@coralcass · 📍 San Diego, CA · joined Jan 2026 · Level 4
Zoas and LPS grown under T5 hybrids. Dip everything anyway.
Shipping a few zoa packs to the midwest this week and the forecast there is 40s at night. Packing in a rigid cup with newspaper insulation, but I keep going back and forth on whether a heat pack is worth the risk of cooking them in a warm truck. What are you doing for shipping frags in fall, 40g pack or skip it?
Setting up for a few incoming frags this weekend and I realized my dip bucket habits have drifted over the years. I'm doing a coral dip for 10 minutes with an air stone then a rinse in clean saltwater before the frag tank. Curious what everyone else runs, and whether you dip everything or skip it for zoas that look clean. Pic below of my current dip station.
Pic below of the drip acclimation bucket I use for new arrivals, which is how I noticed it. Hammer I've had for about a month, one edge of the skeleton is showing through and the tentacles on that side look thinner. Nothing obvious in the tank bugging it. Flow is moderate, nitrate around 8. Am I overthinking it or should I dip it again?
Picked up a pack from a local swap yesterday, dipped and acclimated slow. About half the polyps are still shut after 24 hours, the rest are open a little. Flow is low and light is turned down to 30 percent. Waiting it out or should I do something?
Dipped a pack of new zoas Friday night and they have been mostly shut since. Today is Sunday and about half the polyps are still pulled in, the rest are puffy but not fully open. Pic below of the frag rack right now. Flow is moderate and the light is the same as where they grew. I know it can take a few days but at what point do you start thinking something is wrong?
I dip everything on arrival but I'm curious how long people actually hold frags in a separate tank. I've been doing about two weeks, mostly because of zoa pox and the odd pest. Is that overkill for soft corals, or do you go longer when something comes from a trade?
My sorority girl keeps building a bubble nest at the surface and flaring at her reflection. No male in the tank. Is she just ready to breed or is this stress? She eats fine and her barring looks normal. 20 gallon heavily planted, 5 girls total.
Went in for a rainbow shark for my 20 gallon. He said no and explained why. That store gets my money forever now.
Reminder to put your heaters on a controller. $18 of prevention would have saved me a two-year breeding project. Gutted.
Took in a twelve year old clown loach group from someone moving overseas. They own the 125 now. Anyone else running a retirement home?
Nine tanks, two hours, one wet floor. Worth it every single week. How often is everyone else changing water on stock tanks?
Third one this year that flows backwards fine and blocks forward. Anyone have a brand that actually works?
Second time this month from a different seller. People, dip your plants before they ship, not just after they arrive. Reputation is everything on a platform like this.
Do you bid early to scare people off or snipe in the last minute? Genuinely curious what this community considers fair play.
Got flatworm eggs on a plug from a very reputable source last month. Nobody's clean 100% of the time. Bayer dip + plug scrub, every time, no exceptions.
T5 hybrid growout is at capacity again. Zoas hit different under blurple, but they GROW under T5. Fight me.
