Hello guys Qt tank question

[Aaatank]

Hello everybody,
I did setup a 30 gallon shallow reef tank and had a rollercoaster of a cycle took me 2 months
After that i got 3 clownfish that where together in a tank the first one died in 5 hours
Second one died in 6th day it was a weird fish didn’t go up for food or swim much at all
My third one was the most energetic and lived for a month now
i searched alot and came across qt tanks and that they were necessary
I understand everything needed for them
But what i dont under stand is should i put the new fish in the qt tank and observe thats all?
Should i add any kind of medication even if the fish doesnt look sick?
What should i add and when?
I need someone to explain it to me if you please i heard about copper i dont get it should i add it even if the fish arent sick

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello everybody,
I did setup a 30 gallon shallow reef tank and had a rollercoaster of a cycle took me 2 months
After that i got 3 clownfish that where together in a tank the first one died in 5 hours
Second one died in 6th day it was a weird fish didn’t go up for food or swim much at all
My third one was the most energetic and lived for a month now
i searched alot and came across qt tanks and that they were necessary
I understand everything needed for them
But what i dont under stand is should i put the new fish in the qt tank and observe thats all?
Should i add any kind of medication even if the fish doesnt look sick?
What should i add and when?
I need someone to explain it to me if you please i heard about copper i dont get it should i add it even if the fish arent sick

To do a proper quarantine, you need to assume that any new fish is potentially carrying disease, even if they look "o.k.". Here is my standard fish quarantine method (I update the first post as-needed to keep it current):

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm sorry to hear about your fish losses, but glad to hear that you are now looking into quarantinging new livestock! I'm not an expert, but I think it's important.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of thing where you may get many opinions and you'll have to decide what's best for you, and the fish your specifically trying to QT. Some people just observe, others will medicate, and use a method called the Tank Transfer Method to help reduce fish parasites.

I personally medicated all new fish. I follow the R2R approved QT guide found here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/
There's other methods of medicated quarantine, the Humble Fish method is popular. But I went with the above R2R method because the experts that wrote that are right here on R2R, you can reach out and ask questions if needed.

Keep in mind, not all fish do well with the medication, some are specialized feeders, or need a specific environment like a sandbed to live in. The QT tank must be setup accordingly for the fish you're trying to QT.

And I personally QT everything "wet" including corals, snails, crabs, shrimp, etc. I have a separate, non-medicated QT tank for new inverts, I hold them for 45-60 days before introducing them to my display tank.

Whatever you choose, good luck!

 

[Aaatank]

Hey guys thanks for the answers
Isnt two months alot for a quarantine

 

[Aaatank]

And whats the humble fish method

 

[Aaatank]

And also could i observe and then if something seems wrong go through the 64 day qt?

 

[Fish Fan]

And whats the humble fish method

https://humble.fish/community/threads/quarantine.2/
I believe it's this, but I'd really recommended the other protocol. The man that maintains that thread and methodology just replied to this thread right here ;-)

Isnt two months alot for a quarantine

Not if you want to do it right :)

 

[Fish Fan]

And also could i observe and then if something seems wrong go through the 64 day qt?

I'm really not an expert here, listen to @Jay Hemdal and those with "Fish Medic" under their username.

You can do this, but if the fish is infected and just not showing symptoms yet, your allowing the disease to get worse, making treatment much more difficult. Treating prophylactically is what I personally prefer.