Wrasse QT: How to?

[kaiboshi]

I'm planning on picking up a melanurus wrasse and a christmas wrasse in the very near future (next club meeting) and I've been getting conflicting advice regarding quarantine. Lots of people say to simply roll the dice but I don't really want to do that. Normally I QT for at least 4 weeks and treat prophylactically with cupramine and prazipro. People say that wrasses don't do well in QT or with cupramine. People also say that wrasses don't do well without a sand bed to sleep in. I thought I had read about a sand that didn't absorb copper, or something along those lines. Is that bs or do I remember correctly? I figured I could put some of this "magical" sand into a container so the wrasse had a place to sleep and otherwise keep the tank medicated before adding the fish to my DT.

Anyway, what are peoples thoughts? Are there any particular articles that I should refer to? Thanks in advance.

 

[RBU1]

Well I can tell you I had a coris wrasse in QT with only PVC pipe. He did fine. Just wedged himself between the glass and the pipe. I would never add anything without QT. I would rather risk the new fish then my entire tank. Ask Freediver....

 

[scottwhitson]

I agree I would also rather risk one or two fish in quarantine than my whole tank. I have sand in my QT tank and put a Christmas Wrasse through QT and he did fine. I used hypo instead of copper.

 

[rayn]

Place a small tub of sand in your QT that you can take out later. I wouldn't add fish without QT either though.

 

[ezhoops]

Some wrasses can handle copper some can't. someone more informed can elaborate further. The Wrasse primer in the reef fishes forum might be helpful.

+1 on the tupperware container of sand in the Qt

 

[Chris27]

Just use some sand and cupramine, the sand won't strip the copper from the water nearly as fast as ionic copper, but you'll still need to test 2X a day to ensure you're maintaining the copper in the therapeutic level.

 

[tubntxawg]

Like everyone has said, I would add a new fish into the tank unless it has been QT... I usually QT the new comer for atleast 3-4 weeks before introducing him into the display tank... How i did QT on my wrasse, i place a few pcv pipes into the QT tank... Some wrasse will stress out and died, but mine seem to have been okay... my QT tank is horizontal to the display tank...