Need advice on emergency QT

[ksicard]

Hey all,
My new pair of Wyoming White clown fish got ich, because of my mistake of adding them too quickly to the tank after an ich outbreak 2-3 weeks ago. I thought that was sufficient time but was mistaken.

I followed a threads instructions of setting up a emergency QT and I need some advice on how to proceed with treatment and maintenance etc........ This is my first QT system. I have a 15 gallon tank as my QT, just set it up 10-15 minutes ago. I have a aquaclear 30g hang on the back filter with sponge/bio-media, jager eheim heater, maxi-jet pump for circulation/surface agitation, and a bottle of cupramine. I filled the 15g up with water from my 75g DT, and have a second bag of bio-media sitting in my 75g sump so that I can transfer it back over as a second bag of established bio-media. Now that is how far I have gotten and I am looking for advice on how to maintain my QT. I'm uneasy about putting my wyoming white clowns in the QT with it being un-established.

Should I go ahead and add the cupramine to the QT, and if so do I transfer the clowns over to the emergency QT tonight or should I wait till tomorrow to allow some time for the QT to get going? Once I add the clowns how often should I be doing water changes? (remember QT is not established, just set it up tonight). And is there anything I am missing?

And the clowns are in decent condition, they were eating as of yesterday and are not laboring or anything that looks super serious, just ich is visible and their appetite is probably on the low side compared to how clowns normally are.

Thank you in advance,
Kyle S.

 

[Nina51]

I filled the 15g up with water from my 75g
DT

this probably wasn't a good idea. when there's a disease issue in your dt, you are just carrying that over to your qt by using that water. do you have other fish in your dt besides the clowns?

**knock on wood** i have not dealt with any disease in my dt as i use the tank transfer method for all new fish so i'll let the experts chime in as far as treatment with copper.

your qt can be as simple as a tank with a heater, pvc elbows to allow the fish to hide when they want to, an air stone for some water movement and an ammonia badge.

good luck with your clowns!

 

[ksicard]

Only other fish is an eel, who seems fairly resistant to ich so I left him in the DT. I dont want him finding his way on to the floor from QT so hes staying in the DT. I figured the copper will take care of the ich in QT and after I keep clowns in QT long enough ich in DT will no longer be active. was planning on like a 8-9 week QT period

 

[Nina51]

i don't know if it applies to eels or not but any fish you leave in your dt will act as a host to the parasite and your fallow period will be useless. "fairly resistant" sounds like a chance i would not want to take unless eels are totally immune from ich.

 

[Spar]

i don't know if it applies to eels or not but any fish you leave in your dt will act as a host to the parasite and your fallow period will be useless. "fairly resistant" sounds like a chance i would not want to take unless eels are totally immune from ich.

agreed with Nina. don't risk it even with an eel.

'resistance' really just means that they are able to battle off major infestations that cover the body. generally is with fish that have thick skin and/or thick mucus coat (eels are in this category). however, their gills are a free-for-all with Ich, and are going to be in there just like on any other fish; just less quantity.

 

[ksicard]

Okay, I see your point of view on this. I'm going to have to figure out how to "escape proof" my qt before I add him over. It's a golden dwarf moray eel so he is gonna be able to find his way out of the qt that has a HoB filter quite easily. If anyone has any suggestions on ridding my DT of ich with the eel remaining in it I would love to hear it.

Can anyone answer my questions about maintaining my QT? Like how many water changes to do and how often. Remember the QT was not cycled since it was an emergency set-up.

 

[Nina51]

get an ammonia alert badge. that can let you know if your ammonia is starting to creep up. my qt is only 10g and i have only ever qt'ed one fish at a time (new fish...i've never had to use it as a hospital tank). since it's a small tank, i do a 2 or 3g water change every couple of days. takes me about 5 minutes.

drop a few filter sponges in your sump and let them gather bacteria for a few weeks then drop one or two into your qt.

you can use a simple air stone or a small power head for water movement. an hob filter isn't really necessary. as for leaving your eel in your dt for the fallow period, i really think you would be taking a chance. if even one parasite remains, you will be right back where you started.

i never use a cycled qt. i simply set it up when a new fish is coming. once qt is over, i take it all down and it lives in a closet till i need it again.

 

[ksicard]

I got the eel and the clown fish into the QT last night, so my DT is completely fish free. I was planning on leaving the DT empty for 4-6 weeks. I'm leaning more towards 6 weeks just so I don't have to rinse and repeat the process in case some ich survive for more than 4 weeks. Any recommendations on how long to leave the DT fallow?

 

[Newsmyrna80]

72 days is the recommended length for guaranteed eradication.