Help with Quarantining?

[TheSheff]

Hello, I will be getting three new fish soon : (1) Longfin clownfish, (1) McCosker's Fairy Wrasse, and (1) Court Jester Goby and I would like to quarantine these fish, but I have never done it before. What process would y'all use to treat these fish? I have a spare 10 gallon, air stone, and heater but nothing else.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello, I will be getting three new fish soon : (1) Longfin clownfish, (1) McCosker's Fairy Wrasse, and (1) Court Jester Goby and I would like to quarantine these fish, but I have never done it before. What process would y'all use to treat these fish? I have a spare 10 gallon, air stone, and heater but nothing else.

Your quarantine tank has the essentials. You will want a sponge filter preferably seeded from another tank or hang on power filter (remove carbon from the filter cartridge. )
These fish are tolerant of coppersafe but run at 2.0 - 2.25 therapuetic level. Wrasse will require a deep bowl of sand to be comfortable.
I recommend using General Cure over copper for 3-4 weeks at 78 deg

 

[Sharkbait19]

To add, try to make sure the sand is non-calcerous (no calcium) to avoid it absorbing copper and thus making dosing more difficult.

 

[TheSheff]

Your quarantine tank has the essentials. You will want a sponge filter preferably seeded from another tank or hang on power filter (remove carbon from the filter cartridge. )
These fish are tolerant of coppersafe but run at 2.0 - 2.25 therapuetic level. Wrasse will require a deep bowl of sand to be comfortable.
I recommend using General Cure over copper for 3-4 weeks at 78 deg

do you have a guide on using general cure in my size tank? It seems like most people just do copper then observe the fish for a couple weeks.

 

[TheSheff]

To add, try to make sure the sand is non-calcerous (no calcium) to avoid it absorbing copper and thus making dosing more difficult.

Do you have a list of sands that are non calcerous?

 

[Spare time]

Check out Jay Hemdals guide on here. The only additional thing I'd add which I don't know if it is on there is some biospira for cycling the QT.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello, I will be getting three new fish soon : (1) Longfin clownfish, (1) McCosker's Fairy Wrasse, and (1) Court Jester Goby and I would like to quarantine these fish, but I have never done it before. What process would y'all use to treat these fish? I have a spare 10 gallon, air stone, and heater but nothing else.

It is really best if the quarantine tank is set up well in advance of it being used, with a strong biological filtration system in place. If you cannot do that, you can try moving some biofilter material (not calcium based) from you display tank - filter floss, etc.

Here is our current quarantine protocol:

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

 

[TheSheff]

It is really best if the quarantine tank is set up well in advance of it being used, with a strong biological filtration system in place. If you cannot do that, you can try moving some biofilter material (not calcium based) from you display tank - filter floss, etc.

Here is our current quarantine protocol:

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

Thank you, Jay . I'll give it a read. Would you say these treatments at those concentrations would be safe for all three of these fish?

 

[vetteguy53081]

do you have a guide on using general cure in my size tank? It seems like most people just do copper then observe the fish for a couple weeks.

Dose initially, then 3 days apart then once a week. Follow package and add aeration.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you, Jay . I'll give it a read. Would you say these treatments at those concentrations would be safe for all three of these fish?

The court jester may be a problem if it is wild caught - those need algae and small invertebrates to get them started feeding, and a new quarantine tank will be lacking in that regard.
Jay

 

[Sharkbait19]

Do you have a list of sands that are non calcerous?

I think any basic aquarium sand would do the trick - anything made for reefs wouldn’t be good. Others probably know specifics better than me though.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I think any basic aquarium sand would do the trick - anything made for reefs wouldn’t be good. Others probably know specifics better than me though.

Something like this would work:

Amazon product ASIN B002DRCTTS
Jay

 

[TheSheff]

Something like this would work:

Amazon product ASIN B002DRCTTS
Jay

Do you think black sand would work? That's the only thing I have right now that isn't branded for aquariums.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you think black sand would work? That's the only thing I have right now that isn't branded for aquariums.

I would use suggested as black sand especially not aquarium grade often has magnetic particles with sharp edges on the grains

 

[mrpontiac80]

I have been using Humblefish’s HTTM method for a couple of years with excellent results. Personally I do not have or use copper and from my limited knowledge, some fish do not tolerate it as well as others.
The httm process requires more effort I think but it is simple. 2 tanks, 2 heaters and air stones. Other than that it is just 3 day tank transfers while using a couple of baths in h202 and general cure. This lasts 14 days with observation afterwards. Obviously you may need to dose other meds if symptoms show up.

However you decide, I think the biggest thing is to follow the procedure to a T. My friend does copper, I do httm. Both seem to work. Good luck!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Do you think black sand would work? That's the only thing I have right now that isn't branded for aquariums.

I’m not sure - depends what it is made from. Black aquarium sand is fine, but black sand for other uses might not be safe.
Jay

 

[TheSheff]

I have been using Humblefish’s HTTM method for a couple of years with excellent results. Personally I do not have or use copper and from my limited knowledge, some fish do not tolerate it as well as others.
The httm process requires more effort I think but it is simple. 2 tanks, 2 heaters and air stones. Other than that it is just 3 day tank transfers while using a couple of baths in h202 and general cure. This lasts 14 days with observation afterwards. Obviously you may need to dose other meds if symptoms show up.

However you decide, I think the biggest thing is to follow the procedure to a T. My friend does copper, I do httm. Both seem to work. Good luck!

This looks like a good method. I think what I'm going to end up doing is treat all fish with the safety stop rapid quarantine, then put them in the QT I have setup for 2-4 weeks to look for signs of anything wrong.