I'm CLEAN , so you can take my name off the list of possible offenders. In all seriousness though , if someone is selling corals knowing that they have aefw , or any other major pests for that matter , that's just horrible.

Aefw is a detrimental plague to any sps tank. Even if your corals are all on frag plugs which can easily removed and dipped it is still a pain in the butt to deal with. When I sell sps frags, I make a point to ask the buyer to dip everything, not that I have any aefw (knock on wood) people needs to understand if you decide to buy it, you need to be responsible for it, because after all, it's going into your tank and not anyone else's. At the minimum, you need to dip. Some people are more fortunate than others where a separate quarantine tank is set up which is fantastic but for most of us, it's straight into the tank.

Here are some of my practices that I like to share with you for acquiring new sps frags; #1 cut the frag off the plug no matter how bad you want to save the encrusted left over, just don't do it. #2 dip the frag with your favourite dip and turkey baster and baste the crap out of it. #3 observe what's in the dip closely, black containers is not recommended as it is hard to see. #4 disinfect it with a mix of your tank water and iodine(lugols) turkey baste again. #5 final rinse in your tank water. #6 glue it to your plug of choice, don't be cheap, use enough glue to cover the base.

Follow the above steps are a sure way to keep aefw out of your tank 99 percent of time but it's still not bullet proof. There are still chances where aefw can be introduced so periodic random dips are still necessary. Out of all the years I have been in this hobby I have only met a few reefers that are willingly admitting the fact of aefw, some don't even realize they have it. So the bottom line is if it goes in your tank you are the one that is responsible and that's it. Do not ever rely on anyone or any store telling you they are "clean" cause you never know...it's your tank on the line here.

Years ago I found AEFW on an aquacultured mini colony I had recently bought. I removed it from the tank and threw it in the garbage. It's not worth the $100 to risk my collection. Lucky for me, it had not spread to any of the other corals. Regardless, I stopped selling frags for 3 months, and warned everyone that had bought frags from me since I had bought that coral. Luckily no one else's tank was infected, and it really was localized to that one coral. Thank goodness! :eek: Ever since then, no frag plugs or aquaculture "mounds" are allowed in my tank. I clip all corals off plugs/disks/mounds, dip in bayer, and mount them on new plugs. I also clip off and/or scrape any damaged areas or spots of bare skeleton. The eggs aren't laid on the live skin, they are laid on the plugs and spots of bare skeleton.

This is a great suggestion. :)

People need to dip everything. I nearly kill my new frags before they enter new tank, maybe I'm paranoid but you never can be too safe. On top of that a week later I dip them again to ensure nothing is on them. I would also hope any frag I sell gets dipped by the buyer it should be part of your routine. I don't have bugs but it just should be done. Another great idea something we all should be doing is quarantine tank I'll be building one soon I have way to much invested to loose it all to some little bugs.

That is just "dirty" to sell an infestation. IMO if you have any sort of pest (especially when you know) you should not be sellIng anything. Nothing will crush a persons happiness and bank account more, especially wen you are just starting out. I think that without the exposure of the individual other reputable sellers in the GVRD will have a hard time selling their frags. This is unfortunate to hear and maybe the person will step up and "make it right". :smile:

yes... greasy move, especially when your the seller and you know you have a problem, but continue to sell stuff or trade stuff to a local fish store.. fix your problem then start to sell again...
dont pass your garbage infestation around... you guys know who you are that are selling this sh*#...

dont forget about those damn monti eating nudis either, they are just as bad as AEFW, had a friend who got infested by a well known seller...
just remember, its a small community and your name will be tossed around..
i have no problem telling other people this or that person has issues with their tanks..
i always tell people to dip whenever i sell a piece of coral.. because even myself, you never know if that one piece has something on it..

On the other hand, yes, its buyers responsibility to do their end of it by dipping..

if you accidentally sell and dont know about your problem, dont go denying it and keep selling. FIX YOUR PROBLEM FIRST..

SMH

I agree this is such a shame on seller when he/she is clearly aware of the issue but still try to cover it.
Regardless, I dip everything that goes into the my tank, also remove the plug too. I don't want to take any chance to introduce any unwanted pest/algae. At end of the day, every coral is infected until proven clean after quarantine.


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While it's really disheartening to see a thread like this, its great to see us looking out for one another.

I'm preparing to jump back into sps in a big way and frankly, up until now I would still be just buying frags and dropping them into the display.

I will be setting up a quarantine of sorts for sure.

What happened to the good old days where you just needed some kalk and some halides and you were good to go!

I guess dipping is the way to go, but it would be nice to buy from trusted members and be able to drop them in right away! Instant satisfaction!!!

There are dozens of issues that can come into your tank from another tank, from algae to diseases to pests. Most of these can be accidental because the seller is unaware of the problem. Best option is fresh cuts, dipped and quarantined no matter who the coral is coming from. Minimal option is no frag plugs and dipping. Even if you do everything you can sometimes bad stuff happens.

I hear ya.

Nothing beats precaution.

Just saying, back in the day the only thing I worried about was red flatworms which were just an eyesore & grape caulerpra.

But I don't think I've seen a thread about the grape caulerpra in years!