Basic Quarantine FAQ's

[Deinonych]

Originally Posted by Sleepingtiger

tired of ich. i will start to quarantine my fish from now on.
so after reading through this,

the best method for the fish in my DT is to do a tank transfer method.

question, the life cycle calls for trophont to fall off and become the protomont for about 2-18 hours before attaching itself to a surface and become tomont. wouldn't it be better to let the protomont attach itself to the surface before moving the fish to a new tank. Maybe do the transfer in the evening giving the protomont a chance to cyst. If you transfer in the morning, you might get some of the water that contain the protomont and spread it to the new tank. It will then cyst and gave a chance to turn therphonts and reattaching to the fish. I am not questioning the method, just trying to get a clear understanding.

also, why should i let the tank go fallow for 72 days? since the protmont, tomont, and therphonts phase is max 35 days in room temperature.

Yes, you could do it later in the day, provided you don't let more than 72 hours lapse between transfers (i.e. do all transfers at the same time of day).

The reason for the 72-day fallow period is because 72 days is longest reported period for the tomont stage. You could do a shorter period, but there is a risk in doing so. 72 days is a worst-case scenario, and some of us are really paranoid.

[Sleepingtiger]

ok thanks... i can't imagine my tank fallow for 2 months... but oh well. do i need to do anything to my DT when the tank is fallow. i guess i need to add some food so the clean up crew has something to eat and for the chaeto to keep on growing.

[Deinonych]

Originally Posted by Sleepingtiger

ok thanks... i can't imagine my tank fallow for 2 months... but oh well. do i need to do anything to my DT when the tank is fallow. i guess i need to add some food so the clean up crew has something to eat and for the chaeto to keep on growing.

Yes, throw in a small amount of food every few days to keep the biofilter going.

[Sleepingtiger]

This is going to be nuts. Running into several problems. I have no way of getting media with bacteria that is 100% ich free. So the fish in QT risk getting ammonia spikes. I also have to quarantine more fish than i would like.

[Deinonych]

Seeding the biofilter can be done with Bio-spira. All it needs is substrate for the bacteria to grow on. I use Seachem Matrix in a media bag and put it into a HOB filter. Add a bottle of Bio-spira and I'm good to go. Never had a problem with ammonia using this process. Most pet stores carry ceramic media (Fluval makes ceramic rings that are similar).

[Sleepingtiger]

awesome! thanks.

one more question. during the tank transfer method. should i be concerned about moving the fish from one tank to another. should i do a fresh water dip during the actual transfer? last thing i want is to transport ich from one tank to another tank.

[Deinonych]

You want to minimize water transfer between tanks, but a little bit won't hurt. If you use a plastic colander or something similar to capture and move the fish, it will minimize water transfer. I personally use a Reef Gently Acclimate box with clean saltwater as a transfer container to "rinse" the fish before it goes into the transfer tank. I also try to use my hands to move the fish instead of a net.

[bemenaker]

I am getting ready to setup a QT tank. We recently upgraded out existing 65 to a 125. While we never used a QT in the past, we don't want to risk it anymore. I am using our old 29 biocube for QT. Currently, it has sand in it. Should I remove the sand? It seems bare bottom is preferred. Is this just for easier clean up, or is it better to act as a QT if it's BB?

Thanks.

[Deinonych]

I would remove the sand. If you have to medicate, having sand can complicate dosing due to adsorption (depending on the medication used).

[solitude127]

What should the copper levels be in a QT tank?

[Spar]

Originally Posted by solitude127

What should the copper levels be in a QT tank?

Slowly (over 3 or 4 days) increase to .5ppm and hold for 4 weeks. Never let it drop below .35ppm (consider during water changes that you will want to add copper to the new water before adding it to your tank).

[solitude127]

Originally Posted by Spar

Slowly (over 3 or 4 days) increase to .5ppm and hold for 4 weeks. Never let it drop below .35ppm (consider during water changes that you will want to add copper to the new water before adding it to your tank).

Thank you. Does this apply to all species of fish?

[Spar]

Originally Posted by solitude127

Thank you. Does this apply to all species of fish?

For the parasite killing goal, yes. But some fish are very sensitive to copper and may not make it through treatment. Angels are one that we see frequent issues with. I'd recommend doing research on a per fish basis on this forum to see the general consensus on how it does.

[tc2007]

I was wondering, after I use an equipment for QT and medication (not copper but reef safe like Chloroquine Phosphate and / or ParaGuard) how do I make sure that it does not have any traces of parasites, spores, cysts etc? Should drying them out in sunlight should be enough?

[Spar]

Originally Posted by tc2007

I was wondering, after I use an equipment for QT and medication (not copper but reef safe like Chloroquine Phosphate and / or ParaGuard) how do I make sure that it does not have any traces of parasites, spores, cysts etc? Should drying them out in sunlight should be enough?

Sunlight isnt necessary but will speed it up. Just a simple 24 hours of being dry will kill all stages including hardened cysts.

[Luke Schnabel]

I'm getting close to starting my tank up in my newly finish basment. I Have a 20g tank for quarentine. I will be using a HOB filter, LED light, heater and a tunze wave box. I'll have it controlled with my old Apex unit.
To help save on the costs of running a quarentine tank would I be able to use my display tank water when I do water changes in the quarentine tank?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Luke Schnabel

I'm getting close to starting my tank up in my newly finish basment. I Have a 20g tank for quarentine. I will be using a HOB filter, LED light, heater and a tunze wave box. I'll have it controlled with my old Apex unit.
To help save on the costs of running a quarentine tank would I be able to use my display tank water when I do water changes in the quarentine tank?

Assuming your display tank is parasite free, absolutely.

[toynewb]

is it a pretty good idea to QT all inverts? snails, shrimp, etc...?

[Spar]

Originally Posted by toynewb

is it a pretty good idea to QT all inverts? snails, shrimp, etc...?

good idea? yes.

comes down to how much risk you are willing to take. it is a definite possibility that a parasite or disease hitchhike in on them. many people don't QT them and get lucky, many say not QT'ing them was their downfall.

to be absolutely sure however, you will need to fallow treat everything wet for 72 days before adding them to your Display Tank. I have a 20g tank (recently upgraded from a 10g) permanently setup for this purpose. Has worked great for me.

[Deinonych]

Originally Posted by Spar

good idea? yes.

comes down to how much risk you are willing to take. it is a definite possibility that a parasite or disease hitchhike in on them. many people don't QT them and get lucky, many say not QT'ing them was their downfall.

to be absolutely sure however, you will need to fallow treat everything wet for 72 days before adding them to your Display Tank. I have a 20g tank (recently upgraded from a 10g) permanently setup for this purpose. Has worked great for me.

+1

I got burned by Cryptocaryon cysts hitchhiking on a zoa colony attached to live rock. Never again. I now QT all inverts for 72 days. I have a 20gal tank with sand, some LR, HOB filter, powerhead and T5 lighting. Has worked well so far, even for the easier SPS like Montipora, Stylophora, Seriatopora etc. (not acros, however).

[SteveZZR]

Wrasse quarantine
Some are sensitive to chloroquine apparently, but which?

I had a dragon wrasse from a velvet wiped out tank, qted with chloroquine at 15mgl and it died after 10 days. Had been active and feeding well until this point. Water tested fine and no obvious marks on the fish.


Planning a trio of flasher wrasse and don't want to kill them in quarantine

[Deinonych]

I personally have had bad luck with flasher wrasses and CP. I use TTM for all new acquisitions now.

[Quiverfull]

In some of the initial posts, it was stated that a QT can be set up with live rock for filtration. I have fully cured live rock that has been in the display tank for several years and was only going to use this along with a powerhead for my filtration as I did not have a sponge of HOB that was already seeded. if I do not treat with any chemicals and the fish in QT seem fine after several weeks. Is it OK to put the LR back into the DT at some point?

[Newsmyrna80]

How long did you quarantine? If the fish are healthy and do not have any disease than the live rock should be ok to put into the main.

[Quiverfull]

I'm just starting the process now. Gonna be in QT for at least 2 weeks. They are 3 fairy wrasses. I am just setting up the qt now.