Tip of the Day – 2/27/2014

If you’re concerned about the various pests and undesirable hitch hikers that come in with new corals, simple dipping goes a long way, but doesn’t prevent every issue. Dips do great for certain organisms like red bugs, but they fail miserably at killing the eggs of pests like Acropora Eating Flatworms. Because of this, quarantining is pretty much the only way to go. Place the corals into a separate aquarium and monitor them closely, keeping an eye out for those tell tale signs like little red dots and circular white patches. If you want to make doubly sure that you keep the worms out, you should also cut the corals off their frag plugs or coral bases, especially if they are maricultured. AEFW like to lay their eggs at the base of corals, so removing the plug will certainly help prevent an outbreak.