Every coral that lands in your tank has spent time outside a controlled reef system — in a bag, a cooler, a delivery truck, or someone else’s holding tank. That’s true whether it came from us, a local fragger, or a big online vendor. Pests, parasites, and bacteria don’t care how reputable the seller is, and a coral that looks perfectly healthy can still be carrying something that won’t show up for weeks. Dipping is cheap, fast insurance against that risk, and it should happen every single time, no exceptions.
Why You Should Dip Every New Coral, No Matter Where It Came From
Flatworms, red bugs, nudibranchs, vermetid snails, and bacterial infections from shipping stress are the most common hitchhikers, and all of them can hide in a coral’s base, folds, or polyps where you’d never spot them with the naked eye. Even careful vendors who dip before shipping can’t guarantee zero risk after a coral has traveled. Dipping on arrival isn’t an insult to the seller — it’s standard practice for anyone serious about protecting their system, and it takes ten minutes versus months of dealing with an outbreak in your display tank.
What to do next
Learn what you are looking for in the dip water with our coral pest ID guide, and if you are dipping Euphyllia, read the torch coral guide first — they are the least dip-tolerant coral most reefers own.
Our corals come from our own systems in Key West and we watch them closely, but dip anything you buy from anyone. It is ten minutes against weeks of trouble.
Iodine Dips: Lugol’s Solution & Iodine-Based Conditioners
Lugol’s solution is a strong disinfectant, which makes an iodine dip one of the best options for treating bacterial infections and conditions like brown jelly disease. It’s also the go-to dip for freshly cut frags, since a fresh cut is an open wound and iodine helps sterilize it before infection can set in. Because Lugol’s is potent, always dilute strictly to the product label — this is not a dip to eyeball.
Melafix: Tea Tree Extract for Bacterial Infections
Melafix (the Marine formula only — never the freshwater version) is a botanical, tea-tree-based antibacterial that’s reef safe and gentle enough to use on corals and anemones. It’s best for general bacterial infections rather than being a pest killer. Expect polyps to close up tight within seconds of exposure — that’s a normal reaction, and they’ll reopen once the coral is back in clean water.
Hydrogen Peroxide: Best for Zoas, Algae, and Biofilm
Zoanthids are among the most tolerant corals to hydrogen peroxide, which makes a peroxide dip an excellent tool for stripping hair algae, dinoflagellate biofilm, and general grime off zoa colonies. You’ll see the solution bubble on contact with organic matter — that’s the peroxide oxidizing whatever it’s breaking down, and it’s a good sign the dip is working. SPS and LPS are more sensitive to peroxide than zoas, so if you’re dipping stony corals, use a weaker dilution and watch closely rather than assuming the same strength is safe.
Revive by Two Little Fishies: The All-Around Everyday Dip
Revive is a plant-extract based dip that’s gentle enough to be a great first-line treatment for every new arrival. It does a solid job knocking loose pods, common flatworms, algae, and general debris from a coral’s surface, and it’s formulated to support tissue recovery rather than just kill pests. Gently swirl or agitate the coral while it soaks to help dislodge anything hiding in the folds. For a known heavy pest outbreak, pair Revive with a stronger, more targeted dip rather than relying on it alone.
Reef Primer & Other Coral Conditioner Dips
These products use different ingredients and treatment times. PolypLab Reef Primer contains potassium salts; its manufacturer specifies a maximum dip time of five minutes. Seachem Reef Dip uses an iodine-based disinfectant with a protective coating and has its own dilution and treatment instructions. Check the label for the exact product you have, including the coral types it is intended for. Do not transfer the directions from one dip to another or add either dip directly to the display aquarium.
Potassium Permanganate: A Last Resort for Acropora RTN/STN
Potassium permanganate is a serious, aggressive oxidizer that some SPS growers reach for when an Acropora is actively losing tissue (RTN or STN) and milder dips haven’t stopped it. It is not a routine dip — the margin between an effective treatment and burned, discolored tissue is narrow, and it should only be used after gentler options have failed, and only by exact label dosing. Reach for this when a coral is already crashing, not as a “just in case” step on a healthy frag.
Freshwater Dips: Powerful Against Flatworms and Nudibranchs, but Risky
A freshwater dip works through osmotic shock — the sudden change in pressure ruptures the cells of soft-bodied pests like flatworms and nudibranchs almost instantly. The catch is that the same osmotic pressure is hard on coral tissue, and freshwater is one of the fastest ways to kill a coral if it’s left in too long. Use dechlorinated water matched to your tank’s pH and temperature, keep the dip to 15–30 seconds, and pull the coral immediately if you see tissue puffing or sloughing. This one is best reserved for a confirmed flatworm or nudibranch problem, not routine dipping.
Dip Times at a Glance
- Revive (Two Little Fishies): 5–10 minutes — everyday pest and debris dip for any new arrival
- Lugol’s / iodine dips: 15–30 minutes — infections, brown jelly, fresh frag wounds
- Melafix (Marine): 3–5 minutes max — bacterial infections
- Hydrogen peroxide (3%): 3–10 minutes — zoas, hair algae, biofilm
- PolypLab Reef Primer: maximum 5 minutes at the manufacturer’s labeled dilution. Other coral dips have different instructions; follow the label for your exact product.
- Potassium permanganate: last resort only, exact label dosing, not for routine use
- Freshwater dip: 15–30 seconds max — flatworms and nudibranchs only
The Rinsing Process: Never Skip This Step
After any dip, transfer the coral to a separate cup or container of clean, tank-temperature saltwater and let it rinse for about a minute before it goes anywhere near your display or frag tank. This clears off residual dip chemical along with any dead or dying pests, so none of it ends up back in your system. If you run a quarantine tank, that’s the ideal place for a newly dipped coral to sit for a week or two — it gives you time to watch for anything that didn’t show up on day one before the coral joins your main display.
Choose the right dip and follow its label
Dip time and dilution depend on the exact product; there is no single ten-minute treatment for every dip. Skipping it can cost you the whole tank if a hitchhiker gets established. No matter who you’re buying from — us included — dip every new coral before it touches your main system, rinse it well, and give it a little quarantine time if you can. Have a question about which dip fits your situation? Reach out and we’re happy to help, or browse our current WYSIWYG picks.
Dip Every Time, Even From a Trusted Source
It’s tempting to skip the dip on a frag from a friend or a store you trust, but pests don’t discriminate based on reputation — Aiptasia, flatworms, and red bugs travel on healthy-looking coral from good sources just as easily as anywhere else. Make the dip a non-negotiable step for every single piece that enters your system, no exceptions, and you’ll avoid the vast majority of pest introductions before they ever become a problem.
Related. Dipping is one step. Time in a system where somebody actually watches the animal is the other. Why the cheapest coral costs the most explains why volume sellers cannot do the second one.
Reef Confidence Box
What we need to know before advising you: What you are dipping, where it came from, how long it has been out of water, and whether you have anywhere to hold it after the dip.
The safe next step: Dip, rinse in clean temperature-matched water, then hold the piece where you can watch it for two to three weeks before it joins the display.
What not to buy yet: Do not buy a dip and treat it as a quarantine substitute. A dip kills adults, not eggs.
What usually helps: Time in a system is the other half of the answer, and it is the half volume sellers cannot do. why that is, with the numbers
Ask a reef expert: Send a photo and your alkalinity, salinity and temperature through our contact page. If the honest answer is that you should wait and buy nothing, we will tell you that.
What to dip in
- Both dips we carry are in one place now: Coral Dips & Treatments. Two products, and that is the honest total.
- Two Little Fishies ReVive Coral Cleaner 500ml is the one we reach for on new arrivals. Mix it in tank water, in a separate cup, and follow the label for time.
- A dipped coral still has to go somewhere. CorAffix Gel 20g for small frags, AquaStik Stone Grey for bigger pieces and for filling a gap in the rock. Glue it down before you turn the pumps back up.
- The rest of the kit is a clear cup, a turkey baster and a bucket of clean saltwater to rinse in. None of that has to come from us.
Shop what you just read about
Aquacultured or conditioned in our Key West systems — FL Cert #AQ0254072. Ships UPS Next Day Air with our live arrival guarantee.
- WYSIWYG Corals — 111 in stock, aquacultured or conditioned in our Key West systems
- LPS Corals — 152 in stock, aquacultured or conditioned in our Key West systems
Read next
Three guides that pick up where this one leaves off.
Coral Pests 101How to identify and treat the bugs actually eating your coral.Read guide New Coral Not Opening After ShippingHow to tell sulking from dying, and what to do in the first five days.Read guide How to Buy Coral Online SafelyWhat to check before you order, not after the box arrives.Read guideCorals in stock right now
Photographed in Key West, in stock today. The $10 Box & Handling Fee is charged per box, not per coral, and UPS Next Day Air is one flat shipping charge per order — a box typically holds around five small frags. Browse corals under $100 or beginner corals to fill one.
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