Quarantine in display tank ?

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

Would this be okay? Getting all the fish I want first and then do a qt in the display with sand and rock and treat for everything before adding coral?

Have a clown , starry blenny and Bengai cardinal, just added a fairy wrasse and royal gramma. The gramma definitely has something as I see some white spots and is scratching on the sand.

Plan to also add a yellow watchman, tomini tang and a dwarf angel.

Thanks!

 

[BristleWormHater]

Nope, the copper in those medications will bind to surfaces in the tank and kill invertebrates (including coral) when they are added. Additionally, adding your entire stock list of fish at once is a bad idea, the bioload will be too much for a new tank, space out your new additions by at least a month, the longer the better.

 

[Fish Fan]

If by "treat for everything" you're planning on using medications like copper specifically, the problem is that the copper interacts with the rock and sand, and is very difficult (though reportedly not impossible) to remove from the rocks after treatment. Typically, medicated QT tanks are bare, with no rock or sand, and only PVC fittings for hiding spots for the fish.

Although some have said that they have been able to pull copper out of rocks and sand by running Cuprisorb to me it seems like you'd spend a lot of money and time and effort doing it that way. It may in fact be cheaper and easier to setup a QT tank.

QT tanks can be very simple, Aqueon tanks are 50% off right now at PetCo, and people have even used plastic storage totes and buckets in a pinch. Some PVC hides, bubbling sponge type filter or a HOB, and a heater, and not much else. No light needed.

There's more than one way to QT fish by using medications, or there's something called the Tank Transfer Method (TTM) that doesn't require medications, but does work to reduce fish parasite. Some reefers do nothing but observe the fish to see if disease symptoms become noticeable. The problem with that is that disease may be latent or suppressed, but can come back with a vengeance when given the right opportunity, like if your fish get stressed for any reason.

I personally follow this guide. The person that wrote and maintains this thread is a professional in Public Aquaria, and is available right here on R2R to ask questions:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

You can setup and then breakdown a fish QT tank as needed - no need to have a whole tank running all the time for fish.

Tip: keep some extra bio media in your display tank's sump or filter section that you can pull out and use in a QT if/when you ever need it. This way you have basically an instantly cycled QT tank whenever you need one.

I personally do my best to QT anything "wet" including fish, corals and motile (moving) inverts such as crabs, snails, shrimp, etc. I have a separate tank for the corals and inverts, I hold all new arrivals for 45-60 days before introducing them to my main tanks. This is non-medicated, and over 10 feet away from my fish QT tank because - believe it or not - some fish parasites are so small they can become aerosolized and travel via a droplet of water through the air to neighboring tanks. Yikes!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

Nope, the copper in those medications will bind to surfaces in the tank and kill invertebrates (including coral) when they are added. Additionally, adding your entire stock list of fish at once is a bad idea, the bioload will be too much for a new tank, space out your new additions by at least a month, the longer the better.

Ahh I was worried about the meds going into the rock, no corals yet & yes I added 2 clowns (1 jumped) then a cover, then the cardinal then blenny , & few days ago the wrasse and gramma, ya I wouldn’t double my bio load at one time & wait about 2-3 weeks between each addition,

ok so qt tank a must, would 5 gallon b ok or need 10?

 

[Fish Fan]

Have a clown , starry blenny and Bengai cardinal, just added a fairy wrasse and royal gramma. The gramma definitely has something as I see some white spots and is scratching on the sand.

I'm sorry, I kind of glossed over the fact that you already have the fish, and that your Gramma has spots!

In my very non-expert opinion, you need to treat all the fish in a separate tank with Coppersafe at 2.25ppm for 30 days. You will need a solid test kit to test for the copper. The display tank will need to sit "fallow" meaning without fish for 60 days to starve out any parasites that may be in the tank.

This is largely considered best practice. I know it's a lot, but it's really what's best for your fish and tank long term.

ok so qt tank a must, would 5 gallon b ok or need 10?

5 gallon buckets have been used in a pinch, but that's just a bit small. You can try a large plastic storage tote too.

I'd suggest getting an Aqueon 10 gallon from PetCo, which is currently on sale for 15 bucks. It also makes it easy to measure out your meds:

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/aga-10g-20x10x12bk-tank-170917?store_code=2790&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla_with_promotionlocal&cm_mmc=PSH%7CGGL%7CCCY%7CCCO%7CPM%7C0%7CaxsvnXfjRWFFwpetHmZu75%7C%7C%7C0%7C0%7C%7C%7C21467366052&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6Ou5BhCrARIsAPoTxrBaDrBQP3gB8vnVuYGChPZdlo1ZZp37GSdYwqXVkGdSJPBczKGRdGgaAl46EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

If by "treat for everything" you're planning on using medications like copper specifically, the problem is that the copper interacts with the rock and sand, and is very difficult (though reportedly not impossible) to remove from the rocks after treatment. Typically, medicated QT tanks are bare, with no rock or sand, and only PVC fittings for hiding spots for the fish.

Although some have said that they have been able to pull copper out of rocks and sand by running Cuprisorb to me it seems like you'd spend a lot of money and time and effort doing it that way. It may in fact be cheaper and easier to setup a QT tank.

QT tanks can be very simple, Aqueon tanks are 50% off right now at PetCo, and people have even used plastic storage totes and buckets in a pinch. Some PVC hides, bubbling sponge type filter or a HOB, and a heater, and not much else. No light needed.

There's more than one way to QT fish by using medications, or there's something called the Tank Transfer Method (TTM) that doesn't require medications, but does work to reduce fish parasite. Some reefers do nothing but observe the fish to see if disease symptoms become noticeable. The problem with that is that disease may be latent or suppressed, but can come back with a vengeance when given the right opportunity, like if your fish get stressed for any reason.

I personally follow this guide. The person that wrote and maintains this thread is a professional in Public Aquaria, and is available right here on R2R to ask questions:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

You can setup and then breakdown a fish QT tank as needed - no need to have a whole tank running all the time for fish.

Tip: keep some extra bio media in your display tank's sump or filter section that you can pull out and use in a QT if/when you ever need it. This way you have basically an instantly cycled QT tank whenever you need one.

I personally do my best to QT anything "wet" including fish, corals and motile (moving) inverts such as crabs, snails, shrimp, etc. I have a separate tank for the corals and inverts, I hold all new arrivals for 45-60 days before introducing them to my main tanks. This is non-medicated, and over 10 feet away from my fish QT tank because - believe it or not - fish some parasites are so small they can become aerosolized and travel via a droplet of water through the air to neighboring tanks. Yikes!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Thank you , yes I was worried about the meds getting into rock and sand , qt tank sounds like the plan, would 5g b ok or need 10?
Yes I believe the stress caused the outbreak because the gramma looked fine at the lfs (was also in hypo salinity there) & only acclimated for 5min or less because he was attacking the fairy wrasse and picking off scales so I thought I’d just throw them in the DT to stop that,
I know I have to acclimate a lot longer than that for hypo salinity but people freshwater dip their fish and add back without acclimation so I thought they would survive which they did

 

[BristleWormHater]

Thank you , yes I was worried about the meds getting into rock and sand , qt tank sounds like the plan, would 5g b ok or need 10?
Yes I believe the stress caused the outbreak because the gramma looked fine at the lfs (was also in hypo salinity there) & only acclimated for 5min or less because he was attacking the fairy wrasse and picking off scales so I thought I’d just throw them in the DT to stop that,
I know I have to acclimate a lot longer than that for hypo salinity but people freshwater dip their fish and add back without acclimation so I thought they would survive which they did

I'd just get a 20 gallon, the aqueon ones are $30 at Petco.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thank you , yes I was worried about the meds getting into rock and sand , qt tank sounds like the plan, would 5g b ok or need 10?

Looks like you have 5 fish. I would go for the larger tank. No need to stress the fish out further. If space is an issue, I understand. If budget is an issue (I know that too well!) get creative and consider a plastic tote, kiddie swimming pool, anything that can safely hold water and will not leach anything nasty into the saltwater.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'd just get a 20 gallon, the aqueon ones are $30 at Petco.

Yeah, get the largest tank you can afford. You don't need to keep it running after all this, put it in a closet or garage until you're ready to get more fish in the future..... And then use that tank to QT the new fish or you'll be right back to this same place :)

 

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

I'd just get a 20 gallon, the aqueon ones are $30 at Petco.

Yeah, get the largest tank you can afford. You don't need to keep it running after all this, put it in a closet or garage until you're ready to get more fish in the future..... And then use that tank to QT the new fish or you'll be right back to this same place :)

Thanks guy!

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks guy!

Best of luck! Post again if you have further questions, and if you really need help, post here with the whitest lights you have (turn off all your blues):

Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis

A forum for discussing treatment and diagnosing saltwater reef fish.

www.reef2reef.com

You can also at anytime type (#)fishmedic without the parenthesis and that alerts many of R2R's most knowledgeable members on fish diseases and treatment.

 

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

Checking out the gramma last night & looks like he or she has made a full recovery so I think I will be going the disease management route trying to keep the tank stable and fish well fed , sorry to waste y’all time
New problem now my starry blenny is attacking my tiny yellow watchman I got today, I’m thinking because the watchman has spots like him cos the blenny hasn’t bothered any other fish ever