How to Acclimate Corals After Shipping: A Practical Guide

Your corals have arrived. Before placing them in the aquarium, take some time to unpack and inspect them properly. Follow these steps.

Prepare everything before opening the bags

You will need a clean container, a thermometer and an instrument for measuring salinity. The container should be used only for the aquarium and must be free from cleaning-product residue. Have suitable gloves ready and decide where the new coral will be placed initially.

Inspect the coral carefully after unpacking

Check that the bags are sealed and that the coral has arrived without visible damage. A coral being closed after transport is not necessarily a reason for concern. The main thing to check is whether the tissue is intact.

If tissue is detaching or the coral is visibly damaged, please take photographs and contact us straight away. It is best to photograph the coral under white light. Damage is much harder to assess under strong blue light.

Check temperature and salinity

Float the unopened, sealed bag in the aquarium so that the temperature can equalise. Check the temperature instead of relying only on the clock. Do not leave the bag directly beneath a hot light.

Then open the bag and compare the salinity of the transport water with that of your aquarium. If the values differ significantly, contact us before transferring the coral and tell us both readings. We can then advise you on how to proceed with your delivery.

Do not leave the coral standing in opened transport water for hours. Once the temperature and salinity are suitable, you can transfer it carefully. Do not add the water from the transport bag to the aquarium.

Handle it carefully and check for unwanted hitchhikers

Hold the coral by the frag plug. With fleshy corals such as Euphyllia or Trachyphyllia, do not press on the soft tissue. Inspect the underside of the plug as well, as unwanted organisms or deposits can be hidden there.

If you use a coral dip, follow the product instructions for suitability, dosage and dip time. A higher dose or a longer dip can place the coral under additional stress. If the animal is already damaged, please ask us before treating it. Dispose of the dip water afterwards.

Continue to observe the coral even after a dip. A mature, stable quarantine tank is useful because it allows you to keep new animals separate from the rest of your livestock at first.

Use less light at first, but provide suitable flow

Do not place the new coral in the brightest part of the tank immediately. Start in a less intensely lit area and acclimate it gradually to its intended position. The amount of light it needs there depends on the species.

With Torch corals, we pay particular attention to flow. The tentacles should move in the water, but the coral should not be blasted directly by a pump. A position in the return flow, where the water moves back after being redirected in the tank, often works well. If the tentacles are constantly pushed hard to one side, the position is not suitable.

In our experience, Hammer corals are usually a little more forgiving when it comes to flow. Even so, you should not place them directly in front of a pump.

During the first few days: observe instead of constantly moving it

Give the coral time to open. It does not need to look like the product photograph on the first evening. If the position is suitable, leave it there and make a quick daily check of its condition.

Keep the water values stable, especially alkalinity (KH). Do not change the lighting, pumps and dosing all at the same time out of impatience. You should, of course, correct a direct pump jet hitting the coral immediately.

If tissue begins to detach, brown slime appears or the condition deteriorates quickly, please do not wait for several days. Take photographs and contact us before trying several different treatments.

We can help with questions about your delivery

Send us your order number and a photograph of the affected coral. Briefly tell us when it arrived, how you acclimated it and which water values you measured. For flow questions, a short video is more useful than a photograph.

You can reach us through the support form or at info@coralprime.de.

For more help with positioning, read our guide to Torch coral care and flow.