What to do?

[justinf67]

I have gotten my salt fish from one store so far, fish are all healthy and Ive never had a problem. I broke that and got a black occelaris clown about a week and a half ago from a different store that I was a little wary of getting it from... The occelaris was in a separate system of tanks in a small area with a few others. I bought it as I got a good deal.... I acclimated it for about 2 hours or so and added it to my tank...

After adding it, the fish hid and I let it be till the next day... I looked in on it and it was swimming in a very small area. Just kind of swimming funky. I gave it a few days and it continued to do so. At this time, I noticed under the actinics some white specks on its body....Looked like it could be ich...The occelaris was fading. It hung out by a rock near the sand yesterday and when I got up today, it was dead...

It sucks to lose a fish obviously, but it also may have left ich in my tank... I have a few corals in the tank and a yellow watchman goby...What should I do? If it was ich, would my WYG possibly have it? Do I need to wait 6 weeks to add anything else to make sure ich isnt present? Im still pretty new to this, any help would be great....

[samdaman]

Question: What to do?

Answer: Get a QT tank.

It is extremely important. Most skip this and wing it. If it was Ich, most likely it may have spread into your tank.

What else do you have in the tank?

[justinf67]

I understand that a QT tank would have stopped this from happening... Please read the paragraph as the fish is dead, it happened fast and yes I didnt QT it, I should have done so... I also stated that there is a Yellow watchman goby in the tank...That is the only fish in there...he shows no issues and has been in the tank issue free for 4 months now...do i need to pull the goby into another tank and leave the main tank for 6 weeks? Im not sure it was ich...seemed to be, but im not positive

[samdaman]

Originally Posted by justinf67

I understand that a QT tank would have stopped this from happening... Please read the paragraph as the fish is dead, it happened fast and yes I didnt QT it, I should have done so... I also stated that there is a Yellow watchman goby in the tank...That is the only fish in there...he shows no issues and has been in the tank issue free for 4 months now...do i need to pull the goby into another tank and leave the main tank for 6 weeks? Im not sure it was ich...seemed to be, but im not positive

I read that the fish is dead. setting up a QT tank will help prevent you from worrying in the future. This is just a suggestion, its up to you.

You can monitor your goby for now, if he starts to look like he has ich put him in another tank and treat him.

Just for reference:

[justinf67]

Im new to this and have 5 fresh tanks, so setting up a q tank was not an option... I will prob do so in the future as i have a few extra tanks laying around...

I do know what ich looks like, but the specks only showed up under actinics, was weird to me that under normal light, it wasnt visible... I will assume it was ich tho....

I think i read somewhere that YWG are pretty resistant to ich, am i wrong? I would like to replace the lost fish when I can. I was gonna wait 2 weeks, but if its ich do i need to wait 6? or if the goby never shows signs, could it still pop up later?

[Lynnmw1208]

Just feed really well and keep up your maintenance and your goby should be fine if his immune system is good. a QT tank really is a good idea tho.

[frozenreefer]

usually fish that live on the sand bed are more resistant to ich...ich likes in the sand...that is why top layer fish i.e. tangs arent so good with ich. anyway it sucks to loose a fish, but a 40 dollar investment could have saved him. not trying to harp on you, i have not always used a qt but learned my lesson. the ywg should be ok just watch him close and hope that he dosnt get ich because you dont have a qt to put him in...again not trying to harp but a qt can save lots of fish and money

[Jarret]

Originally Posted by justinf67

Im new to this and have 5 fresh tanks, so setting up a q tank was not an option...

Then maybe you having a reef tank shouldn't be an option as well? If you can't provide the animals you are going to purchase with the proper husbandry and care you might want to look into some other hobby.

[dublo8]

empty one of those fresh tanks and make it a QT once you go salt you never go back anyways. the problem with the watchman is that they already have white specks on them and the ich might be hard to see. Keep an eye on him and get a QT ready just in case.

[justinf67]

Originally Posted by Jarret

Then maybe you having a reef tank shouldn't be an option as well? If you can't provide the animals you are going to purchase with the proper husbandry and care you might want to look into some other hobby.

You are confused here... read the statement again...I have 5 FRESHWATER tanks, not 5 newly setup saltwater tanks, thought that my statement was easy enough to read, sorry... My husbandry is great. I have a 20g fuge and do water changes every week...

as far as a qt tank, just use a HOB filter and Ill be fine, right? The next fish will be qt'd... How long will they need to be in qt for?

[Uncle Salty 05]

QT is not a necessity.
If your water quality is good and there are no bullies in your tank a properly acclimated fish will be fine.
On the other hand if your water quality is not so good and there are bullies in your tank you can QT for a year and the fish will still be in trouble.
I stopped QTing years ago and have never had a problem. In fact every fish I did QT died.

[justinf67]

gotta love that huh? I had properly acclimated all the fish I bought and they all were fine...I added fish from one store where its really clean and the fish all are very healthy... This fish I added from a store I like, but the quality is not up to par on the salt fish... I knew I shouldnt buy it, but he hooked me up with a good price and it was in a system of tanks that were not connected to the main tanks...So, I thought it would be ok.... Nope, the day I got it, it showed signs of being off and never recovered... I have no illusions that my water quality is perfect, but its very good... I got a bum fish here...Lesson learned on where I got my fish from. I will stick to the other store for salt fish.

My other problem with qt is it may be stressful to the fish and cause disease that it wouldnt have if it was in the main tank...Oh, and I had a tomato clown in there when I got the black clown, which I got rid of a few days later...It may have bullied the new one some, but I didnt see it...

Im unsure if I add a fish to the main tank, will it get ich? Since the black clown prob had it, is it still in the tank? and do i need to wait a certain amount of time to add anything new...

[Uncle Salty 05]

It probably wouldn't hurt to wait a few weeks and see how your goby does.
Even if your tank has ich a fish with a healthy immune system can overcome ich. It is only when fish or stressed or otherwise weakened (like bullying or malnutrition) that ich gets the upper hand.

[Tat2demon]

Originally Posted by Jarret

Then maybe you having a reef tank shouldn't be an option as well? If you can't provide the animals you are going to purchase with the proper husbandry and care you might want to look into some other hobby.

No reason to be a dick about it. If everyone that didn't run a QT was forced out of the hobby the forums would be a very dead place.

[Tat2demon]

Originally Posted by justinf67

I would like to replace the lost fish when I can. I was gonna wait 2 weeks, but if its ich do i need to wait 6? or if the goby never shows signs, could it still pop up later?

Many times a fish can get ich without ever showing visible signs so you never really know. The only way to guarantee you don't have it is to let your tank go without fish for a couple months, something not many people are willing to do.

Originally Posted by justinf67

as far as a qt tank, just use a HOB filter and Ill be fine, right? The next fish will be qt'd... How long will they need to be in qt for?

Yeah a hob will be fine. Just make sure your sg, ph, temp are all where theyre supposed to be. 5-6 weeks seems to be the agreed upon length.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Originally Posted by tat2demon

no reason to be a dick about it. If everyone that didn't run a qt was forced out of the hobby the forums would be a very dead place.

+1

[justinf67]

thanks for pointing out Jarret's comment, but to be honest, I think he was confused and thought i started 5 tanks at once...Let's refrain from this kind of comment~dc but then again, he didnt fully grasp the statement I made, so I figure he has other more pressing problems....

As for the qt tank, use fresh saltwater that has aerated for 24 hours to fill it, and add the hob....wont there be a cycle if i do that? what will take care of the waste from the qt'd fish? i plan on using a 10g tank for the qt process...

[Jarret]

No I realized that you had 5 freshwater tanks since you stated you had 5 fresh tanks which I assumed you had meant you had 5 freshwater tanks. It was the fact that you stated you had extra tanks lying around and simply the fact that you didn't feel it was necessary to start up a QT even though you already had a tank available to start one.

Sure some people can get away without a QT but from the majority of "help/issue/problem" threads that I have read as far as fish/invert health goes a QT would have solved many of the issues that occurred in those threads.

As far as a QT setup, you just leave the tank empty with a filter media left in the sump of your display tank. When you need the QT you simply fill it with water from your display tank and add the filter media from your sump to the filter on the QT tank. This way you don't have to worry about a cycle at all.

[scubasteve06]

^agreed just don't add that filter media back into your sump after treating with medicines with copper or if there was a parasite your were treating in the QT as it possibly could spread into the DT the medicine and/or the parasite.

[scubasteve06]

^agreed just don't add that filter media back into your sump after treating with medicines with copper or if there was a parasite your were treating in the QT as it possibly could spread into the DT the medicine and/or the parasite.

[justinf67]

Jarret, then I take back my statement, your first post was being a dick and not needed. Your 2nd post was much better, with useful info, thank you...

You say

It was the fact that you stated you had extra tanks lying around and simply the fact that you didn't feel it was necessary to start up a QT even though you already had a tank available to start one.

thats quite presumptuous. I stated I had extra tanks around...The 5 fresh tanks and salt tank add up and my girlfriend is understanding to a point. 6 tanks is def the limit, so even a qt tank setup is another tank running in her eyes, which is a no-no...The other ones that I have around are leaving the house soon, so in an extreme emergency i would have used them, but the fish was already on its way out and the main tank already infected....Dont just assume I was too lazy to set one up...If its life and death i will keep one of the tanks and use it as a qt tank, prolly in hiding from my girlfriend, lol... Again thanks for the post that was helpful, I am moving on now...

Anything in particular I should use as filter media in the sump? I have LR in my sump, would pulling a piece and putting it in the qt tank be fine, or should I use some bio balls or something similar?

[Jarret]

Just grab a HOB for the QT tank and use the media in that and place it in your sump. No need for using LR.

As scuba said, just don't stick the filter media back in your sump if you happen to treat the QT tank with copper/etc...

[scubasteve06]

[QUOTE=justinf67;17774688]Jarret, then I take back my statement, your first post was being a dick and not needed. Your 2nd post was much better, with useful info, thank you...

You say

thats quite presumptuous. I stated I had extra tanks around...The 5 fresh tanks and salt tank add up and my girlfriend is understanding to a point. 6 tanks is def the limit, so even a qt tank setup is another tank running in her eyes, which is a no-no...The other ones that I have around are leaving the house soon, so in an extreme emergency i would have used them, but the fish was already on its way out and the main tank already infected....Dont just assume I was too lazy to set one up...If its life and death i will keep one of the tanks and use it as a qt tank, prolly in hiding from my girlfriend, lol... Again thanks for the post that was helpful, I am moving on now...


So your basically saying screw a QT tank only if the fish is sick or dying? You should always QT fish no matter what health condition they are in. If you had QT'd that black clown and treated with cupramine or hypo probably wouldn't have died. Not trying to be a 'dick' as you say just trying to shed some light on your situation thats all and so was jarret. One of those FW tanks take the fish to your LFS get store credit and use it to buy a HOB filter and there is your QT tank.

[justinf67]

ok, will do then, I will add a cartridge today from one of the hob's... I have quite a few hob's in the closet. A 10g isnt too small for a qt, right? I will qt my next purchase, which will prob be another black occelaris. During the qt period, look for problems and do a weekly WC, right? how long is appropriate for qt? How many weeks? 4? Now I have to find a place for the qt tank as I am using an extra tank for cichlid fry, lol...God, my girl would kick my ***, lol..

[justinf67]

Originally Posted by scubasteve06

So your basically saying screw a QT tank only if the fish is sick or dying? You should always QT fish no matter what health condition they are in. If you had QT'd that black clown and treated with cupramine or hypo probably wouldn't have died. Not trying to be a 'dick' as you say just trying to shed some light on your situation thats all and so was jarret. One of those FW tanks take the fish to your LFS get store credit and use it to buy a HOB filter and there is your QT tank.

No, I was saying that I was gonna qt the occelaris AFTER I had realized it was sick... It was swimming kinda funky, but other than that it ate and I was gonna give it some time...Then I noticed the spots under the actinics...It died a day and a half later, there wasnt time to even setup a proper qt tank at that point....

I was hoping to avoid qt'ing NEW fish arrivals as I have a limit on how many tanks I can run... This is a learning experience as I have all freshwater tanks besides my venture into salt...I just said I would setup a qt tank for my next purchase, so chill dude...

Im not draining my fresh tanks as I breed cichlids and I need the tanks to grow them up. The cichlid tanks make supplies and fish much cheaper for me....

Like I said in the post, I will be using a 10g qt tank for the next purchase which I will prob make in a few weeks...Of course i didnt want the clown to die, just to reiterate my point...My issue with Jarrets statement was his attacking how well I take care of my tanks when he has no idea. He based it on me not using a qt tank, which is a rookie move, I didnt know how important they are....

Anyway, how long should the new purchase be in the qt tank before moving on to the display tank?