! :still_dreaming:

 

[rarelyseriousb]

cool make sure you keep us posted with pics.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Awesome! Don't you just love good deals!

 

[cee]

... a German blue digitata...I will have to keep these trimmed, so maybe I can start some frags eventually! :still_dreaming:

Watch those digitatas, they can take over quickly! Good score none the less and good luck with your new acquisitions.

Dave

 

[Kate]

Thanks! I will be trimming as often as needed! By the way! How do you trim an SPS coral? What tools do you use?

 

[cee]

Bone cutters on most, dremel w/ diamond wheel on encrusting varieties. I don't "cut" with the bone cutters (usually), just grab and twist until it snaps as I find that works much better esp. for thicker branch species.

 

[Kate]

Bone cutters makes sense, but where do you buy bone cutters?

 

[returnofsid]

I use foreceps or needle nose pliers and just grip the coral and give it a lil' twist to snap off the branch. If the colony is large enough, I even do this with my fingers. Bone cutters will offer you more precision though.

Most good Saltwater LFS will have them for sale or you can find them online. Make sure they're stainless steel. Even being stainless, give them a good freshwater rinse afterwards and let them air dry.

 

[Kate]

Ok, if I can't find those, I CAN get some needlenose pliers! Thanks! I don't have any good LFS with those things here! I did see some in a magazine from Fosters and Smith I got today! They are a lot more reasonable, than the ones I saw online, that must be for operating on people, lol! THOSE were expensive!

 

[Garth Schafluetzel]

i read some were u should always try to just snap the corals off with ur hands befor trying cutters but the twist technique works greats with the cutters i have as well

 

[Kate]

I will try that, thanks! Just want to be prepared! I only have one SPS right now. I wanted to see if it would be ok in my nano, and though it isn't growing fast, it is growing, so I am going ahead with these. I won't be able to fit anything else in my tank, after this, except for maybe a few zoos here and there, but I want to be able to do the upkeep!

 

[Kate]

Ok, I got an email that the coral should come this morning! I wasn't expecting them, but I'm excited! That is one benefit from being a cleaning lady! I can change days if I have to! I will try to take pics after I get them settled in.

 

[Kate]

Package still didn't come. I'm a bit upset. I saw the Fed ex truck go by, over an hour ago! It was supposed to be here yesterday! I called them yesterday, and they said they would keep it in a warm place, and bring it this morning! Sooooo frustrating!

 

[Kate]

Well, I learned something really useful through this. If you get a large igloo, put a heating pad in the bottom, sit a plastic dish on topof it, set the heating pad on high, and crack the lid 1/2 inch, it stays around 68 degrees inside! This is with 30 degrees outside! I have to leave, and Fedex STILL hasn't put it on their truck! Man!!! I left a note for them to put it in the igloo, and crack the lid 1/2 inch. I will get home, and it will be sitting out on the porch, lol! Anyway, it may help some of you to know this!

 

[Kate]

Well, the coral finally came around three today! I know one of them, was completely dead, and the other ones, I think I saved some portions of them, if they made it! If the tissue comes loose between the polyps, will it regrow?
I am so upset with Fedex! It was priority overnight, and it took over two days to get here! I am hopeful for the others! Maybe they will be ok.

 

[ecotoxlady]

Where abouts do you live that fedex felt they could blow off delivering your package so long? I would be beside myself! I usually ask to have fedex hold my package at their hub for me to pick it up since I am always afraid this could happen. I am really sorry to hear about it.

In my limited experience with sps, when tissue has come loose between polyps, I've never known it to regrow but instead it has left a "bald patch" on the coral. I really hope they pull through for you!

 

[Kate]

They are an hours drive from here! I have been so upset. I called them yesterday, and asked them to keep the package somewhere warm, because it was live coral, and they promised to bring it this morning! It didn't get here until almost three! I think the birdsnest corals, two of them, have some good tissue left. If they start to grow, since they are so small, they should cover the bald patches! I broke them off above the dead tissue, and glued in the small pieces that seem to have made it. I can only hope, because I've wanted them for over a year!

 

[Kate]

Do you guys think they might make it? I have the tank lights off, and I'm taking a picture with only the room light on beside the tank. The polyps seem to be extending. The green birdsnest is in the center, the orange/green one is off to the left side. I only salvaged half of the frags!