shrimphead
New member
what about fresh water dips aswell
Basic Quarantine FAQ's
- Thread starter Jacob D
- Start date
what about fresh water dips aswell
Jacob D
New member
Correct. Don't transfer anything, especially something porus or any sort of substrate from your QT to your DT. Quite a few people like to start with a new sponge/biowheel and place it into their DT, then when the QT needs to be set up move that sponge into it to jumpstart the beneficial bacteria population. If/when it's time to break down the QT throw away the sponge, or at least soak it in bleach, then rinse it and let it dry out.
Usually antibiotics will be in order. The exact treatment will depend on whether the infection is gram positive or gram negative bacteria. If it's difficult to distinguish then a broad spectrum drug such as Doxycycline can be used. p.s. I am envious of your beautiful tank, Sir
Personally I would avoid the formalin/malachite bath unless you have a serious reason to do it. I realize this advice is probably coming too late but for anyone else that happens upon it... formalin is nasty stuff and can stress/kill fish easily. Save it as a last resort. When needed, using it in a bath seems to be a popular treatment method. Also, for future reference it may be wise to get your fish eating before starting Prazi based treatments as they tend to suppress appetite. It's a decision that has to be weighed if you know your fish has flukes.
This is a good topic for a new forum thread. In general, I personally prefer as much varied filtration in combination with water changes as possible. In situations where a medication will likely wipe out bilogical filtration you can decide to carry out treatment in a dip/bath outside the QT, or the alternative use treatment in the tank followed by regular water changes and careful monitoring of nitrite levels. Once the biological filtration is dead regular large water changes are a must. A powerhead will help aerate the water (especially if used to break the surface) but otherwise won't contribute to the filtration. If you're using carbon or similar chemical filtration don't forget to check the instructions of any medication you may be using; in many cases you may need to remove the chemical filtration in order for the medication to be effective. If you're using forms of mechanical filtration (filter socks, etc...) it's not a bad idea to clean them daily especially if fighting ich/ick.
This is a good topic for a new forum thread. I have personally changed my methods a little and now only treat with Prazi as prophylaxis, and almost always only once the fish are eating all of the foods I want them to eat. Whats "best" is subject to opinion. In the past I was using chloroquine (instead of copper) however both medications are immunosuppressants and that can leave your fish vulnerable to certain problems. If you wanted to copper your fish as prophylaxis I would look into chloroquine as an alternative. It doesn't get bound up by elements in the saltwater, thus you only need to dose it once, and only add more as you do water changes. Unfortunately you can't test it in the water so you must carefully keep track of how much you have dosed. Some fish (angels, butterflies) are sensitive to copper and chloroquine MAY be better for these fish. I have had good luck using it with butterflies but I'm only one person and my experience may not apply to someone else.
FW dips (when temp and ph matched) can be useful. There is plenty of info on the web regarding using FW dips to treat various parasites. Someone recently mentioned the use of a FW dip prior to Prazi to get a good idea if the fish has flukes or not. It's a good approach, especially for fish that are picky eaters since the Prazi will suppress their appetite even more. If a FW dip reveals no flukes you may want to skip the Prazi - or at least hold off until the fish are eating well and fat, and then decide if you want to go ahead with it.
...ok I think that covered all of the questions. I would encourage everyone to post future questions to the main fish disease forum so you can get input from the greater experience of everyone here at RC. I am relatively inexperienced in QT and treatment of fish compared to many of the good people here.
If you're QT'ing and keeping a close eye on your wet friends then you're already giving yourself a much better chance to succeed! Keep up the good fight
Last edited:
FranktheTankTx
New member
Here's a question:
Where do you get these medications such as Prazi & others mentioned & what are they specifically called? How 'bout a link to what we're looking for?
Also, what are suggested steps as far as dips before QT? TMPCC??? For instance, perform a freshwater dip, then TMPCC dip, then place in QT. Good idea for all corals?
Where do you get these medications such as Prazi & others mentioned & what are they specifically called? How 'bout a link to what we're looking for?
Also, what are suggested steps as far as dips before QT? TMPCC??? For instance, perform a freshwater dip, then TMPCC dip, then place in QT. Good idea for all corals?
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
Wow, great thread. Subscribed for sure! I have nothing to add but am bumping this up due to some un-truths I've noticed floating around about treating ich lately.
Great write up!!
Great write up!!
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
Guess you can't bump a sticky. :hammer: LMAO I couldn't find it for the LONGEST time and I KNEW I had brought it to the top... hahaha :spin2:
Orcrone
New member
I use a sponge filter (or two) in my QTs and have a question regarding the tossing of the sponge after use in the QT. If I have disease or medication in the QT then the sponge gets tossed. But if there's no disease or treatment the sponge winds up back in the DT's sump. Does anyone see any problems with that?
Orcrone
New member
Number of fish in a QT
Number of fish in a QT
Reading through this thread again I have a couple of other comments. If you're quarantining fish because they have the same malady then it's OK to quarantine & treat them in the same tank. However, if you're bringing home new fish for your DT I'd recommend against that. The idea of a QT in that case is to observe the fish and TREAT them in the tank if there's any issues. If you put two fish in a QT then you'd have to treat them both if only one fish has a problem. And what happens if they get more than one malady; one gets a fungal and the other gets a bacterial infection.
Also, I have to agree with RBU1 about 2 weeks begin too short a period to quarantine new specimens. I think specifically of ich. The life cycle of the parasite is such that the fish can have ich but not show signs during that two week period. Also invertebrates, although not susceptable to ich, can arrive with the parasite in the water. Two weeks would not be long enough for the parasites to die off because of no host. I prefer six weeks to quarantine new specimens. JMHO
Number of fish in a QT
Reading through this thread again I have a couple of other comments. If you're quarantining fish because they have the same malady then it's OK to quarantine & treat them in the same tank. However, if you're bringing home new fish for your DT I'd recommend against that. The idea of a QT in that case is to observe the fish and TREAT them in the tank if there's any issues. If you put two fish in a QT then you'd have to treat them both if only one fish has a problem. And what happens if they get more than one malady; one gets a fungal and the other gets a bacterial infection.
Also, I have to agree with RBU1 about 2 weeks begin too short a period to quarantine new specimens. I think specifically of ich. The life cycle of the parasite is such that the fish can have ich but not show signs during that two week period. Also invertebrates, although not susceptable to ich, can arrive with the parasite in the water. Two weeks would not be long enough for the parasites to die off because of no host. I prefer six weeks to quarantine new specimens. JMHO
Jacob D
New member
I agree with all of the above. I guess my earlier post about 2 weeks is misleading in that I only meant for observation, but even in that sense 2 weeks might not be long enough. I do think this is a good start though, especially for people who have a somewhat established system (which is most likely not ich free) and who are getting their feet wet with QT. For those wanting (or trying to preserve) an Ich Free tank it is not the way to go.
I don't think I have quarantined any fish in my current system for less than 5 weeks. My usual protocol for fish is something like this:
1) Get fish acclimated to the QT and eating for 2 weeks.
2) If problems arise treat as necessary.
3) If no problems arise treat for flukes and "worms" with Prazipro for 5 days.
4) Recovery period of 1 week
5) Second round of Prazipro (plus recovery) if flukes were seen initially, otherwise introduce to display tank.
...and for full disclosure, I don't treat for Ich unless I see it. Although I have never seen Ich in my display tank I don't assume that it is "Ich Free". I had one incident that left the door open to the possibility for Ich to be there so I no longer have any reason to attempt an Ich free tank. If I see signs of Ich (which can most of the time be seen by 4 weeks) I'll treat it. When I quarantine corals, inverts, and substrate I QT if for 8 weeks (in fact my "one incident" mentioned above was from inadequately quarantined substrate). If you work out the lifecycle according to recent information on the subject there is still room for error even at 6 weeks.
In summary, I would tend to agree that 4-6 weeks is a better time frame for quarantine if no parasite/disease is observed. For someone who is striving for an ich free tank there is no room for error and the quarantine period should be 8-12 weeks (from the last observed incidence of the parasite) for everything that will go into the display tank.
Orcrone
New member
Jacob,
All sounds good to me. With this hobby there's no such thing as "too conservative". I didn't "bother" with the hassle of quarantining fish. Everything was great for a couple of years until ich showed up. Lost about half my fish. Wound up moving them to a 55 gallon hospital tank, treated them with copper and let the DT sit empty for 9 weeks. In the meanwhile I wound up doing massive water changes in the hospital tank to keep the ammonia in check as the tank had not cycled. Not fun at all.
Learned my lesson from that experience. Now nothing goes into the tank without being properly quarantined. And I know even at that I'm only reducing, but not eliminating my chances of introducing parasites and disease.
I'm hoping after the nine weeks of sitting empty that my DT was ich free and that I've done nothing since then to reintroduce it.
On another note I haven't used PraziPro, but after doing some research I'm going to add that to my procedure.
All sounds good to me. With this hobby there's no such thing as "too conservative". I didn't "bother" with the hassle of quarantining fish. Everything was great for a couple of years until ich showed up. Lost about half my fish. Wound up moving them to a 55 gallon hospital tank, treated them with copper and let the DT sit empty for 9 weeks. In the meanwhile I wound up doing massive water changes in the hospital tank to keep the ammonia in check as the tank had not cycled. Not fun at all.
Learned my lesson from that experience. Now nothing goes into the tank without being properly quarantined. And I know even at that I'm only reducing, but not eliminating my chances of introducing parasites and disease.
I'm hoping after the nine weeks of sitting empty that my DT was ich free and that I've done nothing since then to reintroduce it.
On another note I haven't used PraziPro, but after doing some research I'm going to add that to my procedure.
rfalvey89
New member
Great thread.
Terrible Question : What size QT ?.
My Display will be a 90. I am thinking about some smaller sized fish
Lamarck's Angelfish ,pair of clowns ( Clarkii ,percs ) maybe a Blenny
...so I would like to get those fish in stages and then QT but dont want them to be stressed by the size of the tank.
I was going to do a 29 gal , black-out the sides and back with some PVC , Koralia-1 & a HOB Penguin with a bag of liverock from the DT that is seeded. heater of course...
sound right ?
or am I way off?
Terrible Question : What size QT ?.
My Display will be a 90. I am thinking about some smaller sized fish
Lamarck's Angelfish ,pair of clowns ( Clarkii ,percs ) maybe a Blenny
...so I would like to get those fish in stages and then QT but dont want them to be stressed by the size of the tank.
I was going to do a 29 gal , black-out the sides and back with some PVC , Koralia-1 & a HOB Penguin with a bag of liverock from the DT that is seeded. heater of course...
sound right ?
or am I way off?
padova335i
Member
hey guys.. i do qt all my fish, never used prazipro.. can i use that in my qt and then all u do is wait 5 days? and you can still keep them in that tank? or does that tank water become "bad" because of that medication?
am i making sense?:fun4:
am i making sense?:fun4:
Reef_Matrix29
Water Lover
If you have medicine in your qt tank, it now becomes a hospital tank. If you want it to become simply a QT again, you must run either carbon to clean it or break it down and thoroughly wash it out.
padova335i
Member
i see, so how necessary is it to run this medication for fish that we "see" are healthy.. i guess to each their own, or are some fish more prone than others?
Jacob D
New member
Always follow manufacturer directions when it comes to using medication. I'm not looking at the bottle right now but I believe Hikari recommends 5-7 days as the treatment duration. After this you should remove the medication from the water with any combination of skimming, carbon, water change. The water isn't necessarily 'bad' but the fish shouldn't be put through treatment longer than necessary.
I always use Prazipro during quarantine to treat for flukes and certain internal parasites that might (or might not) be present. It's a relatively "safe" treatment. Usually 1 week of recovery follows the treatment before any further treatments are done and/or the fish is moved to the display tank.
My personal opinion is that what we see with our eyes is only part of the truth when it comes to fish disease/parasites. Sometimes we can miss something obvious (everyone makes mistakes) other times a problem can be hidden out of sight, internal parasites especially. When you treat for something unseen it is called prophylactic treatment. What you treat for prophylactically is up to you. Probably the most common prophylactic treatments are some form of copper (such as Cupramine) for Ich, and some form of Praziquantel (such as Prazipro) for flukes and internal parasites.
Some fish may become stressed more easily than others for a variety of reasons. Some fish also don't tolerate certain medications as well as others. This is why it's important to know the specifics of each fish you plan to add *before* making a purchase.
Reef_Matrix29
Water Lover
Agreed. Also, for my own personal knowledge, can anyone point me in the direction of an article that list the types of fish and what medications you can and can't use on them? I'm interested in Gobies, but some articles say they are immune and others, you never know...where can I go to see what's what on each species and if medication is needed, what kind will be best and safest for them?
wakeboardgeek
New member
Any benefit to hypo-salinity quarantine (1.021)?
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