Transporting Damp vs. In lots of water

[-Keith-]

Given the choice of transporting corals in a damp environment or "wet" in a modest amount of water, it from you article that you would favor the damp.

If it were practical to transport coral in a large amount of well-oxygenated water, would you still favor the damp method? Specifically, I plan to move a reef tank about 8 hours by car. I plan to take about ten 6-12" colonies. I also plan to take about 50 galllons of the water from the initial tank to help start the new tank. I can keep the water well oxygenated with battery powered air pumps. Given that I plan to move the water in either case, would you recommend shipping the corals in the water (e.g., 1 coral in a bucket with ~ 3 gallons of water) or still to transport the coral damp?

Thanks for your input.

Keith

[Hugo Borneman]

Keith, it depends on the corals and the duration. For example, I have fragmented some corals. like M digitata, and put them into a tupperware bowl and found that the amount of mucus released has literally turned the entire bowl of water into snotty gel - this is, of course, bacterial agar, and the oxygen will be depeleted quickly since the viscosity has changed as has the carbon substrate. So, unless its a short distance with the right corals and water motion (which works fine), I would not suggest moving things submerged. Randy Holmes-Farley will have an upcoming article that will also impress on you why stagnant water and marine life is a bad idea.