Start up of my QT

[mike89t]

I’ve been out of the hobby for a decade and a lot has changed. One thing that I always did back in the day was to place my fish in a QT before they were allowed into the DT.

I’ll be following the latest QT advice provided by Jay:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 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 quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

I was able to put together a nice QT for what I think is a reasonable price:

20 gallon tall. $23 (PetCo 50% off sale)
Aquarium cover $15
Sponge filter $8
Air pump $10
LED light. $11
Heater $22
Thermometer $5

I had to do a fish less cycle on this tank so I also had to buy:

starter bacteria $19
Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride $8


I also purchased stuff for treating the fish in QT:

coppersafe $9
Prazipro $12
Hanna Copper tester. $50
Extra Hanna copper reagent $10


Totals:
$94 for the QT setup
$27 to quick cycle my QT
$81 for new fish treatment

in all it cost me about $200 to setup a nice quality QT. Well worth the investment IMO

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I’ve been out of the hobby for a decade and a lot has changed. One thing that I always did back in the day was to place my fish in a QT before they were allowed into the DT.

I’ll be following the latest QT advice provided by Jay:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 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 quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

I was able to put together a nice QT for what I think is a reasonable price:

20 gallon tall. $23 (PetCo 50% off sale)
Aquarium cover $15
Sponge filter $8
Air pump $10
LED light. $11
Heater $22
Thermometer $5

I had to do a fish less cycle on this tank so I also had to buy:

starter bacteria $19
Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride $8


I also purchased stuff for treating the fish in QT:

coppersafe $9
Prazipro $12
Hanna Copper tester. $50
Extra Hanna copper reagent $10


Totals:
$94 for the QT setup
$27 to quick cycle my QT
$81 for new fish treatment

in all it cost me about $200 to setup a nice quality QT. Well worth the investment IMO

My recent run with velvet cost me ~$1500 in lost fish.

We set up essentially the identical qt. I'm already one cycle in with it. Congrats and great choice.

 

[mike89t]

My wife had some spare spray paint laying around and I stole it for my QT. I always liked to paint the bottom of my QT white. It helps show you when there is leftover food or poop that needs to be removed.

I paint the back of my QT black as I believe it helps the fish feel more secure. I also threw in some extra PVC fittings that I had laying around to provide hiding spots. I think they might have been from my last QT.

It took me about two weeks to do a fish less cycle. At that point I was able to add a pair of baby clowns after acclimating them.

The clowns were captive bred and started eating right away. Today is day four and I started my coppersafe treatment as per Jays instructions

 

[mike89t]

Day 5 of my Clowns in the QT tank.

man I really love the Hanna copper tester. Hanna is going to be my go to test kit in the future.

I over shot my copper level by .09 but it isn’t too far off. Will this be fine for a day? I’m doing a small water change tomorrow which should bring it in range. Clowns are moving about and eating well.

 

[solitude127]

Hanna Copper checker is game changer. I always disliked the color changing tests because the color would never be close to what's on the paper.

 

[mike89t]

Day 7 of my new fish in quarantine and all is well. Fish are very active and always begging for food.

After a water change I got the copper level to 2.39

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Day 7 of my new fish in quarantine and all is well. Fish are very active and always begging for food.

After a water change I got the copper level to 2.39

Looks good, but I had one question - are you adding ammonium chloride with the fish in the tank? Don't do that, let the ammonia produced by the fish feed the bacteria, and watch the ammonia level very closely (I don't trust the Seachem badges too much).

Jay

 

[mike89t]

Looks good, but I had one question - are you adding ammonium chloride with the fish in the tank? Don't do that, let the ammonia produced by the fish feed the bacteria, and watch the ammonia level very closely (I don't trust the Seachem badges too much).

Jay

No I added it to the tank for about 2 weeks before adding the fish. Once the tank was cycled and ammonia measured zero I added the fish and began the quarantine.

https://www.drtimsaquatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FishlessCycling_prescription_recipe.pdf

 

[mike89t]

Just completed week 3 of Coppersafe treatment and both Clowns are doing fantastic! Ten more days of copper left then on to the Prazi treatment! Can't thank @Jay Hemdal enough for such a great Quarantine write-up that is easy to follow!

When I first brought home the clowns from the LFS and before I started the copper treatment, one of the Clowns would scratch himself periodically on the PVC pipes. He didn't show any other signs of disease just the scratching.

Once I got a few days into the copper treatment he stopped scratching and hasn't since. I know the LFS doesn't quarantine their fish. Not sure if the scratching was a symptom of disease or just stress from the move. Either way I'm glad I put him through the quarantine process and that he seems to be much happier now.

 

[mike89t]

Day 30 of copper treatment and the fish look fantastic. Time to start removing the copper via water changes.

Based off the directions it looks like I should dose 5ml of Prazipro for my 20G QT when I get my copper levels down low enough. Does this sound correct?

Can I do small water changes during this treatment or do I need to keep the PraziPro concentration the same for the entire 7 days?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Day 30 of copper treatment and the fish look fantastic. Time to start removing the copper via water changes.

Based off the directions it looks like I should dose 5ml of Prazipro for my 20G QT when I get my copper levels down low enough. Does this sound correct?

Can I do small water changes during this treatment or do I need to keep the PraziPro concentration the same for the entire 7 days?

Prazipro breaks down in about 72 hours or so. I just do water changes to maintain good water quality during these treatments, but never change any water until at least 24 hours after a prazi dose (unless it is an emergency).

Jay

 

[mike89t]

Prazipro breaks down in about 72 hours or so. I just do water changes to maintain good water quality during these treatments, but never change any water until at least 24 hours after a prazi dose (unless it is an emergency).

Jay

Awesome. I've been doing water changes about every 2 - 3 days so I will wait at least 3 days after dosing Prazi.

 

[mike89t]

OK lessoned learned. Next time I try and lower my copper I'm going to do larger water changes. I was doing about 20% and it took several water changes to get levels down below 1.0. I'm thinking of doing about 40-50% water changes next time to speed up the process.

I finally got the Copper down to 0.94 and just dosed my first treatment of Prazipro.

 

[mike89t]

So after my second dose of PraziPro I experienced a massive bacteria bloom in my QT. Been fighting to keep the oxygen levels up in my QT but think I'm starting to get it under control. I've been reading that this is common when using PraziPro in liquid form.

I'm thinking about using the praziquantel powder next time to avoid this in the future. Maybe something like this?

Prazi-Power Praziquantel Powder

Effectively treat fluke and worm infestations in your fish with Prazi-Power Praziquantel Powder. Purchase this fluke treatment today at Smith Creek Fish Farm.

smithcreekfishfarm.com

Or does anyone have a better recommendation?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So after my second dose of PraziPro I experienced a massive bacteria bloom in my QT. Been fighting to keep the oxygen levels up in my QT but think I'm starting to get it under control. I've been reading that this is common when using PraziPro in liquid form.

I'm thinking about using the praziquantel powder next time to avoid this in the future. Maybe something like this?

Prazi-Power Praziquantel Powder

Effectively treat fluke and worm infestations in your fish with Prazi-Power Praziquantel Powder. Purchase this fluke treatment today at Smith Creek Fish Farm.

smithcreekfishfarm.com

Yes - much less of a bacteria bloom issue when using praziquantel powder. It isn’t really soluble in water (thus the reason people use solvents). The trick is to buy some fine mesh, I use 120 micron brine shrimp nets. Then, put the powder in the net, add tank water and press it through, keep adding water and squeezing until all/most of the powder has gone through into the tank.
You’ll want to dose at 2.2 mg/l unless you have good reason to go higher.

Jay

 

[mike89t]

Well after about a week and a half my QT finally cleared up from the bacteria bloom caused by my second round of Prazipro. I can see my fish clearly again.

Definitely will look into the praziquantel powder next time!

 

[mike89t]

After successfully completing my quarantine I was finally able to transfer my clowns to my DT!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

What are your next steps?
Jay

 

[mike89t]

What are your next steps?
Jay

Eventually start the quarantine process all over again with my next fish.

For now I'm holding off buying any new fish as I'm traveling for work for a good part of October and want to be here for the quarantine process.

 

[mike89t]

Work trip got canceled so I picked up a pair of fish today. Starting the clock on quarantine round 2.

Helfrichi Firefish:

Midas Blenny: