Regal Angel Quarantine Question

[Lhprichard]

Hi All-Full disclosure I'm not "New To The Hobby", but I'm new to quarantining. That is, I'm a cheater. Literally every fish I own I purchased from "Diver's Den". That is until yesterday. I saw a young Regal Angel (about 3") in my LFS. Looked really good and I asked them to feed it. Immediately grabbed mysis. Got it home and in my embarrassingly small QT tank it was eating mysis so well I threw in 3 pellets wish were immediately eaten. It will grab off the surface or off the bottom. I'm happily surprised, especially as it's an Indo Regal. So, as this is my first time quarantining a fish I'm not sure if I just wait out 30 days or so, add in a freshwater bath or go full out and treat with Prazi-Pro or the like. It's seemingly doing so well (knock on wood), that I don't want to mess it up. Any help it appreciated.

 

[Lhprichard]

Sorry folks-Posted without proofing first. Spelling is sub par.

 

[Sk8r]

My own inclination to observe first, treat if something shows up. Reason: you don't know what might manifest, and the change in water and environment is stressful, so you're already in a wait-see. If it's ich, that's one treatment. If flukes, another. etc. And they don't mix well. So keep the lights moderate, the noises down, the water in excellent condition, and just see. If 4 weeks pass and he's still looking good, I'd go ahead and transfer him to the tank. I don't do prophylactics for the same reason as above. OTOH, I don't do angels, and others may be more expert with that species, so take my word as one opinion. One caution: copper and angels don't get along.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

+1 on the above.

 

[Fiish]

For a regal angel, it would be good if you had live rock in your QT, in addition to the food that you are giving him, I'm sure that the regal will appreciate it. Personally I'm not one of those who add any medication if it is not necessary, on the contrary, I do not agree with leaving it less than 3 months in QT, some time ago I read that Cryptocarion cysts should disappear in that time, I would not do less for a regal angel, always maintain water quality, recently I lost a coral beauty in my QT for neglecting ammonia levels.

 

[Sk8r]

Any live rock put in qt should be considered potentially contaminated until the fish has successfully transitioned into the main tank. And if treated with a med, has to be considered contaminated with the med, not safe to return to the tank. So don't make it a major rock.

 

[Sk8r]

The period during which the stress on the fish is maximum is just after transfer into qt until about 2 weeks into qt. That window is when most problems appear, if they're going to. You may also want to consider TTM (qv) as a med-free way of disposing of any ich should it be present, kind of belt and suspenders for a healthy-seeming fish. There are threads on how-to. One thing absolutely important with fragile species is keeping the slime coat intact and healthy. THis means a good alkalinity (about 8.3 dkh) and stability. Damaging the slime coat is like damage to your skin: it's their protection against parasites and infection.

 

[Lhprichard]

Some great and valuable info. I appreciate the time you've all taken so far. Please, keep it coming. A great weekend to all!

 

[Lhprichard]

That is as great as it can be during this difficult time.

 

[ThRoewer]

Any live rock put in qt should be considered potentially contaminated until the fish has successfully transitioned into the main tank. And if treated with a med, has to be considered contaminated with the med, not safe to return to the tank. So don't make it a major rock.

I use rock that can be sterilized afterward. Something like Real Reef or Maco rock. After sterilization, they go back into a system where they can acquire life again.
Though the rock is more for filtration than food supply. For the latter, Caulerpa or Ulva is far better. And it helps to have a few bucket cultures of Tigger Pods on hand.

 

[Lhprichard]

Ttt