Treating incoming corals help...please

[TomD]

I am beggining to see the importance of treating corals after I collect more and more and am starting to be concerned. I have added my first 2 SPS and I have not been treating corals besides fw dips.

Can anybody give me a basic run down for treating different incoming corals?

I did buy Betadine+Hydrogen peroxide which I heard was good for zoos. but not sure how much of a solution and for which corals. Is there any good reef dips? I know about interceptor for red bugs but dont know how I am going to get it. Any good all in one reef dips?

Treating Incoming: Solution amounts?

SPS---????
LPS----so far nothing
Softies--Fresh?
zoos--Hydrogen Peroxixe?

 

[Liam]

a half hour dip in betadine at the dose of 3ml per litre should be fine for all corals and will kill pretty much all unwanted critters.Some sps will color down somewhat.
I am not sure it will kill red bugs though,it may i just can say for sure. Some say tropin marins dip does kill red bugs but again i have'nt used it so i can say for sure.I am not sure that the tropic marin definitely kills acro fw's either.

 

[Bobbofin]

I use SeaChem Coral Dip. 5ml in one gallon of water for 10 minutes. You'll see stuff coming out of the rock, mysid shrimp, worms, ect.

 

[Andy O]

I use the tropic marin coral cure which I belive is a betadyne dip. I think some people also use Lugols solution as a dip.

 

[ReeferMedic]

a half hour dip in betadine at the dose of 3ml per litre should be fine for all corals and will kill pretty much all unwanted critters.Some sps will color down somewhat.
I am not sure it will kill red bugs though,it may i just can say for sure. Some say tropin marins dip does kill red bugs but again i have'nt used it so i can say for sure.I am not sure that the tropic marin definitely kills acro fw's either.

This is probably your cheapest and most effective. Most dips are just betadine IMO. Some claim to have more things added. I've tried the TMPCC, and I really think it's just expensive betadine. Call me paranoid, but when they don't list the ingredients, they are probably trying to hide something. I throw some interceptor in there as well for the red bugs.

 

[TomD]

D&G told me something about interceptor but I forgot. Can most people get a hold of interceptor?

 

[Gina McReeferson]

We treat everything that comes in with Interceptor followed by Betadine. Don't forget to carefully inspect everything visually as well, before and after treatment. As far as getting interceptor goes, it can be oredered online from Canada I believe. It can also be obtained from some local vets, but you will probably have to call several places to get your hands on any, veteranarians are very reluctant to give this to anyone other than dog or cat owners with "legitimate" pet ailments. Unfortunately, most people have no idea whatsoever what what our systems really are, you mention reef tank, they get a blank expression on their face, so you say fish tank and they say "Ohhh", I can almost see in their eyes what they are picturing as soon as they hear "fish tank". "Yeah, this guy needs prescription meds for his guppies."

-Dave and Gina

 

[TomD]

Thanks I know one of you answered this before but how do I use it if I can get my hands on some?

 

[Liam]

there are some detailed descriptions somewhere.And some say the pills must be weighed.
Personally i just do it by eye and err on the side of overdosing.
basically you get the interceptor pills for large dogs.One pill treats 300 gallons so for a dip you will only need a tiny amount.I usually go with about 1/8 of a pill which should be well over the dose and has caused no ill affect that i could see.
Take the 1/8 pill and crush it to a fine powder and add some tank water to hydrate the powder,stir it up well and let it sit for 5 mins then add it to the water and coral in your treatment container.
This dip is 5-6 hours i normally go with 6 just to be safe,as i mentioned this dip is pretty gentle on the corals.You will need to heat this one and also add a small powerhead for circulation.I use a small 2 gallon tank for this.
HTH

 

[nichols]

Just a heads up. Interceptor will kill shrimp and snails. If your lucky enough to get any acro crabs on your corals, take them off before tretment.
I had to treat my whole system and lost a cleaner shrimp, all my hermits and all three of the acro crabs I had.

 

[FishHead]

Interceptor will kill shrimp and snails.

you sure about the snails?

 

[FishHead]

i just treated an infested acro.. small colony. after 2 hours there must have been at least a thousand dead on the bottom of the bucket. i couldn't freakin believe it..the coral probably couldn't breath. unreal..

the interceptor i have has been expired since 4/05, but it seemed to work great so far. think the dosage i used was like 10x or so.
i have some available if you need any.

 

[Gina McReeferson]

In our experience it does not harm snails.

Here is the info I believe Liam was referring to...

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45859

I also do not weigh the dosage just err on the side of caution. I am not suggesting anyone else do this, but I have been treating incoming frags lately with a dosage well in excess of anything that might be considered reasonable, with no ill effects on the corals. This includes SPS and LPS corals, as well as Zoanthids and Coralimorphs (mushrooms).

-Dave and Gina

 

[nichols]

Sorry I meant crabs. I didn't lose any snails.

 

[sdesi2005]

Where do you guys get your Betadine?

 

[Gina McReeferson]

Any drugstore, you will find it in the first aid section.

 

[JeremyR]

FWIW, the tropic marin stuff does kill red bugs.. you can watch the coral slime them right off, and I've seen tanks go red bug free by doing weekly dips for a month or so. Next time someone brings me in something really infested I will try it in betadine to see if there is the same effect on the red bugs.

 

[cobraz]

If the MODs are watching this thread... could I suggest that this is scheduled for an upcoming meeting.. that some people are asked to speak on this and offer a demo if possible. There seems to be allot of info but many variations. It would be nice to see a local meeting address this issue in the open and see opinions and and tally the best solutions.

(yes, we had a previous speaker touch on it, but not in this format, it would be good for all the new and old reefers.)

Thanks....

 

[maurod]

If anyone can bring 2 liters of water and a redbug infested coral, I'll bring betadine a tub and syringe for measuring
M.

 

[Greg Hiller]

>I will try it in betadine to see if there is the same effect on the red bugs.<

I never tried Betadine for red bugs, but I did try Lugol's a long while back, and it seems to me that their method of killing is probably pretty similar. I found that you could kill a lot of the red bugs, maybe 90-95%, but a few always survived, and repopulated the frag. Though annoyingly long, I think the Interceptor dip is a much more certain kill for these guys.

>could I suggest that this is scheduled for an upcoming meeting.. <

As you mentioned, the topic was very recently covered, though more broadly. Unfortunately, the upcoming meeting is going to be pretty long as it is with the coral propagation demos. We could probably add something like this to the Feb meeting. There will probably be some time before the seahorse speaker gets going. The trouble also with this topic is that the jury I think is still out on exactly what the best procedures are. I know I don't know. Is anyone convinced they know the best method for treating all incoming corals?