# How do you QT fish?



## corpusse (Jan 3, 2011)

I am pretty familiar with quarantining fish and have done so for several years. While I don't have a fool proof method and there are some flaws, this is still a lot better then dumping the fish in and hoping they just die and don't take everyone else with them. Lately it seems like I am losing a lot of fish, but in most of the cases they are just dropping dead sometimes before any kind of medication can even begin. I've lost 2 fish from boxing day which showed no signs of disease, just dropped dead. 

Normally I use a 55g with one tunze powerhead,a sponge filter and a hob filter that has an additional sponge filter. I usually replace these sponges after the tank goes fishless with new ones seeded in displays sump. It usually cycles after the first couple of weeks at which time I stop doing crazy water changes since they is no longer ammonia fear *ammonia alert badge in tank.

I usually like to observe fish for one week. This is primarily to get them eating. They get mysis, brine, pellets, nori sometimes live brine if they won't start eating ect. Once they are eating I will do a big water change and start prazipro treatment for 7-10 days then another big water change. Sometimes this does lead to loss of appetite but if a fish has made it this far they are usually fine.

With this new batch I was planning on trying out the tank transfer method. Ich scares me since I have an achilles. He was my toughest fish to QT and spent more then 100 days in QT to ensure he was completely free of ich, flukes which was really bad on him ect. With him in mind I have started even QTing my inverts.

Any scratching or one spot or more means 30 additional days with seachem cupramine. I usually take about 4-6 days to get to full dosage and while I do have the seachem copper test kit it's a real bitch to tell what the levels are so while I do test I am very careful with measurements and then avoid doing water changes once full dosage has been reached and carefully maintain salinity levels. Once fish have made it this far they are fine too. I currently have a Naso who's been in QT since black friday. He was perfect when I brought him home, eventually covered and I mean covered in ich refusing food ect. Now he eats a big chunk of nori and a cube of pe mysis and still begs for more. Just waiting for 30 days of full dosage to be complete then I will observe him for a little while longer and move him over.

Since the Naso is in that tank my boxing day guys are in a 20g tank with just an air pump and a heater and some pvc to hide in. Water was taken from my display tank. It's only been 2 days so no toxic ammonia levels and they were just fed a bit of pellets which they ignored and some frozen brine which they ate. Solar Wrasse and Dragon faced pipefish are the ones that died. Solar wrasse was acting weird but mostly hiding and not swimming he would eat if something floated into the pvc he hid in but did not go after food. Pipefish showed interest in food but unsure if he actually ate. I also have a banded pipefish in there and he is much more active. I was a lot more concerned with him due to the smaller mouth. 

I don't really have anymore extra tanks so I'm thinking 100% water change and scrubbing down the heater, pvc and changing the airline tube for the remaining fish. I could start either prazi or cupramine but neither are going to be an instant cure and they are not scratching or showing any signs of disease. If they make it another week I think they will be fine, it's getting them past the first few days that really seems to be the problem. Once they get ich or flukes or whatever they seem to recover it's just dropping dead I cannot prevent. How is everyone else doing it? I do frequently read the disease forum on reefcentral, but since everyone here is more or less getting their fish from the same 10 or 15 sources I'd like to hear how they are doing it.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*following*

interested in this as well since there seems to be a rash of ick that is wiping out peoples tanks .

this should be a stickie .................


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## fury165 (Aug 21, 2010)

Are you using Prime during your copper treatments? This is a no no as the prime can make the copper toxic. I've also had 2 healthy Borbs mysteriously die in a QT tank where there was no copper in use. Was a mystery to me until I started finding posts on RC suggesting that Prime is toxic if overdosed even if copper isn't present.

For what it is worth, I still believe WC are necessary in the QT even when doing copper - I just calculate the amount of cupramine I need to redose based on the water I removed.


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## corpusse (Jan 3, 2011)

I am not using prime. While I have some I've only ever used it for live rock that is long term curing.

Copper is not killing my fish. They die before treatment. Once they get to copper they do not die. If ammonia becomes an issue then yes I will do water changes, but usually by the time I get to the copper treatment the QT tank has cycled and can sustain the bioload of one fish in a 55g with the sponge filters.

My problem is fish dying within 1-5 days of bringing them home in non treated water. I typically use water from my display tank to start and for most future water changes. Ich and flukes are not the problem. I do not believe velvet is either. One of these days I will have to invest in a microscope.


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## fury165 (Aug 21, 2010)

Seems you are certainly doing the right things, hope you get this sorted out soon. Good luck man


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## vaporize (Apr 10, 2006)

Depending on where you buy your fish, you do have to use different QT methods 


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## deeznutz (Aug 21, 2013)

That stinks man!
Qt a fish and having is die sucks, sometimes you wonder if your chances are better just releasing into a tank.

I've been told to dose tiny amount of prime into the tank everyday. Usually after feeding. It has worked for me. But I picked up a healthy yellow tang a few months ago and he went right into qt. He only lasted a few days, but he was eating.

Now I introduced him into a tank with copper in it already. Is that what might have killed him? I'm new to qt but I do believe in it now.

Your technique sounds very complete and a lot better then mine. Sometimes you just get a bad fish. Too many variable to be sure if its your technique or just bad luck. My guess is bad luck.

Vaporize can you please elaborate on your comment?

thanks


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## NovaRaven (Aug 23, 2013)

*Quarantine method used for Helfrichi Firefish*

I used this guy's method on quarantining, and pre-medicating a highly-prized helfrichi firefish before I dunked him in my tank:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/quarantining-marine-fish-made-simple

Simple, but it takes a little time for the whole process to complete. After more than 6 mths, the little guy is still in my tank and thriving along with a yellow assessor.


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## corpusse (Jan 3, 2011)

Naso tang a few weeks into qt :









A couple of days ago :





Completely ich free and just waiting for 30 days at full dosage to be complete, then I will probably watch him for an additional week or 2 after which time he can go in the DT.

My other boxing day purchases seem to be doing okay in my other QT tank. They are eating, I am planning a 2nd 100% water change tomorrow at which time I will also take the heater, pvc and airline tube out and run them under hot water to clean everything off. Not going to treat these guys with anything for now, but prazipro soon. It's a yasha goby and banded pipefish which will both probably end up in my garden eel tank anyway which only has a firefish and mandarin for fish.


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