Strange Request - Dead Corals

[Mr.Asbury]

Hello!

My tank is used in a high school environmental science classroom, and I will be relating multiple units that we cover to what's happening inside my tank. We are currently looking at all things water, so we have been testing & researching water quality in fresh and saltwater. Next semester, I plan to do a month or so on conservation biology, and I plan to talk a good deal about coral bleaching and the loss of coral reefs around the world.

My request:
If anyone has any corals that have died off recently - is there a way you could ship the remaining skeleton to me? I think it would be a good opportunity to allow the kids to touch & see the coral remains. Also, since most of the corals we choose for the aquarium hobby tend to be brightly colored and beautiful, I think seeing the drastic difference between the two will really help drive home the message of "we need to do something so help protect the reefs."

If anyone has experience with sending this kind of stuff, please let me know. I know the shipping should be drastically cheaper than live coral since it would not need to be rushed, and there would not be water weight. I plan to soak them in some ethanol if any arrive so they don't develop a smell, but if there's anything else I need to be aware of please let me know. I plan to reach out to the local stores in my area as well to ask if they have anything, but I figured I would ask the experts for advice prior to doing so to make sure it is a feasible plan.

Thank you for any help or advice!

 

[DSC reef]

That's very cool, wish there was something like this when I was in school.

 

[andrewkw]

Too bad I'm in Canada, I have unfortunately boxes of coral skeletons from crashes over the years.. Good luck sounds like an interesting project.

 

[Gareth elliott]

See if anyone you know is going on vacation soon.

An example of something off the beach in Puerto Rico.

Most places dont mind taking dead things that wash ashore.
If Puerto Rico just dont take home a giant tree snail, they x ray for those [emoji23]

 

[stacksoner]

The temp in my tank increased from 79 to 85 degrees because of a heater malfunction and I lost a bunch of acropora that don't look like they're going to recover.

I'll happily donate them if you PM me a mailing address.

PS- I would refine your specimen request to corals that perished from temperature increases or lighting overexposure events (similar to what's happening in the oceans).

 

[Katrina71]

The temp in my tank increased from 79 to 85 degrees because of a heater malfunction and I lost a bunch of acropora that don't look like they're going to recover.

I'll happily donate them if you PM me a mailing address.

PS- I would refine your specimen request to corals that perished from temperature increases or lighting overexposure events (similar to what's happening in the oceans).

Cool idea

 

[Mr.Asbury]

See if anyone you know is going on vacation soon.

An example of something off the beach in Puerto Rico.

Most places dont mind taking dead things that wash ashore.
If Puerto Rico just dont take home a giant tree snail, they x ray for those [emoji23]

Most of the people from my area go on vacation to Myrtle Beach if they go to a beach for vacation, as it is several hours closer than anything more tropical. If anyone mentions missing a few days for a tropical destination, I'll offer up some extra credit for bringing back a coral skeleton or two. Thanks for the suggestion.

Also, that tree snail is enormous!

 

[sstanley223]

I have something fo you. Could you send me your shipping info?

 

[Mr.Asbury]

The temp in my tank increased from 79 to 85 degrees because of a heater malfunction and I lost a bunch of acropora that don't look like they're going to recover.

I'll happily donate them if you PM me a mailing address.

PS- I would refine your specimen request to corals that perished from temperature increases or lighting overexposure events (similar to what's happening in the oceans).

I honestly didn't consider the method of loss of coral when I posted this - I didn't figure there would be a difference in skeleton appearance (is there one??). I am not going to put them into my tank, and plan to give them a good ethanol soak once they arrive to make sure nothing is still alive on them, so I wasn't really worried about and stay parasites or bacteria that is still living making it onto my students' hands. I'll add that on to the request now, however - that is a good point.

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of you acropora - I hope that they do recover. If they do not, I'd love to use them for my class. I'll send you the school's address now, but I hope you don't need it and they start looking better!

 

[sstanley223]

I have something fo you. Could you send me your shipping info?

1 year growth of a stylophora that I lost due to a temperature swing.

 

[Mr.Asbury]

1 year growth of a stylophora that I lost due to a temperature swing.

I'm sorry for your loss. Hopefully it's the last temp. swing you experience.

 

[kchristensen8064]

I have a large branching coral skeleton as well as a fungia skeleton I could send your way if you are interested.

 

[TessGlo]

I love this because it's something good that can come out of losing one of your corals. I would say the more variety of coral skeletons you can get the better, its so interesting and beautiful to see the differences. I'm guessing that folks here have plenty to happily send. Not to say that I have not killed my share of corals, I just only have a few fragments which are not as interesting.

 

[cmcoker]

I dont have any skeletons currently, but thought if the people who donate have a picture of the exact coral before it died, that would nice to show your students the beauty that once was - of this dead thing in their hands.

 

[sstanley223]

I'm sorry for your loss. Hopefully it's the last temp. swing you experience.

Before

 

[ksfulk]

Ive got both plenty of acro skeletons and the pictures of what they looked like when they were live. Shoot me a PM with your shipping address and I'll get you a good sized box

 

[Mr.Asbury]

I dont have any skeletons currently, but thought if the people who donate have a picture of the exact coral before it died, that would nice to show your students the beauty that once was - of this dead thing in their hands.

That’s a great idea!

 

[Mr.Asbury]

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me so far - it will be a great help! I should have enough variety in route now to be able to do the lesson I had planned. Thank you again to everyone who jumped in so quickly to help! I’ll be sure to post some pictures/work from the kids once they get to work with them!

 

[jd371]

Like sstanley223 I lost a 2 year old Stylophora recently. It wasn't a temp swing and no other coral was effected, the only changes in my tank were the nutrients getting higher than normal that I'm now working on fixing. I'd send you mine but it looks like sstanley223 has you covered.

 

[Retro Reefer]

I am not going to put them into my tank, and plan to give them a good ethanol soak once they arrive

Soaking them in a 50/50 bleach & water mixture will give you better results than ethanol.