Lets Talk Copperband Butterfly!

[MondoBongo]

See I worry about a QT I work 11-12hrs a day. If things spike or get out of wack I am not home to do anything. When I do get home its 130am and is hard to really do much.
I have heard of TTM but don't know much about it. I have a 20g QT and a 10g tank laying around... what would best method be to do this TTM with prazi?

a 20g/10g combo could certainly work for TTM. that was my previous setup, i bought a few more 10 gallons because they used less water.

i just follow standard TTM protocol, nothing fancy. about the only change i make is an aggressive water change regimen, about 50% or more on non-transfer days, to help keep water quality pristine. i also use an ammonia locker like AmQuel or SeaChem Prime.

i also cover the tanks with some old sheets of plexiglass to help stop evaporation and jumpers.

there are some great write ups on TTM, here are two of them:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996525
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2491530

i fully understand that this technique isn't for everyone, but barring this i would still consider QT for the butterfly so that i could medicate with prazi and observe for a while. in this case i would likely use an uncycled QT with the aforementioned ammonia locker products and large daily water changes to keep water quality up.

best advice i can give aside from QT is to make sure the fish is eating at the store, and get some of whatever they are feeding it so you have it ready to go when it gets home. don't assume that because it eats X at the store that it will eat Y when you get it home. have plenty of X around and try Y/Z/P/Q/LMNO as you have time.

my first CBB died in QT. it wasn't eating at the store, but i figured i roll the dice on it, because i'm about as prepared to convince a fish to eat as you can be, unfortunately he never ate anything and eventually died.

the second CBB i found was eating enthusiastically in a tank with about a dozen damsels, i knew that was my fish. i actually nicknamed him King Hippo because of how much he eats.

 

[abenak89]

Ok so i think i will keep him in the ST a week or two just for insurance.. I will set up the 10g with new water and prazi and do some dips into there.

Would dipping him in the 10g with prazi for a day be good then switch back to main 20g for a day? Do a 50% water change in 10g on off day and a 5g in 20g on off day?

 

[MondoBongo]

if i recall correctly there are specific instructions on the bottle for using prazi as a dip versus in tank. check the directions. prazi is pretty safe stuff for the most part. although i would probably use a smaller bucket or something for dipping. typically you're not placing fish in a dip for more than a small amount of time (less than an hour) so you likely won't need to use 10 gallons of water each time.

prazi also only has about a 48 hour limit on its efficacy. which is why it works well with TTM.

tldr; check the directions on the bottle.

 

[abenak89]

Directions:
As A Bath: For the treatment of praziquantel-susceptible disease conditions in freshwater and marine aquariums. NOTE: Not recommedend for reef aquariums with Feather Duster Worms or other ornamental worms.
Start treatment with as large a water change as practical or start with new water. Any water used should first be conditioned to remove ammonia, chlorine and chloramines. Do not stop filtration, but remove activated carbon and stop foam-fractionation (protein skimming) and UV sterilization.

Shake vigorously before use. Measure at the rate of one (1) teaspoon per 20 gallons of water to be treated (One (1) fl. oz. per 120 gallons). This produces a concentration of 2.5 mg/L. Distribute the proper amount around the edge of the aquarium or directly into the filter box to achieve the best overall distribution.

A single treatment lasting 5-7 days is normally sufficient. Repeat as necessary, but no more than once every 3 to 5 days. May be used as a preventive, at the standard application, when disease is likely. Do not use with other drugs or disease treatments. May cause temporary foaming.



SOOOOO does this mean I can simply treat my 20g alone? What should I use for the ammonia remover? I also don't understand how this can last 5-7 days but then says you can treat every 3-5 days?

Does this mean treat the water once.. it will last 5-7 days let water sit and can treat again on the 8-9th day? So do I have to change the water? Little confused with this

 

[MondoBongo]

it means you should have a few days between the treatment regimens if doing more than one. typically i leave 2 days in between treatment rounds during my TTM.

i would stick with the usual suspects for ammonia removal, mainly AmQuel or Prime. keep in mind that these two are safe to use with prazi, but should not be combined with any copper based medications.

i would treat your 20, then every other day do a large water change on it, and re-dose the appropriate amount to bring it back up to the correct level. so if you have a 20 gallon and do a 50% water change, then i would dose 1/2tsp with the new water.

 

[BlackTip]

I tried to keep CBB once, and it died on the third week in the QT tank. It refused to eat and wasted away. It looked good and swam fine, it was just too skinny. I tried all types of frozen food and live baby brine shrimp. Beautiful fish, but I don't like fish dying in my care.

 

[sttaelma]

I've had a large copperband specimen for over a year. it got along fine with all of my tangs, was best buddies with my Yellow Belly Regal Blue Tang. it ate aptasia like crazy! apart from that, it refused to eat anything but frozen enriched mysis/brine shrimp, but never had any problems with it not eating. also, not skittish at all, always in the front, showing off.

 

[abenak89]

Awesome good to hear! Sounds like as long as they eat they are good to go! And mine is supposedly eat at lfs but will see for myself this week!