End of Quarantine Tank Question

[Califish]

Hello All,

I am new to reef aquarium for about a year and a half now. I currently have a 40 gallon display tank that is up and running now for this time. I made a lot of mistakes by not quarantining my fish. I have learned my lesson. A major fish loss last year. Now I have a 10 gallon quarantine tank with 2 baby Clarke Clownfish and 2 baby Banggai Cardinals. They have been in quarantine for 33 days now. I have followed Humblefish's procedure precisely. Over the last 2 days I made 50% water changes to bring the copper down. I am also running a Aqueon HOB filter with carbon and also a filter bag with Seachem Coprisorb hung over the powerhead.

I used the Hanna Checker Copper Tester throughout this process. Today the copper measured 0.9ppm. I know that a lot of folks, including Humblefish, recommends a 2 week observation time. I am kinda itching at the bit now. Does the quarantine tank need to be at 0 ppm of copper before I move them to the display tank?

Your help is appreciated!

Jeff

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hello All,

I am new to reef aquarium for about a year and a half now. I currently have a 40 gallon display tank that is up and running now for this time. I made a lot of mistakes by not quarantining my fish. I have learned my lesson. A major fish loss last year. Now I have a 10 gallon quarantine tank with 2 baby Clarke Clownfish and 2 baby Banggai Cardinals. They have been in quarantine for 33 days now. I have followed Humblefish's procedure precisely. Over the last 2 days I made 50% water changes to bring the copper down. I am also running a Aqueon HOB filter with carbon and also a filter bag with Seachem Coprisorb hung over the powerhead.

I used the Hanna Checker Copper Tester throughout this process. Today the copper measured 0.9ppm. I know that a lot of folks, including Humblefish, recommends a 2 week observation time. I am kinda itching at the bit now. Does the quarantine tank need to be at 0 ppm of copper before I move them to the display tank?

Your help is appreciated!

Jeff

SO, you are saying Humblefish followed for 33 days, but instead of following Humblefish you're looking for others to give different advice so you can move fish into display early? ... if that is your question, then let me ask this question - how will you feel if something gets thru quarantine into your main tank (again)?

IMO, I'm going with TSM going forward... pain of lost fish, pain of hospital tank, annoyance of quarantine period after hospital period... let someone else do it. They'll earn their fee. They'll ensure fish EATS on MY day 1 - Matt at TSM has my special order fish order and I call them back first week of May - its worth a bit extra cost for peace of mind - anything I do with my QT on arrival becomes gravy on top

TSM Aquatics - The Largest Saltwaterfish Store In The Country!

Welcome to the new TSM Aquatics forum on Reef2Reef. We were formerly known as TSM Corals founded by Ray Casper. TSM Aquatics is located at 1 Enterprise Court Sewell, NJ 08080 and is the largest retail store open to the public that sells saltwaterfish and corals in the country! TSM operates...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Califish]

OK, I understand and will wait a further 2 weeks. But, my main question is about the quarantine tank. Does it need to be 100% clear of copper before moving them into display tank?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

use care not to let copper get into your DT

IMO copper can still be in QT

 

[DrMMI]

I've taken my fish straight out of copper and put them into the display. I just used a net or strainer to make sure I didn't take any water with me. I also dipped the fish in a bucket of saltwater right before going into the display, just to be safe.

 

[Califish]

I measured the copper level now and it read 0.42ppm. I am going the route as DrMMI suggested by transferring them to a small bucket and then to DT using a net.

Sadly, I lost one of the two cardinals last night. It was the smaller of the two. Feeding them has been a worry because they were so picky during the copper treatment. I tried frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, dried flake and even pellets. All have been soaked in Selcon. They barely eat. The clownfish are aggressive feeders. They are pigs!

Is the copper treatment to harsh on some fish? Perhaps I should have simply stuck with the same species of fish so they aren't fighting for food.

I am glad I listed to the advise to watch for 2 weeks before transfer. 1 more week to go. Thank you to all!!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I measured the copper level now and it read 0.42ppm. I am going the route as DrMMI suggested by transferring them to a small bucket and then to DT using a net.

Sadly, I lost one of the two cardinals last night. It was the smaller of the two. Feeding them has been a worry because they were so picky during the copper treatment. I tried frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, dried flake and even pellets. All have been soaked in Selcon. They barely eat. The clownfish are aggressive feeders. They are pigs!

Is the copper treatment to harsh on some fish? Perhaps I should have simply stuck with the same species of fish so they aren't fighting for food.

I am glad I listed to the advise to watch for 2 weeks before transfer. 1 more week to go. Thank you to all!!

people say mysis and brine all the time... but my fish have rarely show interest in either mysis or brine ... except live newly hatched brine shrimp and even that was hit or miss. Soaking food also tends to make fish less likely to eat if, so if I'm worried fish hasn't eaten and I need to keep strength up I'll also offer 'plain' food. Just like my kid may not eat something that is good for them, fish may not eat food soaked in Selcon as likely changes taste or smell to something fish not expecting.

When trying to tempt fish, I'll try any and everything... but keep in mind if food is new may take 3-5+ times before they'll show interest and eat those new foods so offer little amounts so you don't have to be doing so much siphoning out of uneaten food. Thawed LRS Reef Frenzy has nice mix of seafood, but favorite tempter due to popularity has turned out to be thawed frozen fish eggs (San Franciso Bay brand - call around to LFS as someone will have them; come in cubes). Fish eggs seem so small I'm always amazed even my larger fish now want to also eat the fish eggs.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I measured the copper level now and it read 0.42ppm. I am going the route as DrMMI suggested by transferring them to a small bucket and then to DT using a net.

Sadly, I lost one of the two cardinals last night. It was the smaller of the two. Feeding them has been a worry because they were so picky during the copper treatment. I tried frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, dried flake and even pellets. All have been soaked in Selcon. They barely eat. The clownfish are aggressive feeders. They are pigs!

Is the copper treatment to harsh on some fish? Perhaps I should have simply stuck with the same species of fish so they aren't fighting for food.

I am glad I listed to the advise to watch for 2 weeks before transfer. 1 more week to go. Thank you to all!!

sorry for your loss