Uncle Salty 05
New member
Well said.
+1
+1
Why qt?
- Thread starter Alex T.
- Start date
Indymann99
New member
Yes maybe killing the subject (that is "loaded with ick or flukes") BUT protecting the other 4+ fish in the DT (that in many cases have been with the owner for years)... a healthy fish should be able to make it through 4-6 weeks in QT (if proper QT environment is maintained).
I am in the pro QT camp. I would rather loose 1 fish in QT than have to battle ich / other in the DT.
In 3 1/2 years I have lost 3 fish in QT.
I do try to make the QT as stress free as possible.
my 0.02
Indymann99
New member
Uncle Salty 05
New member
Floowid
New member
A healthy fish does not need QT.
To each his own. In 3 1/2 years you have lost 3 fish in QT. I have lost 0 fish to disease/parasites. But as I said, I am very particular about the fish I purchase. I have to be very confident in the way a fish behaves/looks in a store, and then I come back next week and see if it is still there, then I put a deposit on it and come back a week later and pick it up. I guess you could say the store/owner is my QT.
Indymann99
New member
3 + 8 currently with me fish that I started adding 3 1/2 years ago.. I typically add fish SLOWLY and 4-6 weeks of QT helps FORCE this..
The 3 fish that I have lost have been
1x clown (part of a pair, 1 recovered in QT from ich and is with me to this day).
2x Heni Bannerfish - ordered online.
My Qt is a 20g and I do weekly (greater if needed) waterchanges.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/QTTankcloseup.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/QTinMixRm.jpg
Uncle Salty 05
New member
You have a nice QT set up there.
From the hiding places you show in your pics you must be adding only small fish.
Just out of curiosity what is the dusting on the bottom of the tank?
I am glad that QT has worked well for you.
From the hiding places you show in your pics you must be adding only small fish.
Just out of curiosity what is the dusting on the bottom of the tank?
I am glad that QT has worked well for you.
Uncle Salty 05
New member
Not to mention live rock and ........
Indymann99
New member
Yeah that was QT setup for my Orange Diamond Goby so I wasnt terribly concerned with the size of the PVC, FYI he did fine without sand during QT, eating pellet, mysis, flake, and brine.
vid of Bannerfish in QT
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/?action=view¤t=Henix2QT.mp4
I added PVC (and even some macro that was growing on it in the fuge) for the QT of the Heni bannerfish.. vid is day 1 (they were doing great and hovering at the end to be fed). .. by day 7 they both had signs of ich.. I dropped the QT into hypo and they seemed to get better for the next week.. then they both stopped eating and all downhill from there.... :sad1:
the dusting is detritus/sand from the PVC as I store it in my sump fuge.. (ready to help seed the QT) I didnt want to wash the PVC and remove any established bacteria. I siphoned most of the stuff off the glass with the first WC and any new accumulations weekly.
I have the plumbing for my DT waterchanges such that I can use water from the DT for waterchanges in the final weeks of QT.. this means the move from QT to DT requires no acclimation, just catch in QT and release in the DT.
When finished
The QT gets washed out, dried in the sun for a couple of days and then ready for the next use.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/QTTank.jpg
Jstdv8
New member
MEEEEEEEEE!
1 tank QT 6 weeks for everything that is not a fish.
1 tank 4 weeks of copper for everything that is a fish.
No deaths in the QT yet, no sick fish in the qt, no fish that ever looked stressed or even use the hiding places I supply.
IMO I don't think the QT is many more stressful than any other tank they've been in or will be in. They are by themselves in there and have the whole tank to themselves, don't have to fight for room or food.
I've never seen any change at all in the fishes behavior between when they are in saltwater or saltwater with .5 copper using cuprimine.
I have a clown in QT right noiw, been in there 2 of the 4 weeks, eats like a pig, swims around vigerously, no change, actually looks better than he did at the store.
I don't use any light on my QT, add copper 2 days after adding the fish, then use a week after the 4 weeks to reduce the amount of copper in the tank by water changes and carbon pads.
I beleive where people fail is they don't treat fish to begin with then the fish gets sick down the road and they chase them around with a net in the DT removing rocks and whatever else to catch them, then place them in the QT which is new to them as well. Not a good thing to do with a sick fish.
If your fish is presently sick with ich I beleive it would be best to see if you can get it healthy in the DT by feeding more and removing whatever might be causing the stress. Once the signs are gone THEN treat them in a QT when they are better suited to handle the move.
Palting
New member
LOL!!:thumbsup:
Alex T.
Active member
Sorry...OP here.
This is my point exactly...and why I started this post. With all my DT fish getting a hyposalinity qt for 6 weeks prior to introduction, ich was a shock to me. Nothing changed, and yet the Achilles tang that's been with me for almost 2 years now is dead. I would have gotten rid of every other fish for my Achilles. He was babied from the beginning, and even with ich was eating until the end. I think from now on a 4 week hyposalinity with 2 weeks of copper will be my MO. Or, maybe I'll just start picking the healthy ones.
In any case, ich is obviously in my display so the introduction of any new fish is out of the question. I may be upgrading soon to a larger tank on the other side of the house. I'd like some suggestions/advice on protocol with regards to keeping ich out of the new system.
P.S. Much appreciated everybody. It appears there's a line drawn between those who qt and those who simply believe that the strong and healthy will survive given a clean and stress free environment.
This is my point exactly...and why I started this post. With all my DT fish getting a hyposalinity qt for 6 weeks prior to introduction, ich was a shock to me. Nothing changed, and yet the Achilles tang that's been with me for almost 2 years now is dead. I would have gotten rid of every other fish for my Achilles. He was babied from the beginning, and even with ich was eating until the end. I think from now on a 4 week hyposalinity with 2 weeks of copper will be my MO. Or, maybe I'll just start picking the healthy ones.
In any case, ich is obviously in my display so the introduction of any new fish is out of the question. I may be upgrading soon to a larger tank on the other side of the house. I'd like some suggestions/advice on protocol with regards to keeping ich out of the new system.
P.S. Much appreciated everybody. It appears there's a line drawn between those who qt and those who simply believe that the strong and healthy will survive given a clean and stress free environment.
Indymann99
New member
Alex, sorry we got OT...
Yeah sounds like you did everything correct and still got ich in your DT... after all it is still biology and chemistry, with some physics thrown in for floods. :spin1:
I know how your feel... I have suddenly had an Aptasia explosion in my LR - AFTER 3yrs ***!!!! I havent added LR (dont have any coral) in over 2 yrs...
Some how I am thinking introduced via frozen food ???? :hmm1:
Yeah sounds like you did everything correct and still got ich in your DT... after all it is still biology and chemistry, with some physics thrown in for floods. :spin1:
I know how your feel... I have suddenly had an Aptasia explosion in my LR - AFTER 3yrs ***!!!! I havent added LR (dont have any coral) in over 2 yrs...
Some how I am thinking introduced via frozen food ???? :hmm1:
reefgeezer
Active member
I QT fish but not rock, inverts, corals, etc.. Fresh water and formalin dip, then 30 days in the QT. After that if he's eating well and appears healthy, he's in the DT. I wouldn't buy fish from a store that I knew used copper, and have never found a store that isolated fish before offering them for sale. I isolate the fish to protect what's already in the tank. I didn't always do so, but learned my lesson the hard way.
I think QT is a must. I also had a Powder blue that looked good at LFS and broke out with ick in my DT. I tried to feed garlic etc... with no success. I had to catch all the fish out of my tank, treat them with copper and leave DT with no fish for 8 weeks or so. I still think My Pacific blue tang got HLLE from the copper treatment. After that whole mess i promised myself i will QT every fish and take my time to setup a propper QT depending on what type of fish i get. Its better to treat each fish you bring in and not run the risk of losing all of your fish or having to treat all of them at same time. New fish will be stressed regardless if its in DT or QT. Maybe even more in DT if it has many fish compared to a propper QT setup. I also plan to get an achilles for my new tank setup. I really hate to hear that the fish broke out with ick after a year and a half. Could it have came in on something else? Rock, coral, sand, snails etc...? or do you QT everything for atleast 8 weeks?
OneReef
Reef Guru
I never QT. But I realize that I am playing Russian roulette as well. I try to dip my corals with coral Rx, although I just put a couple of frags in without doing so. But I have never QT'd fish. It cost me some nice Ventralis anthias that I had for about a year, when I put in a fish with parasites or something. It killed a few of my fish. My tank is good now, but I need to be better about it.
Blown76mav
Member
I would love to see your lfs, most have one huge system all connected together. If a fish has ich in one holding tank they all can have it. And to have a separate QT setup, that usually unheard ( around here) of for a LFS, they just want to get the fish in and sell them.
I wish ours would do that.
Alex T.
Active member
Maybe I'm starting to realize the limits of my abilities matched with the needs of the fish I keep. My tank is 100% SPS dominated with 4 clams on the sandbed. Lots of light, lots of flow and no detectable NO3 or PO4. My total stock list was:
Achilles (RIP)
Yellow Tang
2 Lyretail Anthias
4 Blue/Green Chromis
1 Maroon Clown
1 Sixline Wrasse
1 Orange Tail Blue Devil
1 Coral Beauty (no nipping)
If hyposalinity works for most of you...I can tell you that a 6 week hypo qt and freshwater dip did not stop the ich breakout and subsequent loss of my Achilles. This was protocol for all his tankmates as well. I can't fathom putting any fish, especially a tang as touchy as Achilles immediately in copper treatment without an observation period like some do.
I fed heavily (2 cubes mysis/1 cube bloodworms, 1 cube rotifers) some pellet and nori on opposing days, skimmed heavily (ETSS 900 xr, 4 Vortech MP40's on Reefcrest Mode full blast on my 6 foot 150 gallon tank and specific gravity of 1.025/1.026 all because Achilles appreciates high turbulent reef zones and higher salinity. I thought I was doing everything right for a year and a half. I was just commenting to my wife that my reef was really starting to look great and take off and then this started to unfold.
Rockwork only half way up in a 27" tall tank with a lot of swimming room. He used every inch of that tank. In hindsight, maybe Achilles needs more room than this. Possibly an 8 foot tank and wider than my 18" footprint? I know many out there have their Achilles, Sohal, Clown or Powder Blue tangs in smaller tanks than mine for longer periods with no problems. I'm not here to judge, but if you do...shame on you. If you got a good glimpse of these tangs in a larger tank and how free roaming and quickly they like to move, you might change your mind.
I'm currently in the process of capturing all current residents in the 150 and it's not easy as some of my acros have fully encrusted and are growing into the back glass in some spots. A sponge has been soaking in my sump since this started, so by the time qt starts I should be ready to go with some sort of bio on the sponge going in the Aquaclear. I'm thinking about which would be more stressful to the others...hypo or copper. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm flying without a net here!!
I've also started thinking about what will replace the Achilles. I can't for the life of me bring myself to want any other tang in my reef than Achilles. What would you all recommend? Is another tang with my Yellow a bad idea in my 72x18x27 150? I know many of you keep more fish than I do, but I really want to come back stronger and more knowledgable than before. Nothing's off the table so let's hear it people!
Achilles (RIP)
Yellow Tang
2 Lyretail Anthias
4 Blue/Green Chromis
1 Maroon Clown
1 Sixline Wrasse
1 Orange Tail Blue Devil
1 Coral Beauty (no nipping)
If hyposalinity works for most of you...I can tell you that a 6 week hypo qt and freshwater dip did not stop the ich breakout and subsequent loss of my Achilles. This was protocol for all his tankmates as well. I can't fathom putting any fish, especially a tang as touchy as Achilles immediately in copper treatment without an observation period like some do.
I fed heavily (2 cubes mysis/1 cube bloodworms, 1 cube rotifers) some pellet and nori on opposing days, skimmed heavily (ETSS 900 xr, 4 Vortech MP40's on Reefcrest Mode full blast on my 6 foot 150 gallon tank and specific gravity of 1.025/1.026 all because Achilles appreciates high turbulent reef zones and higher salinity. I thought I was doing everything right for a year and a half. I was just commenting to my wife that my reef was really starting to look great and take off and then this started to unfold.
Rockwork only half way up in a 27" tall tank with a lot of swimming room. He used every inch of that tank. In hindsight, maybe Achilles needs more room than this. Possibly an 8 foot tank and wider than my 18" footprint? I know many out there have their Achilles, Sohal, Clown or Powder Blue tangs in smaller tanks than mine for longer periods with no problems. I'm not here to judge, but if you do...shame on you. If you got a good glimpse of these tangs in a larger tank and how free roaming and quickly they like to move, you might change your mind.
I'm currently in the process of capturing all current residents in the 150 and it's not easy as some of my acros have fully encrusted and are growing into the back glass in some spots. A sponge has been soaking in my sump since this started, so by the time qt starts I should be ready to go with some sort of bio on the sponge going in the Aquaclear. I'm thinking about which would be more stressful to the others...hypo or copper. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm flying without a net here!!
I've also started thinking about what will replace the Achilles. I can't for the life of me bring myself to want any other tang in my reef than Achilles. What would you all recommend? Is another tang with my Yellow a bad idea in my 72x18x27 150? I know many of you keep more fish than I do, but I really want to come back stronger and more knowledgable than before. Nothing's off the table so let's hear it people!
Kieth71
New member
Qt is used for aclimating fish to aquarium life.It is very important for the success of keeping fish and its a great time to make sure your fish is healthy and take care of any problems that will come up.Here is a pic of my 55g qt and i also have a 20g long for smaller fish that is set up-Kieth
Similar threads
