My Current QT Process

[HotRocks]

Here was my dotty Ariel. Does anyone see anything abnormal? Stomach appears missing

Probably something picking at the fish post mortem if I had to guess.

If it's belly is that pinched it probably hadn't been eating for a couple weeks prior to death.

 

[JCTReefer]

so if I know I am going to be away for a day I should over top it off? Having the salnity drop below the proper level?

Marine fish can handle changes in salinity. You’d be surprised. This happens in the wild. I think it does make a difference being in a closed system. Especially after already being stressed from shipping. Stability is key. I would match salinity to shipping parameters next go round. So far as over topping off, that’s a tough one. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.
Why don’t you check your specific gravity. Wait a day and check again at the same time. Take notes. See how much it’s fluctuating. Gradual changes aren’t a huge deal.
Here’s a good read.
http://www.sustainableaquatics.com/docs/Acclimation-White-Paper.docx

 

[Hallowhead]

Probably something picking at the fish post mortem if I had to guess.

If it's belly is that pinched it probably hadn't been eating for a couple weeks prior to death.

Nothing in the tank to be eating at the fish.

Yeah I guess the fish just had not been eating for several weeks :(

 

[JCTReefer]

Just curious what do lights have to do with this?

I was asking if there were lights on the tank so he/she could actually get a good look at the fish in quarantine. He/she later asked if too much light from the frag tank setting right next to it could have possibly killed the fish. I sure wouldn’t think so. I don’t think lights have anything to do with it to be honest. But I do think you need decent lighting to make general observations on fish health. Was a confusing post I know.
I stay confused sometimes. Ha. Someone earlier asked about Liveaquaria specific gravity, so I’d thought I’d throw in that email.

 

[HotRocks]

I was asking if there were lights on the tank so he/she could actually get a good look at the fish in quarantine. He/she later asked if too much light from the frag tank setting right next to it could have possibly killed the fish. I sure wouldn’t think so. I don’t think lights have anything to do with it to be honest. But I do think you need decent lighting to make general observations on fish health. Was a confusing post I know.
I stay confused sometimes. Ha. Someone earlier asked about Liveaquaria specific gravity, so I’d thought I’d throw in that email.

FWIW, light is great for feeding response and for observation in a QT. Even if you only run them for an HR in the am and an HR in the PM :)

 

[JCTReefer]

FWIW, light is great for feeding response and for observation in a QT. Even if you only run them for an HR in the am and an HR in the PM :)

That’s good to know! Learned something new today! I’ve never tried running a quarantine with out lights. I always have for observation purposes, but never thought about feeding responses! Cool!!! :)

 

[Hallowhead]

That’s good to know! Learned something new today! I’ve never tried running a quarantine with out lights. I always have for observation purposes, but never thought about feeding responses! Cool!!! :)

Another question surfaced as I am prepping for my next batch of fish.

When I am trying to match my bag to my tank salinity. Should i take a sample from the bag or just assume it's the salinity they advertise on the website?

I read that opening the bag makes the ammonia in the water extremely toxic which induces more stress.

 

[HotRocks]

Another question surfaced as I am prepping for my next batch of fish.

When I am trying to match my bag to my tank salinity. Should i take a sample from the bag or just assume it's the salinity they advertise on the website?

I read that opening the bag makes the ammonia in the water extremely toxic which induces more stress.

Always check the bags. It is true once the seal of the bag is broken that the ammonia that has built up during shipment becomes toxic.

Where are you ordering from? Most places are pretty consistent shipment after shipment, but the advertised salinity may not be correct.

It's overly stressfully for fish to jump up in salinity instantly and it can cause osmotic shock. So I usually set my salinity a touch lower than expected arrival. Then slowly increase by topping off for evaporation compensation with saltwater instead of fresh until I reach my desired salinity.

LA is typically around 1.018 give or take.

 

[Hallowhead]

Always check the bags. It is true once the seal of the bag is broken that the ammonia that has built up during shipment becomes toxic.

Where are you ordering from? Most places are pretty consistent shipment after shipment, but the advertised salinity may not be correct.

LA is typically around 1.018 give or take.

I ordered from LA. I will assume it's 1.018. I will float bag for an hour release into tank and than proceed to test the bag water if it's different I will adjust tank parameters.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

I ordered from LA. I will assume it's 1.018. I will float bag for an hour release into tank and than proceed to test the bag water if it's different I will adjust tank parameters.

You have to have your tank's SG already at 1.018 before you release the fish. If you release fish into a different SG, then try to change it while they're already in there, it will definitely stress them. Did you say earlier you floated and released into a 1.025 tank with fish from LA?

 

[HotRocks]

I ordered from LA. I will assume it's 1.018. I will float bag for an hour release into tank and than proceed to test the bag water if it's different I will adjust tank parameters.

You should be fine at 1.018, they are almost always 1.017-1.019 and releasing the fish into 1.018 with a bag salinity of 1.017-1.019 is not an issue.

Also, unless the temperature difference from the bags to the tank is way off, 20-30 minutes is enough time for floating to temp acclimate. The sooner they are out of the bags the better IMO.

 

[Hallowhead]

You should be fine at 1.018, they are almost always 1.017-1.019 and releasing the fish into 1.018 with a bag salinity of 1.017-1.019 is not an issue.

Also, unless the temperature difference from the bags to the tank is way off, 20-30 minutes is enough time for floating to temp acclimate. The sooner they are out of the bags the better IMO.

Awesome that is what I'll do. This time around I'm not gonna introduce medicated food or copper until I see them eating like pigs. Than I'll introduce copper on a 6 day ramp.

 

[HotRocks]

Awesome that is what I'll do. This time around I'm not gonna introduce medicated food or copper until I see them eating like pigs. Than I'll introduce copper on a 6 day ramp.

I would advise against that, but of course that choice is yours to make.

My reason for not waiting to medicate is if there is something ailing them it may be too late by the time you start the meds.

What kind of fish did you order?

 

[Hallowhead]

I would advise against that, but of course that choice is yours to make.

My reason for not waiting to medicate is if there is something ailing them it may be too late by the time you start the meds.

What kind of fish did you order?

A six line wrasse and a orchid Dottyback. You've done this more than I have so I'll forgo my thought.

What about have tank at 1.0 copper than wait a day to start medicating and feeding medicated food until they're settled and eating ? Obviously if they visually have issues (velvet / ich) I'll approach it different

 

[User]

Hi guys

Checking back in after a bit of a hiatus

Thoughts on QT for a group of 7-8 dispar anthias? I’ve lost a group of 5 in 48 hours previously so I’m a little shy, but i really want the shoal in my DT. Assume no overt disease, and eating well before QT. Have copper power, and chloroquine phosphate available. Plus a bunch of abx.

I’m asking because I’m seriously considering foregoing QT and putting them in DT after 48 hours observation- please talk me down, lol!

Thanks

 

[HotRocks]

A six line wrasse and a orchid Dottyback. You've done this more than I have so I'll forgo my thought.

What about have tank at 1.0 copper than wait a day to start medicating and feeding medicated food until they're settled and eating ? Obviously if they visually have issues (velvet / ich) I'll approach it different

You can wait to start medicating food if you'd like until they are eating well. Copper at 1.0ppm shouldn't cause any appetite suppression.

I can tell you that I used to put fish in a clean QT without meds upon arrival and try to wait until they were eating to start medication. My losses were much more significant then than they are now. The other problem is there can be internal issues that we can't see as well. Just my .02

 

[HotRocks]

Hi guys

Checking back in after a bit of a hiatus

Thoughts on QT for a group of 7-8 dispar anthias? I’ve lost a group of 5 in 48 hours previously so I’m a little shy, but i really want the shoal in my DT. Assume no overt disease, and eating well before QT. Have copper power, and chloroquine phosphate available. Plus a bunch of abx.

I’m asking because I’m seriously considering foregoing QT and putting them in DT after 48 hours observation- please talk me down, lol!

Thanks

Hey Neil good to hear from you!

You definitely don't want to put them directly in your tank if you are asking me! ;)

Anthias don't do well in CP, you definitely don't want to use that. They typically do just fine in copper power.

Some of the deepwater species have reportedly been hard to get eating in copper. So you may want to keep your level on the lower end until they are eating well and then slowly ramp up to your therapeutic target.

 

[User]

I’m a bit torn- I’m caught between both sides of this debate lol. So many local reefers on FB pages just drop stuff in their tanks and have successful reefs, but others who are sticking to QT protocols keep losing fish and have ‘aneamic’ systems

Hey Neil good to hear from you!

You definitely don't want to put them directly in your tank if you are asking me! ;)

Anthias don't do well in CP, you definitely don't want to use that. They typically do just fine in copper power.

Some of the deepwater species have reportedly been hard to get eating in copper. So you may want to keep your level on the lower end until they are eating well and then slowly ramp up to your therapeutic target.

Thanks Kyle!

Sounds good. Thinking in at 1.00ppm until I confirm eating, 4 day ramp to 2ppm for 10days. Into new tank for observation. Still recommend metronidazole with copper power for anthias?

I’m stuck in between the two sides of this debate- many local guys on the FB page just buy whatever, whenever and dump it straight into DT and have had zero losses, but just as many complain of dead fish in 3-4 days. No idea what diseases are causing it since most of them just look at you funny if you mention Ich or velvet or QT. Starting to get frustrating investing this effort and still lose fish and corals, when there are so many guys just do the buy and dump.

Once I get a lead on a group of dispars, im going to try it this last time. If I get the same result, I think I’m going to give up on the shoal for a while and concentrate on some other livestock. Can’t do another multi-fish fatality.

 

[User]

The editing on the mobile version is giving me conniptions. I tabbed out to check an email, had to log back in, previous response was gone so I retyped, pushed ‘post’ and now both replies are merged into 1...

Thanks for the info Kyle!

 

[Hallowhead]

Anyone care to check my math?