QT question

[johndoan1106]

I had a bad experience with my powder blue tang that I bought and placed in a 20 gallon QT. Well people said the tank was too small and this was the reason he did not make it. So if I want a tang, what should I do? Take my chances and throw him in the DT?

What would you do?

 

[ssavader]

Andy, this is a problem that I have struggled with also. I had a small tang in a 12 gal QT in hyposalinity who died on the 3rd week of QT. Probably my fault, so the first thing that I did was upgrade my QT to a 25 gal tank and get an in-tank ammonia meter so I would be aware of any alterations in this aspect of water chemistry. Remember that a QT has little natural biological filtration so the water quality can deteriorate quickly.

Now, for the other side of the coin. A very reputable fellow in town who has a reef specialty store has told me not to QT his tangs. His claim is that all tangs will carry some ich but that healthy tangs that show no signs of ich, are eating well, and acting normal tend to suffer more stress in QT than they do going straight into the DT. And that these tangs will handle the ich well and rarely exhibit any disease. When they do show signs of ich, it tends to minimal and self resolving and not spread to the other fish. Now, this is counter to all I have read, but he claims to have lost more tangs in hyposalinity QT than from going straight into the DT.

I would like to hear what some other experienced tang keepers have done, as I too am getting another Powder Brown that, at this time, I plan on adding directly to the DT.

 

[scooter86]

Accepting QT losses is part of the game. I would rather lose 1 or 2 fish in QT for whatever reason, than lose all of my fish. I currently have a regal angel in QT, that has developed fin rot. She is getting injections of enrofloxacin every three days. I would not be able to catch her to treat if she were in my 180, and she probably would pass it on to all of my other fish.

 

[ssavader]

Scooter, as a vet, you have the advantage of being able to give injections. True, QT, seems to be the sensible thing to do. However, I lost a powder Brown Tang in QT last month in QT and lost my beautiful A. bicinctus female in QT- dead on the bottom today when I came home from work. On the contrary, I added 3-4" Blue-Chin Trigger (BCT) directly to my DT along with a 3-4" Pink-Spotted Goby (PSG). I watched the BCT for 3 weeks at the LFS before purchasing him, and felt he was too shy to risk placing him in QT because of the stress. The PSG was probably a mistake, but I did not want this sand-sifter in a bare-bottom tank for 3 weeks. The point is, my last 2 fish in QT died, and my last 2 fish to go directly into the DT have done exceedingly well. Maybe, I am just playing the odds, but as I said in my comment earlier in this thread, others with more experience feel that QT is VERY stressful to the fish.

 

[johndoan1106]

I also believe that if you use a QT you need to be dedicated. Not only does it cause stress but the water levels need to be well kept. Ammonia levels seem to rise in QT and water changes are needed constantly, 3 times per week, thus causing stress for the fish. I think it really depends what type of fish but I will try to QT certain fish that are easily attacked by parasites. On certain fish I will drop them directly into the DT. It will be a judgment call depending on the fish.

 

[hawkfish21]

I had my PBT in a 20 gallon QT for a few weeks. I did a water change every other day and the fish was fine.

 

[wesdaniel]

I've had both good and bad experiences in QT. I've lost three Hippos in QT and/or hypo and, even though I think they're one of the most beautiful fish in the world, I won't have another one because, for whatever reason, I'm not able to take care of them.

My Z. veliferum did fine in QT for >3 weeks and adjusted quickly to the DT. Granted, that's a hardier fish. I also had a C. striatus that not only survived, but thrived, after a week of QT, 4 weeks of hypo and another 2 weeks of QT. Lastly, I had an A. japonicus who arrived very healthy and clean looking but wouldn't eat in QT, so was only there for a week before moving to the display. My QT is only 25 gallons.

I think that the rule should be to QT everything, understanding that there are occasions where it's okay/adviseable to shorten the period.

 

[scooter86]

No doubt QT is going to be more stressful than your main tank, and outcomes with the use of QT will vary based on the size and quality of the QT setup, and the type of fish being QTD. It is not for everyone , but it seems to be working for me. I'll have a real understanding of how well it works for me after the next 10 years, and a larger number of cases.
I have recently had a hippo, Copperband, Goldflake, Desjardini, and flame angel survive QT over the last 9 months. I'm pretty sure that I saved them all by QTing my new regal angel.

 

[ssavader]

Hawkfish and Johndoan, I think that your point about very frequent water changes is the key to QT. It is apparent that the water quality dives very quickly in a bare botton tank with little biological filtration, even with small fish like clowns.