Dead or alive gorgonian coral

[Boz]

Hi everyone! I just got few gorgonian corals. My friend brought them from carribean. But they were without any water for a day. Can they be still alive or dead? Can I put them to my tank or no? They still purple.
Thanks

 

[Sniperhank]

They are probably dead... I'd clean them off well if you still wanted to add them to your tank. Possibly even bleaching them and rinsing several times prior to placement. Disease and parasites coming in from the wild is a very real thing.

 

[Boz]

Thank you. But if they are dead it's maybe better not to put them, I have many live corals in my tank. They will be just dead dark corals if they dead.
But what about when they come from stores, also lots of parasites are coming with them as well or no? Thanks

 

[Sniperhank]

Not normally, but it is always highly recommended to QT any new arrivals before putting them into your display tank. The use of products like CoralRX helps remove things quickly from corals. I have never used it, but have had to remove 2 nudibranch that were feasting on my beloved blue symphodium and one that I still have no clue exactly what it was eating.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

I always dip you never no what comes from stores.with out water their probably dead but sometimes creatures can shut up pretty tight to preserve themselves. Put them in a bucket and see if they open up. Then if they do dip them and enjoy.

 

[Boz]

But how to know if they open, this is purple gorgonian fan coral, no tentacles

 

[MacDracor]

Most corals can survive without water for a day IF humidity is maintained. For example, a sealed plastic bag. To test, put some tank water in a container large enough to cover the gorgonian and add a small pump to circulate. Then observe for a few days. If they are alive, keep them in quarantine to make sure you don't add anything unpleasant with them.

 

[Boz]

Thank you, can they stay in bucket with room temperature for few days?
Can they be quarantined in same bucket? How long to keep them there and how to know they are not sick or have some bad stuff? Thanks

 

[MacDracor]

Wherever you keep them will need to be of appropriate temperature and water quality, with circulation. Proper quarantine will last several weeks. I was merely suggesting a means of determining if they were alive or not. There's a lot of data on quarantine procedures on the forum as well as the web in general.