I am quarantining some fish in a 40 gallon prior to going in my DT. Seeded from sponges and media from display. I originally added a flasher wrasse, tomini tang, some cardinals, and stripped blenny. I began the process of slowly increasing copper (copper power). Yesterday I added 5 chromis and 1 royal Gramma. All from the same tank at the fish shop.
Sounds like a lot of fish in what is by definition an unstable tank. Consider that this is probably adding stress to their condition.
Drip acclimated for 45 minutes.
This is excessive and might also contribute to your fishes early demise by further weakening their innate immune system.
Check out Sustainable Aquatics' *very complete* white paper on acclimation so you understand when you should actually use an intensive acclimation process. (Hint: Only if the fish has been in the bag for a long period so that CO2 and ammonia have built up. Read the doc tho!)
http://www.sustainableaquatics.com/docs/Acclimation-White-Paper.docx
You will notice that it's very different, for some very good reasons, from what you did. In most cases for hobbyists like you and me a much simpler acclimation (or even NO acclimation) are better options.
Maybe a minor point, but "obligate" means it can't survive without its (fish) host. I think you mean something else where *it can* survive without its host?
I started doing H2o2 baths with all fish from this place. Have yet to get uronema.
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Maybe anecdotal info, but it works for me.
I don't think it's merely anecdotal...just more niche than it should be. (IMO, anyway.)
We don't tend to have a lot of regard here for academic/scientific writing in this subject area, but an authority that gets a lot of respect outside of our fish disease forum recommends peroxide baths.
Except for the lack of regard already mentioned I don't understand how everyone doesn't already do a freshwater dip on all new fish....and amending it with peroxide seems like a no-brainer since it's apparently generally well tolerated and makes and already-effective, well-tolerated freshwater dip even more effective.
Maybe someday. :)
I definitely am guilty of not maintaining the cleanest of QTs. I have had intermittent bacterial blooms. I ensure the water is heavily aerated and I pay attention to all the fish to ensure no heavy breathing at rest and such.
QT kills as many fish for new hobbyists as disease, I wouldn't be surprised if it were more.
It's easy to do wrong.
It's hard to do right.
It can make a healthy fish sick. It can make a sick fish dead. (You don't hear these possibilities in the sales pitch.)
And it only gets more complicated when you start talking about medicating vs just observing.
Experts claim "great success" but it's not a great combination for anyone new to the process....especially if they are also new to the hobby.
I may have to step up my game, feed less and water change larger.
The difficulty is definitely worth extra consideration.
Most assume it's easy and many get burned.
Restricting food to sick fish is a little like using gasoline to put out a fire. Feed them well, just make sure ZERO food is being wasted in the tank. Keep a small siphon hose, standard filter sock and a bucket near the QT so you can quickly and easily remove food and poops. 1/2" tubing or even airline tubing+some rigid tubing are idea for this. You can pour the water back in the tank at the end, so it won't mess with medication levels or salinity, etc. (Use a fine mesh filter sock if you also want to remove any active parasites from the water while you work.....5 micron socks are available....probably finer too, but they don't pass much water so might be of more limited use. 5 micron should be able to handle a 1/2" siphon hose.
I you REALLY can't properly maintain a QT tank (eg due to time or other factors), simply admit it and look for a different method.
Or....rebuild the QT so that it's better FOR YOU in terms of maintenance. The typically recommended QT is a
garbage design anyway if you ask me....set up like a prison cell, which is obviously dumb to me because it's stressful to the fish. QT should be set up like a good, basic fish tank with plenty of ROOM for the fish and plenty of fake decorations and plants so the fish feels more at home, less stressed. Even a piece of live rock (that you keep in the QT) is a great idea.
