Very dumb question about QT and Ich

[UncleSalt]

I brought home a purple tang. He looks great. Yesterday, I notice one very very small white dot on him. I think maybe it's sand..... Today, the white dot is the in same location. There is only one, so I am assuming the worst and that maybe it's ich.

I only have 3 fish in the tank, a platinum clown, a misbar clown, and the tang. I DO NOT have a QT tank, but I am going to buy a 20G tomorrow to use as one. The tang is still very small, so I think he'll be okay in there.

My question: If I have one QT tank, how do I quarantine 3 fish???

[bnumair]

How is the breathing of the tang? If it's fast and fish acts shy and don't wanna eat. Scratches itself against rock, then assume worst. Ich.
If it happens to be Ich, you will need to QT all 3 fish in the 20 gal tank you are about to buy. You can always divide the tank by using egg crate.
Leave DT fishless for 10 to 12 weeks

[UncleSalt]

Originally Posted by bnumair

How is the breathing of the tang? If it's fast and fish acts shy and don't wanna eat. Scratches itself against rock, then assume worst. Ich.
If it happens to be Ich, you will need to QT all 3 fish in the 20 gal tank you are about to buy. You can always divide the tank by using egg crate.
Leave DT fishless for 10 to 12 weeks

He eats perfectly fine! It's a very faint white spot, and is best seen when he turns and under the moon lights. In the day lights, it's almost grey, but the size of a salt grain. He doesn't scratch himself at all, but he does let the skunk shrimp clean him, in fact.....the shrimp JUMPED on the tang earlier.....literally was walking on the fish.


If you put 3 fish in one QT tank, can't the parasite just transfer from fish to fish?

Would a 30G QT be better?

[bnumair]

if its parasite then its best you assume all fish are infected. So when u treat the fish in QT all fish get treated and cured if done properly.
Bigger qt is better for big fish and swimmers.
i have written a guide on setting up QT and how to treat ich via copper or hypo.
here are the links.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2195588

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...1#post20614751

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2300497

[Nina51]

Originally Posted by UncleSalt

If you put 3 fish in one QT tank, can't the parasite just transfer from fish to fish?

IF you have ich in your tank, the whole tank is contaminated with it. this means that it's possible for ALL of your fish to get it which is why you must treat them all.

ich is a parasite with a life cycle. once you understand the cycle, you will see why you will have to leave your tank fishless for a period of time.

good luck, hope this is a false alarm!

[sponger0]

I would say a 30 gallon would be better depending on the size of the tang. But you will also need to decide on 1 of the 3 treatment methods.

Treat fish in QT. Leave main tank empty for 12 weeks. And quarantine any new fish. I recommend to QT every new fish purchase.

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

I'm going through the same thing right now. My blue tang was scratching against the rocks. He's pretty small about 2 inches. Unfortunately I only have a 10 gallon QT. I have 2 clowns and a royal grama. I have to do water changes each day, and I'm treating the ich with cupramine. It seems to be working as the tang isn't scratching anymore but he's pretty skittish. But if 1 fish needs QT then all dish need it.

By the way, good luck getting them out of your tank. I had to pull out my live rock because they kept hiding where I couldn't get them with my net! What a pain!! I will NEVER add another fish without quarantining them first. I learned my lesson the hard way.

[sponger0]

Originally Posted by Sgt Jonny Cat

I'm going through the same thing right now. My blue tang was scratching against the rocks. He's pretty small about 2 inches. Unfortunately I only have a 10 gallon QT. I have 2 clowns and a royal grama. I have to do water changes each day, and I'm treating the ich with cupramine. It seems to be working as the tang isn't scratching anymore but he's pretty skittish. But if 1 fish needs QT then all dish need it.

By the way, good luck getting them out of your tank. I had to pull out my live rock because they kept hiding where I couldn't get them with my net! What a pain!! I will NEVER add another fish without quarantining them first. I learned my lesson the hard way.

You learned the hard way the same way I did. Most people do. I think a QT and quarantine regimen are just as important as the water in the tank.

[Zbreefer]

I strongly recommend the tank transfer method. There is an entire thread dedicated to how to do this. However, it will require two QT tanks to execute. I have and will continue to do this with all new purchases to eliminate the need of leaving DT fallow. The TTM may sound like a lot at first, but it's very manageable.

[dkeller_nc]

Originally Posted by UncleSalt

My question: If I have one QT tank, how do I quarantine 3 fish???

If your tang is very, very small (2" long including fins or less), and your clowns are also small/juvenile, then you might get away with a 20 gal QT for the 3 fish if you provide plenty of hiding places with appropriately-sized cut PVC pipe.

However, if you're going to leave the DT fishless for the recommended 10-12 weeks, that 20 gallon is going to become awfully cramped. Moreover, if you're going to treat the fish with tank transfer, you will require at least 2 tanks.

A couple of alternative solutions: if Petco is currently having their dollar-a-gallon sale, consider buying two 20 gallon tanks and a 40 gallon breeder. The 2 20 gallon tanks will be your set-up for tank transfer to cure the ich, but since the fish will only be in the tanks for 2 weeks or so, they'll probably be OK. Then you can transfer them to the 40 gallon breeder for the remaining 10 weeks of leaving your display tank fallow. These tank sizes (20 gal high, 20 gal long, 40 gal breeder) are extremely useful to a saltwater hobbyist. The 40 gallon breeder, for example, makes a great coral frag tank, and also a nice sump.

Failing that, you can get creative with Rubbermaid roughneck totes and/or trash cans for QT treatment. The only disadvantage is that you can see the fish from the side, but assuming that you've decent water movement and temp control, there's no reason that you have to use a glass tank for QT.

[UncleSalt]

I know all fish need to be QT'd, but what I don't understand is that if I move them to a QT tank all ( ALL of them in the same tank), won't the parasite still just go from fish to fish??

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

you're going to treat the fish with copper so the parasite will die in QT.

[dkeller_nc]

Originally Posted by UncleSalt

I know all fish need to be QT'd, but what I don't understand is that if I move them to a QT tank all ( ALL of them in the same tank), won't the parasite still just go from fish to fish??

Well, not exactly (at least with ich). The parasite spends a few days on the fish feeding, then drops off the fish to the bottom and encysts. In the cyst, hundreds of daughter parasites develop, and after anywhere from 5-72 days, the cyst ruptures and releases free-swimming parasites into the water. It's these free-swimming parasites that infect new fish (or re-infect the original fish), and it's this stage that ich treatments are designed to intercept and kill.

In the case of tank transfer, you're moving the fish to a new tank before the cysts can rupture and release the free-swimming parasites. After several of these transfers, no more parasites remain. Hyposalinity and copper kills the free-swimming parasites before they can infect a fish; however, it takes longer than TT to effect a cure because you need to ensure that all cysts have hatched before the tank is "cured". That's why your display tank needs 10-12 weeks without fish to ensure that the treated fish you put back into won't come down with ich again after you re-introduce them.

[UncleSalt]

Awesome! Thank you everyone for the info! I will go ahead and pick up a 30G for a QT instead of a 20.

[oh207]

Originally Posted by UncleSalt

I know all fish need to be QT'd, but what I don't understand is that if I move them to a QT tank all ( ALL of them in the same tank), won't the parasite still just go from fish to fish??

Correct, but the goal of the QT is to start ich eradication as soon as possible. So decide on one of the methods (hypo, tank transfer, copper) and by the end of treatment all ich should be gone.

[Spar]

Originally Posted by UncleSalt

Awesome! Thank you everyone for the info! I will go ahead and pick up a 30G for a QT instead of a 20.

I am doing this also for some upcoming TTM of multiple fish. Tomorrow (6/29) is Petco's $1/gallon sale, so you can get them for $30/each instead of the normal $60/each. Just FYI!