QT not going well.....

[nicfo25]

Ok so I have two QT tanks set up and I bought the fish 3 weeks ago. The first is a 38 gal with a Yellow tang in it. Everything was going good until yesterday when I noticed it came down with ick. Why at 3 weeks? I would think it would of happened alot sooner if it had ick. I am planning to run hypo on this tank for 4 weeks. My next tank is a 20 gal. I have two tank raised maroon clownfish in there. My problem is the slighter bigger one is beating the crap out of the other one. The little ones tail is split and kind of confined to one corner of the tank. What can I do about this? Should I put them in my display tank like this or what? If anyone has any input I would like to hear it! Thanks

[username in use]

How big is the tang?


What are the QT tanks set up like? Do they have rock, pvc or other structures for hiding? What is the filtration like? 4 weeks seems like a long time to run hypo, that to me seems more stressful on the fish.

[Sugar Magnolia]

You say you have two tank raised maroon clowns? Are they both juvies or have they matured? How big are they? If you have two females, the larger will kill the smaller.

[dogstar74]

While salinity can be dropped to low levels, one thing to watch is that other parameters are not dropped as well. Keep an eye on ammonia, many of our QTs are not set up with nearly as much LR or other filter material due to not wanting to throw away the Liverock after the QT. So there is no area for denitrification. There is a real possibility that the Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite are spiking.

Also, Watch the PH. Buffers are easy to come by and while the ppm salinity can be dropped, you don't want them swimming in un buffered RO water. That would probably burn their mucous membranes after a while, and could cause stress.

I have had luck using a clear piece of plexiglass with hols drilled in it. I just slide it into the tank and separate the two fish from each other. Give the larger fish the larger space, but as long as it's secured with suction cups or magnets etc, then they will spar at one another but cannot abuse one another. This works really good when you're introducing a mean fish into your display as well.

Just a couple of ideas.
HTH
Aaron

[nicfo25]

The tang is about 3 inches. The tanks are set up with only pvc fittings, canister filter with alot of bio media, heater and light. I thought 4 weeks is what you were suppose to run hypo for????? The clowns are both juvies, I would say about 1 1/4 for the bigger one and 1 inch for the other. I have not started hypo yet salinity is at 1.020 now. I will track parameters as I go. The last time I did it I have to buffer PH and do daily water changes because of a small ammonia reading. Do you really think separating the fish would be the best thing to do. I mean I want these fish too pair up and get along. Should I let them battle it out in the QT tank or put them in my display tank where the bigger clown would not be the boss????

[Palting]

Yes, 4 weeks or 28 days is the minimum you run hyposalinity for Ich, to let all the Ich run through their cycle and get killed when they become cysts. And the countdown starts from when you saw the ich spots, not from when you started the QT.

In answer to your original question of why Ich showed up only after 3 weeks, if your fish has Ich only in the gills, you can not see it, and may only see it at a much later date. In my case, the Ich showed up only after 6 weeks, when the fish were already in the DT. I had to QT all my fish and treat with hypo. Worked well, no Ich to this date. I plan to QT and hypo all fish from now on. Here's a link to my hyposalinity experience with all my fish, not something I would wish on anybody: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1892446

For the above reasons, I would not transfer your clowns to the DT without QT and/or hypo first. I know clowns are not the Ich magnets that tangs are, but all fish can carry Ich. The last fish I added before my Ich attack was a mandarin, the least likely to carry Ich. IME, clowns are more likely to pair up if there is a significant difference in size. The bigger one will be female, the smaller one male. If they are already fighting and injuring one another, I would separate them, and maybe return one in exchange for one significantly bigger or smaller than the one left behind.