Emergency

[astranotus]

OK..been 3 weeks now and here are 2 pics of them in the QT tank...looking goos and super active..thanks guys...Also a question...some said not to kill the sand and rock..that i didn't have to...That the ick, pathogens etc...whatever is in there will be gone by breaking cycle...by leaving the tank fallow..i also have had a UV on it ans weekly water changes....think I can feel safe "when" the time is right for me to return them ...what If i kick stuff from the sand when I move rocks and stuff...Or is that just fear?..I did put a blue damsel with a yellow tail in as a tester fish...
So here is what they are looking like today...

 

[MatthewLaw]

you put a damsel in your DT?

if you did then you wasted 3 weeks since the ich will attach to the damsel. fallow for 8 weeks means fallow for 8 weeks.

 

[astranotus]

Crap:worried2:..What if I take him out now before he shows signs of ick or anything??and what about the other stuff..with the DT thank I was curious about

 

[Toddrtrex]

Crap:worried2:..What if I take him out now before he shows signs of ick or anything??and what about the other stuff..with the DT thank I was curious about

I have just skimmed this thread, but given what you seemed to have gone through (( I say "seem" since I only skimmed it )), you really should start the fallow countdown all over.

 

[Big E]

Yep, start your countdown fresh after the damsel is out of the tank. If it was me, I'd go a full three months. The main reason being how expensive the fish are & not wanting to take even one iota of risk.

 

[rkelman]

I agree you just wasted 3 weeks. Remove the Damsel and start over. Buying a fish as a "Tester" is frowned upon imo.

 

[WDLV]

You were supposed to leave the tank fallow for 60 days as well as keeping all your fish in quarantine for the same duration. The longest recorded ick dormancy was 53days if memory serves. Was that damsel treated and quarantined before you put him in there? If not he may have introduced a new pathogen to the system.

By "testing" the water early you have reset the clock for at least 30 days. To be more specific; nothing wet should go into that system without either quarrantining it or bleaching it first.

EDIT: My Blackberry didn't show the other posters essentially saying the same thing. Sorry for the duplication.

 

[MatthewLaw]

You really lucked out that your rather $$$$ fish are still alive. i would focus on their treatment and just leave the DT fallow for at least 8 weeks, or longer. trying to rush will just result in disaster.

 

[astranotus]

Again showing newbie status....PATIENCE< PATIENCE PATIENCE......Got it guys...will start all over....

Buying a fish as a "Tester" is frowned upon imo.

I know...I felt funny doing it too...should have listened to myself that I was doing the wrong thing... So When I leave the tank fallow for the next 2 months...will I be able to feel safe when I start to rebuild that tank???..By adding the fish and new corals to it?

The main reason being how expensive the fish are & not wanting to take even one iota of risk.

Yeah...Been thinking of not even taking the chance..cause I think I will never feel safe in that tank so I was thinking of a whole new system just for them as I planned in the beginning...

 

[MatthewLaw]

if you are a newbie, what are you doing buying $400+ fish??

starting a new tank will carry its own issues and what rock will you use to start the cycle? a single drop of water from the old tank will contaminate this tank too.

why not take your "own" advice and just let your DT stay fallow for 3 months? many pepole have suggested 3 months as a safe period to "cure" the DT.

These quick fixes you are searching for will only result in absolute disaster!

 

[tahoe61]

I am sure everyone has told you this but those are sweet fish. And if the QT or the weight of having such nice fish should become too much. I have a tank ready and waiting.

 

[WDLV]

More important to remember is to not pass on quarrantining the next $3.00 fish you add to the system six months from now. That's the one that wipes out your $400.00 fish.

 

[MatthewLaw]

More important to remember is to not pass on quarrantining the next $3.00 fish you add to the system six months from now. That's the one that wipes out your $400.00 fish.

Not to mention resarching the "tester fish", which can turn into a nasty aggressive fish and kill those $$$$$ fish....

 

[Big E]

Yeah...Been thinking of not even taking the chance..cause I think I will never feel safe in that tank so I was thinking of a whole new system just for them as I planned in the beginning...

That sounds like an excellant idea:thumbsup:

 

[astranotus]

Thanks....i appreciate everything...and not exactly a newbie and have no worries buying high end specimens...I MADE A MISTAKE...that simple...and cause they are so much money and like them so much...I had a mild panic attack and thought there might be something I could do that I didn't know about....I know a lot of people that have been doing this for a while and don't always QT everything they buy...as far as the treatment....Hypo I had to do once before..did it to my DT "a 275" may have got lucky not losing anything but am able to monitor things and watch for up coming problems...and was my 1st choice for these buggers..but like I said was looking for a quick fix to keep them alive till the proper treatment was in play...I also lost patience by throwing in that tester fish....And knew it felt wrong...but like I said before..I don't think I will ever feel as safe as I did before with them in that tank...and want to set up another for them...I have enough rock in the my main tank to start it up right...by time they are done Qt-ing...the new tank for them would be doing fine....And that damsel isnt going to wind up with them in the end ..It not like I know 0 about this hobby....and you cant tell me after all these years you have been doing this ...you dont break some rules ..due to size, space, even having a "mixed reef"..by the book shouldn't do it...or even putting corals in the same tank from different regions... etc....I know enough to buy what I enjoy.....and keep them healthy and live long...I MAD A MISTAKE..already paid for it.....

 

[daveonbass]

the "tank" is not blame-able...

in post #109 you said about yourself "Again showing newbie status"....and now a few post later you are contradicting yourself.

You don't seem to know much...this hobby is not for the people that just want to try and get lucky "this" time...it's for people that are willing to take the proper steps and care for the livestock that they keep. Being able to buy expensive stuff does not mean that you are able to care for it...once you get past the money exchange it's all about what you know how to do...

frankly I feel sorry for the fish.

 

[Loganeri]

As he stated, he made a mistake and is paying for it. I doubt it will happen again and give him credit for opening a thread and trying to rectify the situation. Being a $400 set of fish may have been a blessing in disguise because I think a $3 fish would have been flushed without a second thought. Tell me a saltwater aquarist that hasn't made a mistake and I'll show you the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

 

[daveonbass]

my major point is that he keeps saying he's worried about the TANK...it's not hte tank...

he ASKS for help then adds two more fish anyways...sounds like a person that shouldn't be taking care of animals...

 

[MatthewLaw]

we all make mistakes and then we usually search for what went wrong and how to fix it. the "fix" may not be the easiest or quickest answer but it is the solution to this problem. deviating from the solution can frequently result in a lot of other adverse affects. Unfortunately until one experiences these "secondary adverse affects," they do not realize the importance of following the original solution.

...but like I said before..I don't think I will ever feel as safe as I did before with them in that tank...and want to set up another for them...I have enough rock in the my main tank to start it up right...by time they are done Qt-ing...the new tank for them would be doing fine....

Setting up another tank with rock from your main (INFECTED) tank is no different than putting them back in the main tank. that rock is infected. the only way around your DT issue is buying "new live rock" but then you assume the risks of what that new LR might contain!

 

[WDLV]

...I MADE A MISTAKE...

Yup. We've all made our share there. Why do you think I took the time to type up that quarrantine and treatment regamin. :lol:

I put that together for myself. Only later did occur to me to put it on paper for others' benefit.