Returning fish to display after 80 day fallow

SeismicSooner · Jun 30, 2026

Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes. Had a minor ich outbreak 6 months into a new reef tank no corals. Removed all fish left inverts, 80 days is up next week 8 July. Stock list is 2 Clowns, 1 blue hipo tang, 1 yellow tang, 6 Chalk bass, 1 Bicolor foxface, 1 firefish, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Midas blenny, 1 Diamond goby, 1 Starry blenny, 1 Orchid Dottyback, 1 Banggai Cardinalfish, 1 Melanurus wrasse, 1 Black molly converted from fresh. All the fish are juvenile (1/4 or less of their expected size) except the clowns they are about 1 year old. The fish are split among 3 40 gallon breeder tanks and have gone through copper and doing well in their new homes. I have been feeding the fallow tank lightly for the inverts and bacteria. That being said what is the best route for reintroduction? Dump them all back in and let the free for all ensue or a gradual reintroduction.

vetteguy53081 · Jun 30, 2026

SeismicSooner said:
Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes. Had a minor ich outbreak 6 months into a new reef tank no corals. Removed all fish left inverts, 80 days is up next week 8 July. Stock list is 2 Clowns, 1 blue hipo tang, 1 yellow tang, 6 Chalk bass, 1 Bicolor foxface, 1 firefish, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Midas blenny, 1 Diamond goby, 1 Starry blenny, 1 Orchid Dottyback, 1 Banggai Cardinalfish, 1 Melanurus wrasse, 1 Black molly converted from fresh. All the fish are juvenile (1/4 or less of their expected size) except the clowns they are about 1 year old. The fish are split among 3 40 gallon breeder tanks and have gone through copper and doing well in their new homes. I have been feeding the fallow tank lightly for the inverts and bacteria. That being said what is the best route for reintroduction? Dump them all back in and let the free for all ensue or a gradual reintroduction.

Its sounds like you are quarantining and I assume treating the fish. If so, acclimate them to the display tank and add a couple of them each day until introduced in total

Jay Hemdal · Jul 1, 2026

SeismicSooner said:
Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes. Had a minor ich outbreak 6 months into a new reef tank no corals. Removed all fish left inverts, 80 days is up next week 8 July. Stock list is 2 Clowns, 1 blue hipo tang, 1 yellow tang, 6 Chalk bass, 1 Bicolor foxface, 1 firefish, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Midas blenny, 1 Diamond goby, 1 Starry blenny, 1 Orchid Dottyback, 1 Banggai Cardinalfish, 1 Melanurus wrasse, 1 Black molly converted from fresh. All the fish are juvenile (1/4 or less of their expected size) except the clowns they are about 1 year old. The fish are split among 3 40 gallon breeder tanks and have gone through copper and doing well in their new homes. I have been feeding the fallow tank lightly for the inverts and bacteria. That being said what is the best route for reintroduction? Dump them all back in and let the free for all ensue or a gradual reintroduction.

I assume that the copper treatment was a full one? 30 days with chelated copper?

If so, I think the first thing is that you can introduce all fish from any one of the three tanks at once, since they are already living together in that tank. I would choose the tank with the smallest/weakest/most peaceful fish, add those to your DT, then wait a week and add the next tank, and wait a week and add the final tank with the largest/most robust fish.

SeismicSooner · Jul 1, 2026

Jay Hemdal said:
I assume that the copper treatment was a full one? 30 days with chelated copper?

If so, I think the first thing is that you can introduce all fish from any one of the three tanks at once, since they are already living together in that tank. I would choose the tank with the smallest/weakest/most peaceful fish, add those to your DT, then wait a week and add the next tank, and wait a week and add the final tank with the largest/most robust fish.

Yes, used the Fishotel schedule with Copper Power at 2.5 ppm always, Metronidazole and Praziquantel as scheduled. then moved to current setup. Thanks for the insight..

JumboShrimp · Jul 1, 2026

I'm not sure you mentioned the DT size, and whether you have any extra water volume in a sump (?), but I would space out the groupings closer to 2 weeks apart; that's just me. It couldn't hurt to add some bottled bacteria (if you're a fan of that) in between each grouping of fish, to help with the bio-load. Best wishes!

SeismicSooner · Jul 1, 2026

The DT is 180 gal with a 100 gal sump. There are currently 3 shrimp a couple dozen hermit crabs a dozen or so emerald crabs and 4 urchins and a dozen or so snails. I have been feeding the tank lightly (a cube of frozen brine shrimp every few days) during the fallow. I have 4 good sized sponge filters in the refugium portion of the sump for bacteria houses in cast I need a cycled tank short notice.

Jay Hemdal · Jul 1, 2026

SeismicSooner said:
Yes, used the Fishotel schedule with Copper Power at 2.5 ppm always, Metronidazole and Praziquantel as scheduled. then moved to current setup. Thanks for the insight..

From what I know, their schedule is less than 30 days for the full copper dose, because they use a slow ramp up. A full 30 days at 2.25 ppm is best. If you go shorter, it is best to re-add the copper for 72 hours at the end of the observation period.

MnFish1 · Jul 2, 2026

JumboShrimp said:
I'm not sure you mentioned the DT size, and whether you have any extra water volume in a sump (?), but I would space out the groupings closer to 2 weeks apart; that's just me. It couldn't hurt to add some bottled bacteria (if you're a fan of that) in between each grouping of fish, to help with the bio-load. Best wishes!

No offense, I actually think this is one way to do it. I would not. The nitrifying bacteria in the rock, filter, etc will be fine to handle the bioload. Additionally, adding them apart means that the established fish may establish territory, which means that there could be increased aggression.