JasReef Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 These are an example of some things to think about but I am sure everyone here can come up with more: What do you look for in the corals you are thinking about purchasing? What do you bring to carry them? What questions do you ask the seller? What do you do when you get home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Look for signs the coral is healthy and not a super recent frag. Check the plug and if it's stark white with no algae on it, it couldn't have been fragged long ago. Other than that, look for the hidden gems. You can get some great stuff at swaps. Bring a cooler to transport them home. I ask where are the good frags. Ask what is their favorite. Tell them you are looking for a specific frag, do they have it or something similar. Then you can usually negotiate on price a little, especially if you buy a few frags. Acclimate and dip once home! Just like usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Have places in your tank for frags, or at the least a frag rack to place new frags in. Nothing is more stressful than getting home late with a lot of new goodies and not taking care of them because you're tired. Don't have urchins, the little suckers will steal your new frags and at best move them, at worst kill them. Have a coral dip purchased beforehand and dip your new frags before putting them in your tank. Take cash, it's a lot easier to negotiate with than a credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 What do you look for in the corals you are thinking about purchasing? If they have palytoxin or not. Just health of the corals. Honestly, for SPS, fresh cut is fine with me as long as the specimen itself looks healthy. I immediately break them off their plugs anyways and remount them on fresh ones when I get home. For zoas/LPS, I would look for healed frags. What do you bring to carry them? Small bag cooler What questions do you ask the seller? Lighting, flow, water parameters, etc. What do you do when you get home? Bomb those frags until they are radioactive! I dip the heck out of all the frags. Trust no one! Like mentioned before, bring cash, ask for deals if buying multiple frags, bring a white LED flashlight if you don't run an overly blue tank as everyone's setup will be starkly actinic heavy... except for that one oddball that runs more white light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I ask if the mother colony has been in captivity for a long time, or if it was chopped up and only been in captivity for a few months. In my experience those frags will survive in solid healthy tanks, but if your tank isn't always stable and parameters can swing easily due to smaller water volume, the older more battle tested strains tend to have a higher survival rate. Now if your tank is amazing and you have consistent growth with little problems, this shouldn't matter as much. Like Ty said, ask about the conditions the corals grew under and dip the crap out of them. Even the best looking healthy tanks could have pests that they don't know about yet (or just aren't telling you about). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikesilverado8888 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 When and where is this swap??? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I want to know the type and intensity of the lighting it was grown under as well as the P04 level. I also want to know how heavily stocked the tank is (how much nitrogen is available to the coral, preferably I'd actually like to see the tank to get an idea of how well the fish are being fed as corals are feeding off their waste and getting some of their calcium and magnesium from the fish, under fed fish can translate into under fed corals). These all factor into the colors a coral is making and how it may change depending on placement or feeding for those species that make a variety of coloring proteins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 dip once home! Have a coral dip purchased beforehand and dip your new frags I dip the heck out of all the frags.Recommended dipping sauce? I've been using this: http://www.seachem.com/reef-dip.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I prefer fish sauce... but for my corals... http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/36178-Guide-to-Dipping-Acros I've been out of the game for LPS/zoas but I used to use hydrogen peroxide/RO bath for zoas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 When and where is this swap??? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/36474-Lonestar-Marine-Aquarist-RallyThis Sunday at the San Antonio Aquarium. Rsvp in that linked thread to get free admission. Should be pretty fun and lots of corals to choose from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 When and where is this swap??? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/36474-Lonestar-Marine-Aquarist-RallyThis Sunday at the San Antonio Aquarium. Rsvp in that linked thread to get free admission. Should be pretty fun and lots of corals to choose from. With C4 coming up here in Austin on August 27th. Official announcment and web site update shortly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasReef Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 These are all some great answers! I always seem to get the blank look like I am staring at gold and forget to ask questions. I think it's called coral fever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 These are all some great answers! I always seem to get the blank look like I am staring at gold and forget to ask questions. I think it's called coral fever... Yes yes, bring your gold and blank looks to my frag tank JasReef. [emoji12] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasReef Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 These are all some great answers! I always seem to get the blank look like I am staring at gold and forget to ask questions. I think it's called coral fever... Yes yes, bring your gold and blank looks to my frag tank JasReef. [emoji12] You already got me a couple of times, I'm not falling for that again. (Do you take cash?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 These are all some great answers! I always seem to get the blank look like I am staring at gold and forget to ask questions. I think it's called coral fever... Yes yes, bring your gold and blank looks to my frag tank JasReef. [emoji12] You already got me a couple of times, I'm not falling for that again.(Do you take cash?) Just look at the pretty corals and the bright lights... Stop fighting it.Yes to cash but gold is preferred. Paypal and credit card accepted as well. [emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 What do you look for in the corals you are thinking about purchasing? If they have palytoxin or not. Just health of the corals. Honestly, for SPS, fresh cut is fine with me as long as the specimen itself looks healthy. I immediately break them off their plugs anyways and remount them on fresh ones when I get home. For zoas/LPS, I would look for healed frags. What do you bring to carry them? Small bag cooler What questions do you ask the seller? Lighting, flow, water parameters, etc. What do you do when you get home? Bomb those frags until they are radioactive! I dip the heck out of all the frags. Trust no one! Like mentioned before, bring cash, ask for deals if buying multiple frags, bring a white LED flashlight if you don't run an overly blue tank as everyone's setup will be starkly actinic heavy... except for that one oddball that runs more white light. Just curious, but why do u remove the frag and place it on a new plug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Less risk of introducing a bad thing... Many of the bad critters can hang on to the plug. Aiptasia for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Oh. The dipping doesn't remove things from the plugs as well? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Obviously not.... Haha. Jst ignore me! [emoji23][emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 I do it to only bring in coral flesh from any frags. The less "other" stuff I bring in with the coral, the less likely a hitchhiker I don't want will come in with it. It's the same concept of cutting maricultures off their plugs, so that you don't introduce all the algae/pests/hitchikers that reside on the plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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