QT for tang and wrasse

T

timrandlerv10

New member
I hope to be getting a tang and wrasse in the next few months and am making sure my QT will be sufficient. I was reading in another thread that you could do tank changes every three days to remove all ich cysts and organisms...the idea is appealing, but I realize that doesn't cover other parasites, bacteria, etc. Another big risk I see is just not getting the tank sanitized before reuse.

Main concerns:
can the tang and wrasse be qt'd together?
would 4 water/tank changes in two weeks be less or more stressful than 4 weeks in a hypo/copper environment?

For logistics, I have a 29 I'd use for 4-6 weeks in one tank, or rotating 10g tanks for two weeks. I'm concerned about filtration because I can't clean anything fast enough...so I was thinking it would be new water or display tank water.


Advice, thoughts?
 
Lots of different approaches here, but if it were me, I'd use the bigger tank (29g). The tang and the wrasse should be OK together in there, depending on the exact species and size of the fish. Put several pieces of PVC in for cover; other than that, leave the tank bare.
I'd use water from the display tank to start with, or at least mostly from the display maybe mixed with some new water. If you could put a filter sponge or two in the display for several days prior to setting up the QT, you could then transfer the sponge to the QT to set up your biological filter there. I would not medicate at all at first. Just observe. If you see ANY signs of ich or parasites, then treat for two weeks. Despite the fact that tangs can be sensitive to it, I'd use copper (cupramine) for treatment in the QT. Keep a close check on ammonia levels in the QT. If they get high, do water changes with display tank water. You can also check for nitrites and nitrates, but fish are not normally harmed by either if they're kept at moderate levels.

This is a regimen I've used in the past with good success. IMO, some fish may not need QT at all -- e.g. if they come from a fellow reefer's tank that has been ich and parasite free for several months. But if you have doubts, QT is always best.
FWIW,
Mariner
 
I second Mariner's method :).

A 10 gallon tank is useless for qt'ing anything larger than a small clownfish or two IMHO. Moving fish around into different tanks sounds stressful not only for fish but also for a reefer ;). A sponge filter is cheap. So are macroalgae.
 
Maybe start with the wrasse, and then after he is successfully in the DT, get them tang and start the routine over?
 
I was thiking the wrasse may help the tang be clean :)

when you say there may be a source from which you wouldn't QT...couldn't the stress of moving initiate a case of ich if the fish OR your tank had it already?

What's the highest risk place from which you would receive a fish and not QT? (specifically a tang)
 
You are definitely taking a chance if you don't QT a newly acquired fish or coral. I don't know if there is any place that is riskier or safer than others.

I think that going ahead with QT'ing is much easier than thinking about it. It's a lot easier than you think. Just observe your new fish in a separate tank for the next 4 to 6 weeks. If it comes down with ich, treat it with copper such as cupramine like Mariner said. I would not get a cleaner wrasse or cleaner shrimp just so it can clean ich off your new tang. If it misses any one of the unexposed trophonts under the skin, you will have another ich outbreak later.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15478022#post15478022 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by timrandlerv10

when you say there may be a source from which you wouldn't QT...couldn't the stress of moving initiate a case of ich if the fish OR your tank had it already? What's the highest risk place from which you would receive a fish and not QT? (specifically a tang)
Click to expand...
Yes, stress can cause a break out of ich if it's present in either the origin or destination tank.
In my case, I KNOW it's not in my tanks. The question is whether it's in the fish or the tank that it's been housed in. I have not QT'd in the following scenarios:
1) When the LFS had the fish in a treatment tank (Lucy's treated many of their fish in cupramine. I got my first regal tang from them and didn't QT.)
2) When it's come from a fellow reefer's tank where ich has not been present for several months.

I consider either of these scenarios a reasonable risk, about on par with putting a fish through QT and treatment.
FWIW,
Mariner
 
What type and size wrasse are your considering? If it is a species that requires sand substrate, I would recommend qt without other tank mates to minimize stress.

Ich is a nasty critter that attacks gills as well as visible parts of fish, so cleaners such as shrimp and wrasse will not be effective in treating this parasite.

QT itself can be a killer itself if proper husbandry practices are not followed. Frequent water changes are a must to prevent possibility of qt tank cycling. If dt is parasite free, you can use this water to perform water changes in the qt tank.

Jim
 
I'm not saying cleaner wrasse AS QT, I'm saying he helps keep him company...

I've never seen ick in my DT, but I don't know it isn't there...

4 weeks? :(
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15481477#post15481477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by timrandlerv10
Cleaner wrasse...bad idea?

If so, nominative replacements?
Click to expand...
Yep, bad idea. One of the more difficult fish to keep long term. Bob Fenner recommends not keeping them at all in home aquaria. And Scott Michael says, "In general most aquarists are well advised to avoid cleaner wrasses..."
A neon goby is a much hardier fish and a good cleaner, but is itself suceptible to ich. A cleaner shrimp is probably the best cleaner out there, but can't go through copper medication with the tang in a QT if that was your plan.
I've had a couple cleaner shrimp over the years...got one now in my 135g. They are a cool critter in their own right, and a good safety precaution against a major ich outbreak, if that's a concern -- they won't totally prevent or cure ich mind you, but can help fish fight it off.
FWIW,
Mariner
 
QT itself can be a killer itself if proper husbandry practices are not followed
Click to expand...

This is quite true. I lost a school of apogon cyanosoma when I got very busy at work and neglected the care of my 29 gallon QT tank at the last leg of their 6 week stay. They were doing so well up until then :(. They got so tame during their stay in the tank and begged for food every time I passed the tank. They had about a week to go and I really regretted about my slip-up.

If you really want a cleaner fish to keep a Tang company, I'd opt for a neon goby. I don't know if neon gobies are more susceptible to ich than other fish, but they are really hardy fish.

When I had a lawnmower blenny years ago in my 15G, he always begged my blue neon goby to clean him. It was so funny to see them together. The neon goby usually obliged pretty quickly although I have never had any ich or other parasite in the tank. I think that the blenny just enjoyed the sensation of getting cleaned ;).

However, neon gobies love my overflow boxes in my big tank. Everyone of them I put in my 120 always lived in the overflow.

My skunk cleaner shrimp always cleaned my nails, but I never saw them cleaning anything else. They are very pretty to look at, though :).
 
ok neon in, cleaner out.

still like the regal tang, dont like the yellow tang, any further comments there?

where can i go for a refresher and checklist on QT?
 
...hmm.

so i've changed my QT procedure, changed my new fish's tank mate, and now may change my new fish!

is there a tang other than the yellow that you would recommend for a 75G w/55G sump (prolly only 35g in it), 2 gsm, 2 bta, wall hammer, branching frogspawn, mushrooms and some random stuff that i'd be ok with losing if i got a really nice tang?
 
I've got a yellow in my 75g. Had a blue hippo/regal in there for several years that did quite well too. But one of the bristletooth tangs would probably be a better choice for this size tank, if you don't mind giving up the bright blue color of the regal. Of the bristletooths, the Tomini would be my choice.
FWIW,
Mariner
 
How about a yellow eyed keyhole tang or a yellow eyed spotted tang? Ctenochaetus trunctatus or Ctenochaetus strigosus. They are cute and a bit smaller than yellow tangs in general.
 
ok...i need to go back to the tang drawing board. where's the best (or a few better) places to do fish-specific research? the hunting and pecking is killing me, because i dont know what i'm looking for!

these look great--especially the spotted tang--but as combtooth tangs it seems they like more 'sand-based detritus' or 'not filamentous' algae. :(
 
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