Quarantine procedure for jawfish or other burrowing fish??

[medicreefer]

Hi,

I just ordered a Yellowhead Jawfish from my LFS and it will be arriving there in the next few days. I've had one of these little guys before and it was an amazing fish with interesting behaviour and "personality". Unfortunately the first time I got one I didn't quarantine it, or my clown which I bought at the same time, and they both got severe ich. After a long battle that had my fish in seperate treatment tanks for months (with the main tank running fallow) the jawfish died. My clown is now fine and my DT is completely ich free. Obviously I'm not planning on making the same mistake again. I'll be quarantining the jawfish for about a month or so in a 10g tank.

My question is how should I best quarantine a burrowing fish? I know sand-beds aren't ideal in a QT and that aragonite-based substrates interfere with copper levels in the event that I would need to treat for ich. Also, removing a jawfish from a well-constructed burrow is nearly impossible without injuring the fish. On the other hand, I don't think that a yellowhead will ever settle without substrate and will be constantly stressed. I think a month is a long time for them to go without sandbed, even if I provide it with a pvc cave and some rock pieces. Does anybody have experience with quarantining burrowing fish? If so I"d appreciate some advice/guidance.

Thanks,

 

[prickles]

I have QT'ed several blue spot jawfish in a 10g. I make sure there's a secure top on it with NO holes, and I "sacrificed" about 10lb live rock to it. I treat em with coppersafe among other things. I have had a 100% survival rate in QT over 6 week QT cycles with BSJ's using all kinds of nasty meds. They can hide under the live rock. I also have used some 1" pvc pipe with ends and junctions etc. Also tried bowls full of sand, but they always just hid under rocks. Helfrichis loved the pvc pipes!

 

[Krisb410]

I'm planning to get a Mandarinefish in December, would it be ok in QT? I have a 10G with a sponge filter run by a small powerhead, heater, hood, and 4 pieces of PVC. Sorry to hijack, but aren't they similar?

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I'm planning to get a Mandarinefish in December, would it be ok in QT? I have a 10G with a sponge filter run by a small powerhead, heater, hood, and 4 pieces of PVC. Sorry to hijack, but aren't they similar?

just make sure you don't have copper in the tank as they can't tolerate it. they usually aren't very prone to disease I heard.

 

[prickles]

I have heard the same about the copper, however, I have used coppersafe for 4 weeks on two different mandarins. One of them went through it twice. Neither seemed to have a problem. All done in a 10g, but I would definitely add some liverock. I guess you could do hypo if you are concerned about the copper.

 

[prickles]

I have tried the tupperware, they ignored it and preferred to hide under and around rocks.

 

[Jeremy1988]

Hi,

I just ordered a Yellowhead Jawfish from my LFS and it will be arriving there in the next few days. I've had one of these little guys before and it was an amazing fish with interesting behaviour and "personality". Unfortunately the first time I got one I didn't quarantine it, or my clown which I bought at the same time, and they both got severe ich. After a long battle that had my fish in seperate treatment tanks for months (with the main tank running fallow) the jawfish died. My clown is now fine and my DT is completely ich free. Obviously I'm not planning on making the same mistake again. I'll be quarantining the jawfish for about a month or so in a 10g tank.

My question is how should I best quarantine a burrowing fish? I know sand-beds aren't ideal in a QT and that aragonite-based substrates interfere with copper levels in the event that I would need to treat for ich. Also, removing a jawfish from a well-constructed burrow is nearly impossible without injuring the fish. On the other hand, I don't think that a yellowhead will ever settle without substrate and will be constantly stressed. I think a month is a long time for them to go without sandbed, even if I provide it with a pvc cave and some rock pieces. Does anybody have experience with quarantining burrowing fish? If so I"d appreciate some advice/guidance.

I have about a 4" substrate in my quarantine of the more coarse sand. Will that be okay? And also some live rock

Thanks,