Im furious. I need help with QT protocol

[juanmanuelsanch]

Hi all ! Its been a terrible week. I lost my Achilles tang in my QT after a week in arrival. Im suspecting Brook. An extremely pricey lost

The QT tank consist of:

20x20x20 inches or 50x50x50 centimeters

A cascade filter
An airpump
1 Wavemaker (this one was bough just for the Achilles)

1 Seachem Ammonia patch.

The QT has been running for months now, so its somehow cycled.

I need to know what the experts do to avoid any more casualties and see where I can improve.

Usually what I do in arrival its to drip aclimate the fish. Once salinity is matched I put them in the QT with lights out. I usually do this in the afternoon or early night to avoid any more stress.

After a day or 2 in observation I start to dose paraguard. Its a aldehyde so I though it could be used against brooklynella. I usually dose for 2 weeks. IF the fish starts to present other symptoms I usually switch to cupramine (copper based).

Once the Paraguard treatment is complete, I dose cupramine during 2 weeks along side prazipro.

Once thats done, a few days in observation in clean water (from the display tank). After that they are ready to go.

All water changes are coming from the Display tank, the display tank is disease free. I have a powder blue, a blue tang, 3 clownfish, a leopard wrasse, and 2 more fishes.

I have heard a lot about Formalin, but in Costa Rica you cant find it, plus it can produce cancer along with some other nasty things. SO I would like to avoid it.

Please help me out.

Thanks!

 

[homer1475]

First off the whole idea of a QT is so you can match salinity of the incoming fish. Float the bag for like 10 minutes to temp acclimate, then drop them in. No need to drip acclimate(ammonia can build up quite fast in the bag you bring them home in when opened). Then slowly bring up the salinity to match your DT over the course of your normal protocol.

Other then the drip acclimation, I see nothing wrong with your protocol. Only thing I do differently is leave them in the QT for 3 or 4 weeks to observe and get them eating and used to what I feed my fishes.

Unfortunately some fish just die due to stress of transportation.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

First off the whole idea of a QT is so you can match salinity of the incoming fish. Float the bag for like 10 minutes to temp acclimate, then drop them in. No need to drip acclimate(ammonia can build up quite fast in the bag you bring them home in when opened). Then slowly bring up the salinity to match your DT over the course of your normal protocol.

Unfortunately some fish just die due to stress of transportation.

Fish are bought from a local LFS, in Costa Rica you can't take online orders. So there is no time for ammonia build up or at least not to a point where is toxic.

The fish spends one hour at most in the bag

But yeah I might change that.



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[j.falk]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1959576

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Any one else do have an advise

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[scuzy]

Your protocol looks good. I usually do a formalin bath but I don't think that's the reason the Achilles died.

 

[Potatohead]

I have lost fish for seemingly no reason also. Or, they make it through QT and then don't get along with a fish already in the tank :headwally:.

All you can really do is try again. I do agree though that gambling sucks and I would have no problem paying more money for healthier, QT'd fish from a more reputable shop, if it's an option.

 

[hkgar]

I would recommend that you do the TTM. I do that and dose PraziPro after the first and second transfer. I would ALWAYS prophylacticly treat for ICK and like TTM the best. And certainly for Tangs who are Ick magnets. Then do QT for a couple more weeks.

 

[artieg]

I do think that QT is important, but what I have learned over the years is that a QT is much more difficult than simply maintaining a large DT. It is hard. A QT is usually a smaller tank, so it is harder to keep stable. Ammonia blooms can take you by surprise. If you change a lot of water to keep ammonia down, guess what, that leaves room for salinity and temperature variance which stress the fish. My two cents is that it pays to take it slow, and not spend a lot of $$ on fish until you have your QT protocol down cold.

 

[Stolireef]

Also, keep in mind that Achilles Tangs are probably the most difficult of all of the tangs. Sorry for your loss but it sounds like you are taking a very responsible approach to QT.

 

[JustinM]

I helped you with your thread in the disease section, I don't think you're doing anything wrong at all. With where you're living, finding certain meds seems to be the problem. I still think it was velvet though that wiped your fish out and not brook because the symptoms you desribed. I know you said your cupramine levels were at .4 but they were already infected and cupramine will only work in the free swimming stages. The only thing I would have done differently is had a powerhead in the qt for the Achilles and not just an airstone. The no flow could have caused stress on him and with the velvet, he was gone. I am very sorry for that loss, it is a very beautiful fish.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Yeah thanks theshocker. As far as I know Cupramine will attack velvet or ich in all stages. Since it would be also absorbed by the fish.

If not, then what can someone do in my case? If the fish is already infected then in doomed.

 

[JustinM]

Cupramine doesn't attack in all stages. It will only works in the free swimming stages unfortunately.

Velvet is one you have to recognize fast and act quick and they still might die. It really does help to freshwater dip, which you did, and give them a formalin bath or a rally bath before ramping up copper quick. That is the one downfall to copper with velvet. This is where CP is a great choice if you have fish that tolerate it.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

But will CP kill velvet or ich in all stages?

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[juanmanuelsanch]

Anyone?

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[JustinM]

Cp will not kill ich or velvet in all stages, nothing does.