AEFW WARNING

[smokinreefer]

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!!!

[Frogger]

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

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.

[smokinreefer]

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!

[Myka]

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

it would be nice to buy from trusted members and be able to drop them in right away! Instant satisfaction!!!

"Trusted members" has nothing to do with it. Every single person on these forums is at risk of infecting their own tank if they are adding corals to their tank. No matter how diligent a person is, at some point something will sneak through. Everyone's tank is "clean" ...until it isn't. I don't actually think that anyone should say their tank is "pest-free". When people ask me, I say "There are no pests in there that I currently know about". I always tell people to dip frags no matter where you get them from - even if you buy them from me. Dipping is your insurance! At the end of the day though, there are very few pests that I am particularly concerned about. AEFW is #1.

[Animal-Chin]

Seriously though, who is it? I bought some AEFW from Oceanic Coral a few years ago and it was the worst issue ever. Watching my acro die as I did weekly dips to try and stop the infestation almost made me give up on this hobby.

I dip every frag I buy by the eggs can make it through the dipping process. This seller should stop selling until they are 100% sure they are not selling infested frags.

[Bblinks]

That name isn't gonna get mentioned unless you want the ban hammer coming down...lol Wardog is always hammer happy....just kidding. Let's just grab our pitchforks and go for a good old witch hunt....burn the tank and house down.

All jokes aside, I am a firm believer on buying only fresh cuts on sps or any other corals that I can cut for that matter. Even stuff with a skeleton like most lps, I would use epoxy or glue to cover all that exposed skeleton after dipping. Frag plugs and maricultured sps colony cement bases are the worst for harbouring aefw eggs and other pests like majano, aiptasia along with nuisance algaes like bryopsis. Never really get why people are adamant to have it on a frag plugs, you are just buying someone else's hidden problems. Don't be a cheap fart trying to save that extra little bit coral by not cutting the base off and end up with pain and suffering for losing your whole tank.

Word of advice, if you are like me and have thousands of dollars invested in the tank, please due diligence when it comes to your tank. No one is to be the blame except for yourself.

[Animal-Chin]

Do you find that fresh cuts have a higher mortality rate? I've bought 2 fresh cuts and both RTN'd pretty quick, I figured they didn't have time to heal before being taken from one tank to another and the shock of the difference in parameters or flow or light was too much on them.

Maybe I'll start an all Acan reef, no one ever reports issues with Acans...lol

[Frogger]

This is not good for those that are currently selling Acro's in the lower mainland. Or for anyone wanting to buy Acros from the lower mainland. We are in a Catch 22 right now. Dammed if we do dammed if we don't. Everyone is considered potentially guilty until we know whose corals are infected.

Maybe the best option is the person that is selling the infected corals to stop selling any corals from his system until it can be verified that he is AEFW free for at least 3 months. Once he stops selling his corals the Mods that know who he is can say it is now safe to buy Acros again from the lower mainland.

The other option is for Canreef to list all those hobbyists selling Acroporas that are verified to be from AEFW free systems.

[crimper]

I used to be a BCA member way back my planted tank and discus days addiction, the feature that I missed moving to Canreef is the Feedback/Rating to all transactions that is done through the BCA Buy/Sell Trade.

Can Canreef add the same feature?

Just asking.