How to Quarantine

[Humblefish]

After sterilizing the equipment can that equipment be used safely in your regular tanks? Example would be your heater and any pumps you may have used.

Yes, but every nook & cranny needs to be wiped down using a vinegar soaked cloth or paper towel. Bleach is fine too, but overkill IMO. Allow to air dry thoroughly afterwards.

 

[Willy315]

Yes, but every nook & cranny needs to be wiped down using a vinegar soaked cloth or paper towel. Bleach is fine too, but overkill IMO. Allow to air dry thoroughly afterwards.

I should have also asked about equipment being used during copper treatments. Can they be reused in our regular tanks after being sterilized?

 

[Brew12]

I should have also asked about equipment being used during copper treatments. Can they be reused in our regular tanks after being sterilized?

You should be able to use them, just make sure you rinse them very well to get all of the copper off them in addition to sterilizing them.

 

[Humblefish]

You should be able to use them, just make sure you rinse them very well to get all of the copper off them in addition to sterilizing them.

+1

 

[Willy315]

Thanks guys I appreciate the info.

 

[iemsparticus]

@Humblefish, do you find that it is not necessary to match pH of water the fish are delivered in, only SG and temp?

 

[melypr1985]

@Humblefish, do you find that it is not necessary to match pH of water the fish are delivered in, only SG and temp?

I rarely worry about PH with new fish. I simply temp float, match SG, then net them out of the bag and put them in the QT.

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish, do you find that it is not necessary to match pH of water the fish are delivered in, only SG and temp?

I never really worry about pH, only SG & temp. It's only important that pH remains between 7.8 - 8.4 IMO. You don't want it to be outside of that range.

 

[iemsparticus]

I never really worry about pH, only SG & temp. It's only important that pH remains between 7.8 - 8.4 IMO. You don't want it to be outside of that range.

Gotcha. That is what I have done last couple of times as well, based on the great advice here.

And it's not an issue with fish stress if, hypothetically, my QT was at 7.8 and they were shipped in 8.4? I guess, basically, I'm wondering what sort of sudden pH swing they can take before it becomes harmful.

What about inverts? Does that swing matter with them?

 

[Humblefish]

And it's not an issue with fish stress if, hypothetically, my QT was at 7.8 and they were shipped in 8.4? I guess, basically, I'm wondering what sort of sudden pH swing they can take before it becomes harmful.

It doesn't matter for this reason: As carbon dioxide builds up in the bag, the pH of the water will start to decline. When the bag is opened, pH quickly rises as the carbon dioxide escapes from the bag. So, the fish is already being subjected to fluctuating pH via transport. But knowing it will rise after the bag has been opened makes it a good idea to always keep your pH >8.0. Back when I used to test the pH of the bag water, it was almost always around 8.0 after 15 minutes.

What about inverts? Does that swing matter with them?

Yes, they are much more sensitive to changing water chemistry. Especially starfish and urchins. It is best to drip acclimate most corals/inverts.

 

[iemsparticus]

It doesn't matter for this reason: As carbon dioxide builds up in the bag, the pH of the water will start to decline. When the bag is opened, pH quickly rises as the carbon dioxide escapes from the bag. So, the fish is already being subjected to fluctuating pH via transport. But knowing it will rise after the bag has been opened makes it a good idea to always keep your pH >8.0. Back when I used to test the pH of the bag water, it was almost always around 8.0 after 15 minutes.



Yes, they are much more sensitive to changing water chemistry. Especially starfish and urchins. It is best to drip acclimate most corals/inverts.

That makes sense, thanks.

 

[mcarroll]

@iemsparticus pH is hypothetically interesting because it's related (with temperature) to ammonia toxicity:

You can see at a high pH and temp, very very few ppm's of ammonia are tolerated. (repeating others...) When fish respire during transit, they fill the water with all manner of byproducts....from stress hormones to ammonia to CO2. Since bag temps are likely to be a little cool and pH is likely to be a little depressed, that's good for the ammonia situation. But as soon as the bag is opened and we "improve things" ammonia immediately starts getting more and more toxic.

In reality, a dead fish in the bag – or something else equally conspicuous – is usually the cause for these circumstances so it's rarely a mystery that needs close inspection. In those cases, the best course is almost always to remove the still-living fish (if any) from the bag immediately to clean water....as aged as possible, but anything will be better than bad bag water.

This relationship of ammonia, pH and temp is still a big reason that long acclimation times are to be avoided IMO.

What @melypr1985 says in post #1307 is about right IMO too....I'd do no more than that in the bulk of non-emergency acclimations. Shouldn't take long at all.

 

[iemsparticus]

@iemsparticus pH is hypothetically interesting because it's related (with temperature) to ammonia toxicity:

You can see at a high pH and temp, very very few ppm's of ammonia are tolerated. (repeating others...) When fish respire during transit, they fill the water with all manner of byproducts....from stress hormones to ammonia to CO2. Since bag temps are likely to be a little cool and pH is likely to be a little depressed, that's good for the ammonia situation. But as soon as the bag is opened and we "improve things" ammonia immediately starts getting more and more toxic.

In reality, a dead fish in the bag – or something else equally conspicuous – is usually the cause for these circumstances so it's rarely a mystery that needs close inspection. In those cases, the best course is almost always to remove the still-living fish (if any) from the bag immediately to clean water....as aged as possible, but anything will be better than bad bag water.

This relationship of ammonia, pH and temp is still a big reason that long acclimation times are to be avoided IMO.

What @melypr1985 says in post #1307 is about right IMO too....I'd do no more than that in the bulk of non-emergency acclimations. Shouldn't take long at all.

That makes a ton of sense, and is quite fascinating.

 

[TechnicalFisher]

@Humblefish- do you still recommend QT for mandarins? Looks like one of the few fish that even careful reefers will sometimes put directly into DT. Contemplating one and I've followed your quarantine procedures for all of my fish with great success, so just wanted to confirm your take on the mandarin. Thanks!

 

[melypr1985]

@Humblefish- do you still recommend QT for mandarins? Looks like one of the few fish that even careful reefers will sometimes put directly into DT. Contemplating one and I've followed your quarantine procedures for all of my fish with great success, so just wanted to confirm your take on the mandarin. Thanks!

For a mandy you can run TTM or CP. The hard part is feeding them while in QT. Nutrimar Ova is said to be good for feeding them in QT.

 

[Humblefish]

For a mandy you can run TTM or CP. The hard part is feeding them while in QT. Nutrimar Ova is said to be good for feeding them in QT.

+1 QT ALL FISH. There’s always a way.

 

[TechnicalFisher]

Thanks @melypr1985 and @Humblefish, will definitely QT the mandy. Ordering some Nutramar Ova as we speak. Also have read that some folks have had good success spot-feeding reef frenzy, which is what I already feed my fish. Thanks as always for your insight/support!

 

[Brew12]

Thanks @melypr1985 and @Humblefish, will definitely QT the mandy. Ordering some Nutramar Ova as we speak. Also have read that some folks have had good success spot-feeding reef frenzy, which is what I already feed my fish. Thanks as always for your insight/support!

I don't have a mandy because I haven't been able to get CP yet.

One thing I have experimented with is adding amphipods into a copper treated QT. I was shocked that some of the pods survived a full 30 day treatment. I want to do more testing with copepods but hoping to have similar results.

 

[Robink]

I'm just verifying I need to leave my fish in cuparamine for 30 days?... instructions say 14.

 

[Brew12]

I'm just verifying I need to leave my fish in cuparamine for 30 days?... instructions say 14.

If you do 14 days you need to transfer them into a clean system. If you don't do this transfer you should keep them in copper for the full 30 days.