QT'ing a few inverts - have another question

[2000se]

So I've read as much in the stickies as possibly and feel i have a petty grasp on the majority of items but the finer details I do not.

Some of the major concerns are :
velvet
ich
brook
flukes
uronema
........

I guess my question is ->

1-->if I know that the inverts I am picking up/buying are from an infected tank, would QT'ing these inverts for, say, 90 days no doubt ensure that these 'pests' will die out (run their course and die from being in a fishless system) if they are carried by the inverts into the QT tank and then the inverts would be completely safe?


(I saw several tangs and other fish looking pretty bad in the invert section but I would like to get a few of the crabs and such that were in the same tank) additionally, even if I buy these inverts from an unknown source I will QT them, but the same question applies. 90 days to be safe to completely eliminate these pest? I just don't understand if all the above pests will only survive in a fish system and thats it. Can you see where I need clarification?

Super thanks!!

 

[Dmorty217]

72 days is the longest any of those diseases will survive without a host. 76 days is what I would suggest to be 100% sure. If I understand the overt QT process correctly, new inverts added at say day 50 won't start the count for the rest of the inverts over at day 1, just what was added

 

[2000se]

Ok. Well, seems the new tank will have ample amount of algae after 76 days of no clean up crew. Just so I am understanding this correctly, all the items will be completely eliminated by just going fallow for 72/76 days. No worries after that?

 

[Deinonych]

While nothing is 100% guaranteed in this hobby, 72-76 days is sufficient to allay any concerns about introducing fish parasites IME. I do this for all newly-acquired inverts and have had good success. If you are quarantining corals, be sure to provide sufficient lighting and appropriate water parameters to ensure they don't decline while in QT.

 

[2000se]

Perfect. Thanks for the answers!

 

[ThRoewer]

I do 6 weeks. That's sufficient for brook, velvet and flukes. 11 weeks are recommended if you are concerned about ich. But even 4 weeks may be enough for ich and 11 may not be enough - it all depends on the ich strain you're dealing with. Since ich is likely in all my systems I don't go the extra weeks.

Uronema will stay around even if you quarantine for a year (or ten) - it is an opportunistic parasite that usually lives of other things in your tank and will do just fine without fish.

 

[2000se]

I do 6 weeks. That's sufficient for brook, velvet and flukes. 11 weeks are recommended if you are concerned about ich. But even 4 weeks may be enough for ich and 11 may not be enough - it all depends on the ich strain you're dealing with. Since ich is likely in all my systems I don't go the extra weeks.

Uronema will stay around even if you quarantine for a year (or ten) - it is an opportunistic parasite that usually lives of other things in your tank and will do just fine without fish.

Well dang. Then it becomes super complicated to have a system that is free of these things because of that uncertainty portion. I mean how do you know that you are not introducing "that certain strain" by QTing the invert for 11 weeks? It will never show signs that it's around? Make sense?

 

[ThRoewer]

That uncertainty is one of the reasons why I only fight ich when it gets out of hand.
So far I haven't lost a single fish to ich.

Uronema is one of the big uncertainties. Certain fish seem especially prone to infections, especially certain Chromis and Anthias species.

In general I would suggest to avoid inverts or corals that are in systems with sick fish.

 

[2000se]

That uncertainty is one of the reasons why I only fight ich when it gets out of hand.
So far I haven't lost a single fish to ich.

Uronema is one of the big uncertainties. Certain fish seem especially prone to infections, especially certain Chromis and Anthias species.

In general I would suggest to avoid inverts or corals that are in systems with sick fish.

Meaning order from an online reputable place. I guess I can assume it would not be coming from a sick system.

 

[snorvich]

Meaning order from an online reputable place. I guess I can assume it would not be coming from a sick system.

There is no online vendor that properly quarantines fish. Some, although that number is few, do not have fish in their invert system.

 

[2000se]

There is no online vendor that properly quarantines fish. Some, although that number is few, do not have fish in their invert system.

Which is exactly what I'm looking for. A place that totally keeps the inverts separate. It seems like you said that is a tough find. If I can, At least I have done everything in my power to curb the prospect of introducing these unsafe pest while adding these inverts. It's hard to treat them for these things because they are so sensitive.

At least the fish can be treated to some degree.

 

[snorvich]

Which is exactly what I'm looking for. A place that totally keeps the inverts separate. It seems like you said that is a tough find. If I can, At least I have done everything in my power to curb the prospect of introducing these unsafe pest while adding these inverts. It's hard to treat them for these things because they are so sensitive.

At least the fish can be treated to some degree.

There is an interesting "test". Ask the vendor what SG they ship fish. Many/most ship as SG 1.017 (to save on salt). Those are probably safe to QT inverts for 7-10 days since they must be kept at 1.025

 

[ThRoewer]

There is no online vendor that properly quarantines fish. Some, although that number is few, do not have fish in their invert system.

They usually still keep certain fish with inverts, usually those that require pods like mandarins, pipefish,...

 

[2000se]

There is an interesting "test". Ask the vendor what SG they ship fish. Many/most ship as SG 1.017 (to save on salt). Those are probably safe to QT inverts for 7-10 days since they must be kept at 1.025

Hey thanks Steve. So I read your post like 8 times and tried to understand what you meant by it (sorry). Can you please expand on it so my teeny mind can understand? : ))

 

[2000se]

They usually still keep certain fish with inverts, usually those that require pods like mandarins, pipefish,...

You know , that's probably true. There's probably a larger pod population in those tanks.

 

[krullshards]

I do 6 weeks. That's sufficient for brook, velvet and flukes. 11 weeks are recommended if you are concerned about ich. But even 4 weeks may be enough for ich and 11 may not be enough - it all depends on the ich strain you're dealing with. Since ich is likely in all my systems I don't go the extra weeks.

Uronema will stay around even if you quarantine for a year (or ten) - it is an opportunistic parasite that usually lives of other things in your tank and will do just fine without fish.

Ok, wait. I'm a little taken aback here. I know that my DT has ich in it. It was bad at one point and I did hypo with my fish and left my tank fallow for 8-10 weeks.

I have seen touches of it again so I know it's there, just much reduced. I've been wringing my hands a little because I'm currently putting an LMB and True Percula through TTM. I was debating if I should take the rest of the fish out and TTM and then go fallow for 76ish days. But now I read your post that you likely have ich in all your systems. So, what is the purpose of TTM? To just ensure you don't add MORE ich?

Now I'm a little confused about whether I should TTM my current fish in the DT or not. hmm..

 

[2000se]

You know Steve, after reading your post one more time this morning, I think I understand what you are saying.

Because inverts need to be a 1.025, if I see them shipping at 1.017 it means that the fish aren't acclimated to 1.025 so they are probably keeping the fish and inverts separate because of the salinity.

 

[ThRoewer]

Ok, wait. I'm a little taken aback here. I know that my DT has ich in it. It was bad at one point and I did hypo with my fish and left my tank fallow for 8-10 weeks.

I have seen touches of it again so I know it's there, just much reduced. I've been wringing my hands a little because I'm currently putting an LMB and True Percula through TTM. I was debating if I should take the rest of the fish out and TTM and then go fallow for 76ish days. But now I read your post that you likely have ich in all your systems. So, what is the purpose of TTM? To just ensure you don't add MORE ich?

Now I'm a little confused about whether I should TTM my current fish in the DT or not. hmm..

TTM still makes sense with new fish as you may not want to introduce a new ich strain to your tank.

Inverts are a bit of a different issue as the risk of them coming with ich is a good deal lower than with fish who almost always picked it up at some point of their journey.
But if ich is of concern I would keep new inverts in a fallow system for a minimum of 3 months.