QT Issues

[Mattik]

I have a QT set up that runs constantly. It has been up for 2-3 months already, and I have run a number of new fish through it with no problems.

That is, until last week. I put 5 small chromis in the tank, and now I have only 1 left. I've done lots of water changes, and still losing fish.

It is small (10g), but has lots of LR and a hang-on with active carbon filtering. I do not medicate in this tank (or should I say I have not - no illnesses to treat), and I FW dip new fish before they go in.

So, I have two problems:

1) How do I fugure out what is going on in this tank?
2) A backorder of 4 Lyretails just got shipped yesterday. I don't really want to put them in this tank for fear of losing them.

Solution(?):

I'm thinking I might do my normal FW dip and then put them in my sump for a couple of weeks for observation. They would at least be isolated from direct physical contact with other fish. However, I'm quite certain this is still "risky".

I'm just curious as to everyone's thoughts on this approach.

[d3rryc]

Chromis are known to get a little aggro in smaller settings, so assuming the normal tank param issues are solid, it's possible that they're harassing each other to death until only the strongest is left.

As for the anthias, I picked up three female lyretails about four months back and did lots of research first. If you nose around on WetWebMedia, anthias are some of the few fish that Fenner believes actually do better WITHOUT the QT. He says just get them in the main DT, and get them eating well. They tend to stress less and start eating sooner going straight to the DT. Yes, it's a bit of a disease gamble, but anthias are a little tricky anyway. I ended up going through more than half a dozen foods before finally getting mine to eat solidly (now they eat pretty much anything), and it was about a month before I totally relaxed on that count. All three are happy and healthy now, and it was pretty cool watching the dominant female morph into a male.

Hope that helps!

[Mattik]

Thanks for the feedback.

I suppose I could give it a shot. It just seems like they may get lost in the large tank and not find the food.

But, a local reefer basically told me the same thing. They do FW dips and then, straight in they go. They say they have done pretty well with that approach.

Any advice on first foods? I've been told frozen brine/mysis are pretty solid starter foods.

[d3rryc]

If you use brine, make sure it's enriched (eg - SFB spirulina brine), otherwise it's just "popcorn." Mine took well to mini-mysis by H20, and frozen cyclopeeze got a good feeding response that encouraged them to try the other stuff. Don't rule out bloodworms and glassworms if they're being picky. You just have to experiment until you find something that sticks, then work to build up the menu from there.

[wooden_reefer]

Some fish are more difficult to get to eat well, but the calamity resulting from going without QTing them will be no less. Which is the dog and which is the tail? Don't confuse the two.

You can get a fish to eat in a QT without medication or treatment. You may have to control diseases without treatment meanwhile. The two main threats are ich and bacterial infection. So I use the diatom filter and the UV respectively.

As for this case, what time interval had lapsed between the last and this QT?

The LR in there is a fact now so do not take them out. In the future, please consider not using LR in QT as it is difficult to take it out of a power filter when you have to use a drug that harms nitrification bacteria. You may want to set them aside and still use the filter for aeration and circulation.

[Mattik]

I have had fish in QT for two weeks every two weeks (about) for the past few months. So, lapse in time = +/- a couple of days - two weeks.

And as for the dog vs the tail, just look for the big brown "O" (it's just below the tail)!!!!! Then you will have solved your query. And, for the record, I'm not confused...I can read quite well, so the "O" is no mystery to me.

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by Mattik

I have had fish in QT for two weeks every two weeks (about) for the past few months. So, lapse in time = +/- a couple of days - two weeks.

And as for the dog vs the tail, just look for the big brown "O" (it's just below the tail)!!!!! Then you will have solved your query. And, for the record, I'm not confused...I can read quite well, so the "O" is no mystery to me.

Good luck to you. I wish your livestock well!

[Mattik]

Thanks wooden_reefer, hopefully all will work out well given the time crunch and a "sticky situation" in which a quick decision must be made. What's worse, there's no correct answer when one tank fails to support life, and another is a DT.

I've taken a direction on the QT vs Sump question. Now I am looking to acclimate my new fish and get them eating.....any advice on coaxing them to eat would be greatly appreciated...

for now, it's feed, feed feed....and hope they take to papa's cookin'....or should I say thawin' out da frozen dinners

[Mattik]

Well, everyone has eaten already. Twice this morning in fact.

I finished off a mysis cube that I started yesterday, and then cracked open a new enriched brine cube.

They went for the brine more, but two of them hit the mysis a little as well. I would say they aren't the most aggressive feeders, but they do snatch up the small pieces that happen to float by.

For fish that just shipped yesterday, I'm actually pretty pleased that they are eating so well already....will update in a day or so...

Also, one question is that these look a bit different than other lyretails I have seen. others are more "bright orange" these are "orange/pink", and I would say they have some "tiger striping".

Has anyone seen this coloration before?

http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLi...?CritterID=172

I would say they look like the female in the link above, but I can see distinct vertical striping along their sides.