QT Tank for Powder Blue Tang

[slowwrx137]

After having my tank setup for over a year with the same 2 fish I think its finally time to add a 3rd. Which I think is going to be a powder blue tang.

So I've got a quarantine tank setup for him already and am wondering if I should proactively treat him with any medications and if so which ones?

 

[Recty]

Powder blues are notorious for having ich.

Are you sure your main tank doesnt have any? If it does have ich, there is no point in treating your powder blue for it in the quarantine because it will just get it again in the main tank.

Otherwise, I would definitely treat it for ich and it wouldnt hurt to treat with prazipro just in case it has flukes.

 

[RBU1]

Powder blues are notorious for having ich.

Are you sure your main tank doesnt have any? If it does have ich, there is no point in treating your powder blue for it in the quarantine because it will just get it again in the main tank.

Otherwise, I would definitely treat it for ich and it wouldnt hurt to treat with prazipro just in case it has flukes.

Even if your main tank has crypt you should always QT a new fish. Not only does it keep you from putting a different parasite/disease in your tank it also helps the fish settle in to captivity better.

 

[RBU1]

So to answer you original question. In my opinion yes it does benefit to treat to play it safe. But its not neccesary if you are going to QT for a decent period. I would suggest you get the fish put it in QT for a few weeks and just feed good and monitor. If the fish stays clean and eats well for a couple months in QT its your call if you want to just put him in the main tank.

If it were my fish I would be treating with Prazipro and Cupramine just to be safe.

 

[Volturi21]

So to answer you original question. In my opinion yes it does benefit to treat to play it safe. But its not neccesary if you are going to QT for a decent period. I would suggest you get the fish put it in QT for a few weeks and just feed good and monitor. If the fish stays clean and eats well for a couple months in QT its your call if you want to just put him in the main tank.

If it were my fish I would be treating with Prazipro and Cupramine just to be safe.

For a few months? That seems a bit excessive.

 

[Recty]

Even if your main tank has crypt you should always QT a new fish. Not only does it keep you from putting a different parasite/disease in your tank it also helps the fish settle in to captivity better.

You'll notice I didnt say there is no point to quarantining it, I simply said there is no point treating it for ich. I'm still a big fan of holding it in quarantine to get it used to captivity and eating well.

 

[RBU1]

That's you opinion. In mine the longer you qt the better. 2 months at a minimum.

 

[RBU1]

You'll notice I didnt say there is no point to quarantining it, I simply said there is no point treating it for ich. I'm still a big fan of holding it in quarantine to get it used to captivity and eating well.

There are different strains of crypt you know. Not to mention velvet and brook.

 

[Volturi21]

There are different strains of crypt you know. Not to mention velvet and brook.

There are many diseases that each have different variations in general. Are you implying it takes 3 or so months to rid a fish of these diseases? (Not trying to be argumentative here).

 

[RBU1]

Not not saying that. If you call Seachem and ask for treatment time for Cupramine they will tell you 4 weeks even thought the bottle says 14 days. That is typically the life cycle of crypt. I like to make sure the fish is eating good prior to starting the Cupramine and also like to do a Prazi treatment before cupramine. So my QT period usually last 2-3 months.

 

[Recty]

There are different strains of crypt you know. Not to mention velvet and brook.

Yes, but if one strain is in the main tank, it wont matter how many other strains there are existing. I'm not sure why you even mention that.

I didnt say dont treat the fish for any other diseases, I just said if he knows his main tank has ich that treating for ich in QT is pointless He will get ich when he introduces it to the display.

 

[RBU1]

And that is also not neccesarily true. Just because the main tank has ich, does not mean when you put a fish that has been in QT in the tank it will get it....I say there are different strains because in my opinion a strain of ich in a tank can die off. If you introduce more it will start again. This is my opinion so take it for what its worth.

 

[Volturi21]

To sum what RBU1 is trying to say in a few words, "it's better to be safe then sorry."

 

[RBU1]

To sum what RBU1 is trying to say in a few words, "it's better to be safe then sorry."

Yeah kinda!!!!:dance:

 

[RBU1]

Here is my story. I got a blueline angel on Saturday. He was eating great in the store just noticed a little white thing on his pectoral fin. He continued to eat great as soon as I got him home so I just monitored him for a couple days. By Wed the spots on his fins got to be more. I added 2ml of Cupramine. Thursday he still looked the same and was eating great do I added another 1ml of Cupramine. Today I get home from work and now spots are on his body. I added the rest of my dose 3ml to get my Cupramine up to treatment level. I am hoping things work. If I had not QT'd that fish the fish in my main tank are at risk of getting infected.

 

[Recty]

To sum what RBU1 is trying to say in a few words, "it's better to be safe then sorry."

I understand what he is saying, I just dont agree with it

If I've got a fish that is going to be going into a tank that has ich, which I never would but if the situation was there... I wouldnt treat that fish for ich, especially something like a powder blue which is notoriously finicky in copper treatment.

To each his own, I'm just saying what I would do in the same situation.

 

[RBU1]

Everyone has there own opinions on how to do things. I still would treat a fish even if my main tank has ich. Just because I don't want to add more problems. I am not sure if my main tank has ich or not....I treated every fish in my main tank with Cupramine for at least 4 weeks at .5. About 3 days after I introduced my male crosshatch to my display he had about 10 specs on the top of his head. Was it ich???? I have no idea... It went away and "knock on wood" has not shown its ugly head on anything in at least 4 months. The last fish I added was a female crosshatch and she never got a single spot on her. I will still treat every fish I get.....

 

[Makenna]

I will agree here with the idea of treating all fish even if the DT has ich in it as well as the extended QT time.

For example I just added a YB Regal Angel to the Dt after a 5 month QT treatment. After she was settled in and eating for a week or so I proceeded with the cupramine and Prazi treatments. Once those were done, I left here in QT for another 4 months. Why? Over this course of time, in a smaller QT tank with no competition, she willl now eat anything with gusto.

I now have an Achilles in QT. Although he has no issues with eating, I am guessing at least 2 months.

I know it is counter intuitive to everything in our 'want it now' culture, and trust me, its hard to have that patience. But I do believe it pays off....

 

[WuHT]

Keep in mind the QT tank can allow you make sure the powder blue will accept the foods YOU plan to feed it (and recognize it).. as opposed to getting outcompeted in your main tank by established fish

 

[Recty]

Yep, I'm totally in agreement with a small tank off to the side to get a fish adjusted and eating well. I'm just not a fan of treating it for a disease if you know your main tank has it.

Of course if the fish you receive has lots of ich showing, by all means treat it to keep it alive. But if it looks 100% healthy, I wouldnt treat it for ich knowing that when it gets introduced to the display it is going to get ich.

It's a stupid argument anyway and I'm done with it, sorry I got involved The best thing to do would be to not have ich in your main tank ever to start with