Clowns in Quarantine (What to Do)

[psychicmind]

Hello Reefers,

I have a mated pair of clownfish in quarantine. They have been there one week. They are eating well, breathing and swimming normally, and no scratching.All looks good so far.

Initially, I was going to do a full medicated treatment with copper (ich) and metronidazole (brook). But I am also aware that some people only treat with medication if they see illness. It’s the observation peeps vs. medicated peeps. Since they looked so healthy in the store, I did not want to stress them by treating them with medication.

Now I’m not sure what to do and would like your advice.

Should continue with observation for the 30 days?

Should I proceed with a copper only treatment for 14 to 30 days? (ich only)

Should I initiate copper and metronidazole treatment? (ich and brook)

I could also treat with copper, metronidazole and praziquantel. (ich, brook, parasites)

The medications I have include Cupermine and pure metronidazole. I was going to pick up API General Cure which contains metronidazole and praziquantel to add to the tank and food. I cannot get a binder, so I would need to use gelatin to add to food. I am following Humble Fish suggested treatment.

At this point I’m just confused by all the options.

 

[Chortanator]

Are they captive-bred clowns? Does your LFS quarantine with medication, or run medicated tanks? Both of these factors greatly reduce the risk of having disease. If they're wild-caught, I would treat with copper. Otherwise, just observe them for 30 days.

 

[psychicmind]

This is the treatment I originally was going to follow:

(Ich, Velvet, Brooks & Uronema Treatment)
Day 0 - Copper Power 1.0
Day 1 - Copper Power 1.33
Day 2 - Copper Power 1.66
Day 3 - Copper Power 2.0
Day 4 - Metro - Copper Power 2.3
Day 5 - Copper Power 2.5
Day 6 - API GC (Or Pure Metro and prazi)
Day 8 - Metro
Day 10 - Metro
Day 12 - API GC (Or Pure Metro and prazi)
Day 16 – Metro
Day 17- Move to QT Tank 2 for observation and (Internal Parasites/Worms Treatment) 14 days of feeding medicated food.

Of course Cupermine would be 5.0 ppm

 

[Chortanator]

That seems like a lot of medication in a short amount of time, I wouldn't recommend doing it that way. Here's a link to the current quarantine protocol by Jay Hemdal:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[psychicmind]

Are they captive-bred clowns? Does your LFS quarantine with medication, or run medicated tanks? Both of these factors greatly reduce the risk of having disease. If they're wild-caught, I would treat with copper. Otherwise, just observe them for 30 days.

I’m not sure if they are captive bred. They are designer so I would guess yes. They were in the coral tanks. His tanks and coral all looked surprisingly healthy. I will text the seller now and ask.

I live in Bali Indonesia and I don’t totally trust. Last week I was lucky enough to visit a fish and coral exporter. It was a shocking experience because everything there is wild caught. All I could think about was a tank with 100 fish of the same species knowing maybe 5 would service. Then noticing that there were 250 of those tanks all on the same system. Those fish I would definitely treat with medication.

 

[Chortanator]

I’m not sure if they are captive bred. They are designer so I would guess yes. They were in the coral tanks. His tanks and coral all looked surprisingly healthy. I will text the seller now and ask.

I live in Bali Indonesia and I don’t totally trust. Last week I was lucky enough to visit a fish and coral exporter. It was a shocking experience because everything there is wild caught. All I could think about was a tank with 100 fish of the same species knowing maybe 5 would service. Then noticing that there were 250 of those tanks all on the same system. Those fish I would definitely treat with medication.

Yes, all designer clownfish are captive-bred. A lot of them come from just a few breeders with very strict disease protocols. However, they might be at an exporter or a fish store that keeps their fish the same way you described, so if you don't know where your store sources the fish from or how they keep their tanks, medication is always a good bet.

 

[psychicmind]

They are not that designer ha ha. They are unusually so I thought maybe they were. They are wild caught. The seller just notified me.

 

[psychicmind]

 

[Chortanator]

Then I definitely recommend the treatment directions on the post I linked! Good luck with the quarantine of your fish!

 

[vetteguy53081]

If you have no conditions and want to treat as a preventative, I recommend ruby rally pro which covers an array of issues and will address common clown issues mainly brook

 

[psychicmind]

I started the copper treatment with 1/4 dose.

Ruby Rally Pro is not available in Indonesia.

Most name brands are either hard to get or cost double due to import tax. It’s actually easier to get metronidazole and praziquantel in pure form than to buy something like API General Cure. Most Hanna test kits are over $100USD. But other things are much cheaper. A $90 fish or coral can cost $9 here.

 

[SlugSnorter]

I started the copper treatment with 1/4 dose.

Ruby Rally Pro is not available in Indonesia.

Most name brands are either hard to get or cost double due to import tax. It’s actually easier to get metronidazole and praziquantel in pure form than to buy something like API General Cure. Most Hanna test kits are over $100USD. But other things are much cheaper. A $90 fish or coral can cost $9 here.

generic for ruby reef rally is formalin, its dangerous to dilute it yourself so keep that in mind. Lots of hanna kits are like that here too

 

[Tamberav]

If wild then I would at least treat for brook.

They are beautiful!