Loading ...To us experts, this is a routine. Removing a tricolor Acropora millepora from a batch of 250 corals takes only less than 3 minutes. But fear not my friends, you can do it too (with some practice of course). So let us give you a hand to pick out your ocean’s gem.
Here is the rundown: use all of your senses! Except your tongue of course. We will not be responsible if you end up chowing down on some Cyphastrea. And your ears. Don’t be sticking an A. prostrata down your tubes for no apparent reason. Just use your eyes, nose, and hands. Lets us show you what we mean:
- Pickup the coral and rotate it in every direction.
- Use your eyes to scan the corals for tissue damage
- Look for ‘skin’ that is peeling away from the skeleton. That is a sign of RTN/STN. Put it down, and move on.
- Look for bad crabs (a future post is necessary). Take them out, as they eat your coral.
- Never assume that a fluorescent color is good. It just means that the coral is severely stressed out.
- When choosing your color, always assume it will be darker than it looks. IE: Pink to Red, Neon Blue to Deep Blue
- Always look for polyps. If they are present, it is an excellent sign.
- If you are still unsure, get yourself to know what a healthy coral smells like. Personally, I think it smells like a sweet fruit, or a flower. A dying SPS coral will have decaying, fouling smell. Compare a few corals to distinguish which one smells sweet.
- When you get home, ALWAYS dip your new corals. Some of the common pests include: Red Bugs (Tegastes acroporanus), Acropora Eating Flat Worms (AEFW), and Red Flat Worms (Planaria Flat Worms). Use a combination of Revive, Interceptor, Flat Worm Exit, and TMPCC (in separate dips).
Don’t forget, if you are still unsure, you can send us an email at info@fragd.it. We answer all, except spam! Well, sometimes spam is interesting to answer….
Now go and get your new SPS! Be ready to show it off!
Trained by the thirteenth ring master of the Sian Xiuang Coral Temple. Currently is apprenticing the art of Acropora shaping in the ancient tradition of Ninja Fragging. Known as the SPS hero!
Okay done the 101 course, let’s hear the 201 course.
Some great tips! I never go through this mental checklist intentionally but a lot of it I guess I learned to do from curiosity at first to now trying to ID a healthy specimen. You mention dipping your corals, what is a good general dip recipe that you employ?
To quote Robert Duvall from the great movie Apocalypse Now, “I love the smell of acropora in the morning….”
My regimen is very simple. One drop of Flat Worm Exit into the bag, while its acclimating. Then bath of Iodine (TMPCC) for 5-10 minutes. Then Revive in for 4 minutes. That should take care of most pests. Now be careful if you have good crabs in your Acropora. You want to take them out if they jump. If they don’t then they will be toast.
vlad … great checklist, you do a tw0 that i dont. where do you get the interceptor ?
The only way how…. A Vet that is into the hobby