What is your QT regimen?

[kilroy217]

Is there anything that you do every time you get a new fish as a preventative measure? What is your routine for new fish in QT? I'm trying to figure out what medicines, etc. I should purchase before I get my next fish in.

thanks,
Matt

 

[ThRoewer]

The one thing I do with every new fish now is a formalin bath. This is done even before the fish goes into the quarantine tank.
After that it's 2 months observation.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

1. Prazipro for internal parasites and flukes
2. Maracyn 2 for bacterial infections, wounds and fin rot
3. Coppersafe with API copper test kit for ich and velvet
4. Formalin for Brooklynella.

1 and 2 always used on new fishes. 3 and 4 as needed.

 

[snorvich]

The one thing I do with every new fish now is a formalin bath. This is done even before the fish goes into the quarantine tank.
After that it's 2 months observation.

This followed by tank transfer with a minimum observation of five weeks.

 

[kilroy217]

This followed by tank transfer with a minimum observation of five weeks.

So, just to be clear, you do 1. a Formalin bath, 2. TTM, then 3. 5 weeks of observation, for every fish that goes into your QT?

thanks for all the advice!

Matt

 

[Buddy55]

I've always done straight into ttm. I now prefer 1 week or so in a glass tank to get eating a comfortable with me in the room. Then into ttm and into a second cycled glass tank at the end for two rounds of prazi spaced 3-4 days apart. Then maybe a week of observation. It always lasts at least 4 weeks then I have to get the salinity up to match dt.

 

[Ross33]

Get them eating and comfortable before anything else (assuming you bought a healthy fish). Then a round of Prazi, TTM or cupramine, another round of Prazi, then observe for a couple weeks.

 

[ThRoewer]

I would do TTM preferably when the fish are otherwise stable and anything but ich can be excluded or get addressed during TTM (flukes, intestinal parasites).

I've seen quite a few reports here where fish were put through TTM right away but then came down with something more serious than ich: velvet, brook, uronema,...
This is especially important if you use TTM vessels like buckets or colored containers which do not allow you to closely observe the fish during TTM. This may cause you to miss early signs of more serious infections and diseases.

Also, some fish need to be stabilized and get to eat before they can handle the transfers safely.

When to do TTM is something that should be decided on a case by case basis and not be a strict automatism.

 

[CHSUB]

i will disagree about TTM....imo, fish handle it fine with little if any stress. the water between tanks is identical, in my case, and allows me to fill the tank with food and not worry about ammonia.

1) i do Formalin bath(50 min) right out of shipping bag with water from 1st transfer tank; matching sg and temp to shipping water. (new, i was doing formalin after ttm, but based on ThRoewer advice, this made sense)

2) TTM, no meds, lots of food

3) 2 more transfers each with Prazi 5 days apart, easier for me to just move fish to clean tank

4) observation time varies.

 

[ilikefish34]

1. Formalin bath for every new fish--45 mins. with an air stone.

2. Then all go through TTM along with Prazi on the second and fourth transfers (fish must be eating before treating with prazi-pro. Two complete sets of equipment to avoid any chance of cross contamination.

3. After that they go in a 50 gallon observation tank with live rock for 6 weeks (unless more is needed to ease any concerns that arise). Fish must be eating with gusto before moving to the DT.

4. Sometimes I do a freshwater bath before observation period to see if any flukes made it past Prazi and need more treatment.

That's what I do unless a fish has certain needs--for example, with a Leopard Wrasse (many put theirs right in the DT) I would skip the TTM and go straight into the observation tank and treat with Prazi after the fish has begun eating.

 

[ThRoewer]

i will disagree about TTM....imo, fish handle it fine with little if any stress. the water between tanks is identical, in my case, and allows me to fill the tank with food and not worry about ammonia.

Yes, most fish will handle it well, but there are some that may not react too well to it.

i1) i do Formalin bath(50 min) right out of shipping bag with water from 1st transfer tank; matching sg and temp to shipping water. (new, i was doing formalin after ttm, but based on ThRoewer advice, this made sense)

I found this to make the most sense since it kills all pathogens that sit on the skin of fish and also those that may be swimming free in the water. This way you largely reduce the chances of unwanted hitchhikers.

i2) TTM, no meds, lots of food

i3) 2 more transfers each with Prazi 5 days apart, easier for me to just move fish to clean tank

I'm rather careful with prophylactic use of PraziPro. I have seen fish stop eating after I dosed their QT. While this may be not a big issue with most fish, picky and finicky eaters may become a problem. I usually only use it when I see the need for it during the observation period.

In some cases - if fish have wounds or bacterial skin infections - dosing of antibiotics may also make sense. TTM is the ideal time to do this since most antibiotics require water changes before each new dose.

With certain fish that are especially prone to Uronema (Chromis, Anthias) it may also make sense to do a formalin bath right before or during each transfer.
With those it may actually make sense to even go down to one day TT intervals with formalin dips.

i4) observation time varies.

I would advise against going below 8 weeks for the total QT time.