Buying quarantined fish...

[lostgaurd]

My personal system is that I just have a collection of empty tanks and they are what I need them to be. Some people have dedicated permanent observation tanks, which makes maintaining water quality and feeding difficult/shy fish easier. I just dont have the space for that as I would rather use it to operate a fishless invert tank to fallow/QT inverts in before adding them to the DT.

So you don't necessarily *need* to have an entirely separate observation system although many people find that helpful. The distinction for me is generally whether I am just running medications prophylactically or not

how do you set up your QT inverts tank? just a bare bottom tank, and some PVC pipes, for about 2/4 weeks? to make sure no ich or velvet survives?

 

[lostgaurd]

I’m a wrasse lover and Leopards are my favorite - I currently have 2 Leopards and 3 other wrasse. I’ve never had an issue with internal parasites. @Dr. Reef puts them through a complete quarantine treatment process, longer than 14 days, then an observation period afterwards (so be prepared to wait, and wait). You do not need to re-quarantine them. It is definitely worth the extra cost. There is no guarantee that they could not develop internal parasites afterwards from other fish though.

Having said that, I do not recommend adding them to a newly established tank. The biome is not yet fully developed, nor is the pod population, and water parameters are not yet stable. 6 months would be the minimum time I recommend.

They are not a feed-twice-a-day-and-forget fish. Their metabolic rate is set for grazing all day so a heavy pod population is a must. DRF makes sure they are healthy eaters before shipping. The ones I purchased from them were even eating pellet and flaked food, which is rare for most leopards, but that is just to supplement their normal pod diet.

LOTS of matured live rock is a must for them to graze. In fact, a refugium is also a must unless you are cultivating your own pods. Restocking pods will get very costly otherwise. They require a minimum of a 3” fine-grain mature sand bed (6+ months). Some people just keep a small area of the tank deeper, but sand moves overtime, so that is not something I recommend. It also seems cruel to me - like keeping a dog chained to a tree.

I hope this helps!

yup. that sounds great man, thank you so much for your info. i am def setting up a FUGE.
I would like to have at least 4-5 inch sand bed. Now when you say fine-grain, is that the same thing as Sugar-sized? a friend had a blue spotted jaw fish and that is what he used, and that sand got every where...?? he hated it for a while.
For the sand, can i mix some mid to small sand? like 60%mid and 30% small grain sand?

 

[cryingrn]

how do you set up your QT inverts tank? just a bare bottom tank, and some PVC pipes, for about 2/4 weeks? to make sure no ich or velvet survives?

My QT invert is setup like any other frag tank. The only distinction is that there are no fish in the system and it is in an entirely different part of the house to my tanks with fish.

I do not run any medication in that tank (minus an initial dip). They stay there 65 days past the last wet addition and at that point any obligate fish parasites would have starved (besides uronema but theoretically the dip would eradicate that). Also I wouldve been able to observe for coral diseases like euphyllia eating flatworms and the like.

A invert/coral QT is essentially run exactly like a reef tank except there are no fish, you share no equipment between this tank and any others, and it's at a minimum 10' from other tanks. Also- if you add a new coral halfway in between your fallow period the timer for the entire tank resets. It's an abundance of caution and not something strictly necessary

 

[lostgaurd]

they meant the list of vendors

thank you man, yeah i saw the list now <3

 

[jabberkaycee]

3” - 3 1/2” is a good depth. When you start getting to five or more inches, it becomes difficult to vacuum, and it can trap gases, which is very harmful and can also create dead spots.

Sugar-size sand is great to use. I have found when I tried to mix sand sizes, the finer grain goes to the bottom, and the coarser grain remains on top.

It sounds like you’re well on your way to a great setup! I’ll be following along and can’t wait to see how it turns out

 

[lostgaurd]

My QT invert is setup like any other frag tank. The only distinction is that there are no fish in the system and it is in an entirely different part of the house to my tanks with fish.

I do not run any medication in that tank (minus an initial dip). They stay there 65 days past the last wet addition and at that point any obligate fish parasites would have starved (besides uronema but theoretically the dip would eradicate that). Also I wouldve been able to observe for coral diseases like euphyllia eating flatworms and the like.

A invert/coral QT is essentially run exactly like a reef tank except there are no fish, you share no equipment between this tank and any others, and it's at a minimum 10' from other tanks. Also- if you add a new coral halfway in between your fallow period the timer for the entire tank resets. It's an abundance of caution and not something strictly necessary

i am spending 1000s of bucks on this tank... i think i will do the same. lol
what is the dip you use for the inverts?

 

[lostgaurd]

3” - 3 1/2” is a good depth. When you start getting to five or more inches, it becomes difficult to vacuum, and it can trap gases, which is very harmful and can also create dead spots.

Sugar-size sand is great to use. I have found when I tried to mix sand sizes, the finer grain goes to the bottom, and the coarser grain remains on top.

It sounds like you’re well on your way to a great setup! I’ll be following along and can’t wait to see how it turns out

thank you, yes but i also i read also you need 5 or so inches for jawfish... so, that is going to be my like 3rd fish in the tank or so....?

 

[56longroof]

If you want a honest assessment look at the approved vendors on Humblefish. The fanfare for the most mentioned one here is in my opinion extremely overhyped.

 

[mfinn]

my i ask what did you order?

Anthias, Royal Grammas, Flame Angel, Yellow Tangs, Orchid Dottybacks, Molly Miller Blennies.

 

[lostgaurd]

If you want a honest assessment look at the approved vendors on Humblefish. The fanfare for the most mentioned one here is in my opinion extremely overhyped.

just wondering why u saying it is overhyped?