Wild vs. tank raised acros... What's the difference???

[Cassian]

Hello all! ive been in this hobby for quite some time now and I want to try something new. Im thinking of setting up a group buy to get a large box of wild acropora colonies. I keep a good bit of SPS frags in my DT, and they seem to be doing good. First of all, I have LED lights. would wild acros be able to go under my LEDs when I get them in? Second, I dont have a way to quarantine coral. Is it wise to put wild acro directly into your DT (dipping first of course). has any one attempted this and had success?

 

[Cassian]

typo in the title, oops

 

[EmdeReef]

LED lights will work, assuming a proper spectrum. The biggest visual difference is that many wild acros may take a while to color up, sometimes over a year, although that depends how long they were getting acclimated etc.

Some may be a bit more sensitive to parameters swings.

If you're getting them shipped, you'd ideally want to give them a week or two before dipping.

 

[Cassian]

LED lights will work, assuming a proper spectrum. The biggest visual difference is that many wild acros may take a while to color up, sometimes over a year, although that depends how long they were getting acclimated etc.

Some may be a bit more sensitive to parameters swings.

If you're getting them shipped, you'd ideally want to give them a week or two before dipping.

So since I dont have a QT it would be best to put them straight into the DT then correct? Should I take them out and dip them, or does it matter once they are in the DT?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wild will adapt slower to reef aquarium lighting and chemistry hense making it take longer to color up, however I know many who desire wild coral as they say much easier growth once it takes off. How big are these pieces?

 

[Cassian]

Wild will adapt slower to reef aquarium lighting and chemistry hense making it take longer to color up, however I know many who desire wild coral as they say much easier growth once it takes off. How big are these pieces?

tennis ball size. I think you actually commented in my group buy post, so its the same ones that im looking at

 

[EmdeReef]

So since I dont have a QT it would be best to put them straight into the DT then correct? Should I take them out and dip them, or does it matter once they are in the DT?

A single dip won't get rid of eggs and if done soon after receiving a coral that's been shipped can cause issues. That said, you could be risking introducing some nasty pests to your other corals. Best practice would be to dip... at the minimum use a turkey baster and blast the coral to try to see if anything comes off. If it comes with a plug, throw it away and use a clean one. Iodine based dips IME are a bit less harsh and tend to work to at least dislodge many hitchhikers.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

To having a coral QT is a great way to have a crushing pest problem on your hands. Ask me how I know.....

 

[SeaDweller]

So since I dont have a QT it would be best to put them straight into the DT then correct? Should I take them out and dip them, or does it matter once they are in the DT?

I wouldn’t take the risk without a separate QT for wild or MC acros, not worth it IMO.

Good luck if you do, and let us know if you get any stellar pieces. I hope you get more winners than losers.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I have seen twice as many aefw and bugs on other reefers and vendors home grown frags than I have seen come in on wild corals. Not even close. So I don’t like the argument that you shouldn’t get them because of this. Mari stuff is the same but there are a ton of non coral eating pests that come on the bases too, and I have seen worms on Mari corals but no where near as much as frags from other people. Ime people are the reason pests are spread around for the most part.

I would give it a shot and just keep your eyes opened when your acclimating and opening bags, where are you going to order the box from?

 

[Cassian]

I have seen twice as many aefw and bugs on other reefers and vendors home grown frags than I have seen come in on wild corals. Not even close. So I don’t like the argument that you shouldn’t get them because of this. Mari stuff is the same but there are a ton of non coral eating pests that come on the bases too, and I have seen worms on Mari corals but no where near as much as frags from other people. Ime people are the reason pests are spread around for the most part.

I would give it a shot and just keep your eyes opened when your acclimating and opening bags, where are you going to order the box from?

thanks for the advice! ive read this as well. Im planning to order it from LivestockUSA.org

 

[Cassian]

would keeping them in my refugium be beneficial, or will pests just get in the water and spread?

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I would just put them in the display unless your refuge is a rock and not algae refuge with good flow and light. It’s possible pests can float off into a pump and into the display but I wouldn’t say it’s likley.

 

[Cassian]

I would just put them in the display unless your refuge is a rock and not algae refuge with good flow and light. It’s possible pests can float off into a pump and into the display but I wouldn’t say it’s likley.

my refuge has live rock and a handful of algae. I wouldn't say great light though

 

[EmdeReef]

If I had no QT I’d probably put right into DT after trying to get as much stuff off with a turkey baster. Perhaps do a lugol or iodine based dip.

I don’t think it’s accurate to believe that captive bred acros from reputable retailers would have more pests than wild acros. The retailers would quickly go out of business for reputation or stock damage.

Conversely, I don’t believe wild acros are instant pest breeding grounds. The bigger issue is the supply chain given that wild acros tend to go through multiple hands for very short periods of time, which increases chances of infection similar to issues faced with fish.

 

[Cassian]

If I had no QT I’d probably put right into DT after trying to get as much stuff off with a turkey baster. Perhaps do a lugol or iodine based dip.

I don’t think it’s accurate to believe that captive bred acros from reputable retailers would have more pests than wild acros. The retailers would quickly go out of business for reputation or stock damage.

Conversely, I don’t believe wild acros are instant pest breeding grounds. The bigger issue is the supply chain given that wild acros tend to go through multiple hands for very short periods of time, which increases chances of infection similar to issues faced with fish.

thanks for the info! I assume AEFW and other pests are visible correct? so if I looked them over really good, and replaced the frag plug/rock they came on + a dip, id probably in good shape right?

 

[GlassMunky]

thanks for the info! I assume AEFW and other pests are visible correct? so if I looked them over really good, and replaced the frag plug/rock they came on + a dip, id probably in good shape right?

no. they are not always visible, and even if you do see them, you wont be able to kill their eggs.
this is how most people end up with issues, they think by just doing a single dip, they are ok. its very possible to remove all the adult flatworms but miss their eggs, and then in a few weeks you have a new population.really you should be dipping every couple days for a while in a QT tank, so that if you do have any issues they are easily dealt with and dont infect you main display.

 

[Cassian]

no. they are not always visible, and even if you do see them, you wont be able to kill their eggs.
this is how most people end up with issues, they think by just doing a single dip, they are ok. its very possible to remove all the adult flatworms but miss their eggs, and then in a few weeks you have a new population.really you should be dipping every couple days for a while in a QT tank, so that if you do have any issues they are easily dealt with and dont infect you main display.

thanks for the info!

 

[motortrendz]

I did this a few years ago with a couple local guys(definitly easier if everyone can meet up at the same place to go through and divide corals) there was 6 of us and we split 12 ausi colonies. The problem was we all wanted our frags right away and noone wanted to let the corals sit and acclimate for a week or 2 before getting their frags. The downside was most of us lost our frags fairly quick after that. The stress of the transshipment plus the acclimation and fragging them being .oved to each pwrsons tank and reaclimating. It was just too much and we all lost a bunch of money. The thought was good and we all agreed to try it knowing the risk.

One other hard part was being able to frag each colony atleast 6 ways for the 6 of us.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Fragging

If I had no QT I’d probably put right into DT after trying to get as much stuff off with a turkey baster. Perhaps do a lugol or iodine based dip.

I don’t think it’s accurate to believe that captive bred acros from reputable retailers would have more pests than wild acros. The retailers would quickly go out of business for reputation or stock damage.

Conversely, I don’t believe wild acros are instant pest breeding grounds. The bigger issue is the supply chain given that wild acros tend to go through multiple hands for very short periods of time, which increases chances of infection similar to issues faced with fish.

There are a few vendors that you don’t have to worry about. The rest you should. I am mainly talking about reefers who don’t know they are infected and vendors who get new corals all the time and don’t have the time to separate new and old corals. These are where most pests get spread.
You have to really worry about wild and Mari stuff when they are not shipped direct to you from the collection points. They sit in wholesale tanks, vendors tanks and then you get them. That’s why I always tell people to go the route the op is taking if you want to stock some wild stuff.
Either way have fun with it. Don’t stress on pests or it ruins the hobby, just be prepared to deal with them if you see them.