ThePlummer
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- Feb 6, 2020
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I've Been doing TTM with great success in the past. I've recently been experiencing about a 50% loss rate, for various reasons recently. I've been studying and reviewing all the latest protocol changes recommended by @Humblefish, and trying to incorporate and treat for as many possible diseases/parasites as possible during the 15 day QT.
I'd like to explain my protocol to see if anyone thinks I'm missing something, or doing something wrong.
1. All corals and inverts go into a fishless Innovative Marine 14 peninsula that is well established, for 76 days. Corals get dipped before placing them into QT. No problems there at all.
2. I pick out a fish from LFS that doesn't have any visible damage or parasites, and (most of the time) eating well.
3. Fish is placed into a 1 gallon pitcher with all the LFS water and drip acclimated over a period of no less than 2 hours, dumping off the acclimation water twice before going into QT. All parameters of the acclimation aquarium (Innovative Marine 20 Peninsula, fish only) are verified and adjusted before acclimation begins. Salinity 1.024 Temp 78 F. All other fish are active healthy and other parameters are checked weekly, so I know they are good.
I drain off between 2 and 4 gallons of tank water out of the acclimation tank into a 5 gallon bucket, depending on the size of the fish to be acclimated. I place a heater and air stone into the bucket, while the new arrival is going through drip acclimation. Water is replaced with fresh SW, that matches the tank parameters.
4. Once acclimation is complete, fish goes into the bucket for 36Hr. QT with double strength Prazipro. The next 36Hr. QT is in a clean, dry, fresh bucket, with a clean/dry heater and airstone/line. I have 6 small heaters and air stones, and cycle them through, so they are always dry before I use them.
On the second 36Hr. QT there is no Prazipro, so it gets a break from Prazipro to recover. 3rd. Change is 36 Hr with Prazi again. 4th 36 No Prazi.
5. Starts first 72Hr. QT 1/2 way through, it gets Prazi added. 6th and 7th 72 Hr. QT is just water.
If the fish is tiny, I usually don't add Ammoloc to the 36Hr. dips, but if it's larger, I double the amount of TTM water, and add Ammoloc, either at the beginning, or 1/2 way through.
Here's what I'm experiencing:
Recently lost 4 Coral Beauties. One wouldn't eat from the get go. One stopped eating 1/2 way through and one made it to the last day of QT and was determined to have flukes. That's when I started adding Prazipro to the protocol.
Last night was the last straw. Brought home a medium sized Blue Girdled Majestic Angel. Picked him out at the LFS a week ago, and asked them to hold it for a week, as it was a new arrival and wasn't eating well yet and had some white frost on it's fins. If it made it in their copper treatment, I'd take it the next week.
When I picked up the Angelfish, the water at the LFS was visibly yellow hued, and I assumed that was a strong copper treatment. They said the fish was eating well that morning, and it was active and looked good.
Brought it home and began the acclimation process, but took extra time 3 hours. Next morning it was dead in the QT bucket with 4 gallons of water. I did add Prazipro and Ammoloc at the onset.
The only thing I can come up with at this point, is that their might be the possibility that the Prazipro and Ammoloc might be toxic when combined. Or, that the fish had copper in it's system and taking it directly from a copper environment to Prazipro might have been toxic.
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated on confirming or correcting my protocol, as this is getting really frustrating. Especially since I've had over a 90% success rate in the past.
I'd like to explain my protocol to see if anyone thinks I'm missing something, or doing something wrong.
1. All corals and inverts go into a fishless Innovative Marine 14 peninsula that is well established, for 76 days. Corals get dipped before placing them into QT. No problems there at all.
2. I pick out a fish from LFS that doesn't have any visible damage or parasites, and (most of the time) eating well.
3. Fish is placed into a 1 gallon pitcher with all the LFS water and drip acclimated over a period of no less than 2 hours, dumping off the acclimation water twice before going into QT. All parameters of the acclimation aquarium (Innovative Marine 20 Peninsula, fish only) are verified and adjusted before acclimation begins. Salinity 1.024 Temp 78 F. All other fish are active healthy and other parameters are checked weekly, so I know they are good.
I drain off between 2 and 4 gallons of tank water out of the acclimation tank into a 5 gallon bucket, depending on the size of the fish to be acclimated. I place a heater and air stone into the bucket, while the new arrival is going through drip acclimation. Water is replaced with fresh SW, that matches the tank parameters.
4. Once acclimation is complete, fish goes into the bucket for 36Hr. QT with double strength Prazipro. The next 36Hr. QT is in a clean, dry, fresh bucket, with a clean/dry heater and airstone/line. I have 6 small heaters and air stones, and cycle them through, so they are always dry before I use them.
On the second 36Hr. QT there is no Prazipro, so it gets a break from Prazipro to recover. 3rd. Change is 36 Hr with Prazi again. 4th 36 No Prazi.
5. Starts first 72Hr. QT 1/2 way through, it gets Prazi added. 6th and 7th 72 Hr. QT is just water.
If the fish is tiny, I usually don't add Ammoloc to the 36Hr. dips, but if it's larger, I double the amount of TTM water, and add Ammoloc, either at the beginning, or 1/2 way through.
Here's what I'm experiencing:
Recently lost 4 Coral Beauties. One wouldn't eat from the get go. One stopped eating 1/2 way through and one made it to the last day of QT and was determined to have flukes. That's when I started adding Prazipro to the protocol.
Last night was the last straw. Brought home a medium sized Blue Girdled Majestic Angel. Picked him out at the LFS a week ago, and asked them to hold it for a week, as it was a new arrival and wasn't eating well yet and had some white frost on it's fins. If it made it in their copper treatment, I'd take it the next week.
When I picked up the Angelfish, the water at the LFS was visibly yellow hued, and I assumed that was a strong copper treatment. They said the fish was eating well that morning, and it was active and looked good.
Brought it home and began the acclimation process, but took extra time 3 hours. Next morning it was dead in the QT bucket with 4 gallons of water. I did add Prazipro and Ammoloc at the onset.
The only thing I can come up with at this point, is that their might be the possibility that the Prazipro and Ammoloc might be toxic when combined. Or, that the fish had copper in it's system and taking it directly from a copper environment to Prazipro might have been toxic.
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated on confirming or correcting my protocol, as this is getting really frustrating. Especially since I've had over a 90% success rate in the past.
