Quarantine procedure
- Thread starter maxwell50
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ylreefer
Active Member
Hi maxwell. As exciting as it is to get a new fish, I'd suggest doing an observation period of 30 days to be sure. I only treat with copper if they show signs of any parasite and treat accordingly. Some wrasse are sensative to copper however I think your one from past reading can handle certain types of copper. Best to research which. Also if not lready done so add a small plastic shallow box with sand for him. He will definitely appreciate that and will make him feel more at home.
1 week is definitely not long enough and if 30 days is to long for you I'd suggest min 14 days observation.
Hope he does well.
Wrasses are the Typhoid Marys of this hobby, because of their thick slime coats they can carry many parasites and never show symptoms until you put them in your DT and infect your other fish. I would start with a FW dip to check for flukes.if flukes are present treat with Prazipro or General Cure twice 5-7 days apart. After that I would use copper power and slowly ramp up to 2.0ppm for 14 days then transfer to a sterile tank.
I would also feed metro laced food for the first 14 days also to cover internal parasites.
I strongly recommend using the Hanna Copper tester to keep your copper levels where you want them and stable.
If the wrasse shows sensitivity to copper you can lower the levels as 1.50 is the bare minimum but there have been copper resistant strains of velvet going around lately so 2.0 is becoming the new standard (used to be 1.75ppm).
I would also feed metro laced food for the first 14 days also to cover internal parasites.
I strongly recommend using the Hanna Copper tester to keep your copper levels where you want them and stable.
If the wrasse shows sensitivity to copper you can lower the levels as 1.50 is the bare minimum but there have been copper resistant strains of velvet going around lately so 2.0 is becoming the new standard (used to be 1.75ppm).
You can use the same tank as an observation tank by removing the copper. Either through chemical means(cuprasorb) or replacing the water. During water replacement a simple 5 gallon bucket with a heater, airstone and a screen on top will allow you to clean the tank. Assuming filling with water with the same parameters minus the copper after cleaned just add the fish back. Just mark the bucket Diseased with a sharpie so is not used for anything else.
If you don’t have another sterile tank you can transfer to then just run copper for a full 30 days.
I prophylactically treat all of my fish... as I’ve had observation-only procedures fail in the past. I treat with copper + metroplex (or Chloroquine Phosphate, depending on the fish) and prazi. I also feed general cure soaked food for at least 10 days (using focus as a binder) to take care of intestinal parasites.
However, if you do decide to only observe I would definitely suggest a minimum of 30 days...
However, if you do decide to only observe I would definitely suggest a minimum of 30 days...
ylreefer
Active Member
Sorry for the late reply. Some valid comments and good ideas above. I believe everyone has their own preferred way of QTing and none will work for everyone or every fish, but we find what we prefer and tend to stick to it.
If I need to treat copper I always try to go with seachem cupramine if poss as its less harsh on the fish. Keeping in mind some fish cannot be treated with this product though and other copper treatments should be used. Also be sure to obtain a test kit that works with your copper meds. (I use salifert test with seachem) I've never had a problem with following the directions on the bottle which are to dose how much your tank needs to bring it to 0.25, wait 48hrs then dose again the same to bring it upto 0.5. This is where I leave it for 30 days. Ill then remove the copper and observe for 7 days. If all clear, and so far it always has been they get transfered to the DT.
I'm not a big fan of FW dips unless I see flukes on the fish, I just don't feel I want to put the fish through anything unless there's a clear reason. Arguably I know some will disagree but that's what makes us all different right. So far that's what has worked for me so I'll keep doing what I do.
The point above regarding new strains of parasites immune to lower copper levels is new to me, so it could be worth taking this into account when copper treating. I'd be scared of putting a fish in at 2ppm if I'm honest. But maybe one day I'll have to.
If I need to treat copper I always try to go with seachem cupramine if poss as its less harsh on the fish. Keeping in mind some fish cannot be treated with this product though and other copper treatments should be used. Also be sure to obtain a test kit that works with your copper meds. (I use salifert test with seachem) I've never had a problem with following the directions on the bottle which are to dose how much your tank needs to bring it to 0.25, wait 48hrs then dose again the same to bring it upto 0.5. This is where I leave it for 30 days. Ill then remove the copper and observe for 7 days. If all clear, and so far it always has been they get transfered to the DT.
I'm not a big fan of FW dips unless I see flukes on the fish, I just don't feel I want to put the fish through anything unless there's a clear reason. Arguably I know some will disagree but that's what makes us all different right. So far that's what has worked for me so I'll keep doing what I do.
The point above regarding new strains of parasites immune to lower copper levels is new to me, so it could be worth taking this into account when copper treating. I'd be scared of putting a fish in at 2ppm if I'm honest. But maybe one day I'll have to.
That was specifically for CopperPower and the therapeutic range starts at 1.5 and the experts here recommended 1.75. They are now saying that 2.0 should be the standard since there are now strains that survive 1.75.
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