Set up my very 1st QT tank with fish pics

DRC Archive General Saltwater Discussion
1

After a hard lesson learned, I set up my very 1st Qt. It’s a 55 gallon tank.

5 days ago I bought a 55 gallon tank and stand, added 22 lbs of LR and a couple of cups of gravel from an established tank, added 20 gallons of water from the same tank and the rest with new water plus 2 sponge filters that was sitting in the same tank’s sump for over 2 months. Also added a Marineland Penguin 350 for filtration and 2 bottles of Bio-Spira.

Yesterday I added 4" Blueline Angelfish and a 6" Crosshatch Trigger. Acclimated them as usual and in they went.
Immediately the Trigger went to hiding and the Angelfish was checking him out right from the start but later in the afternoon, the Trigger was out and no issues with the Angel. Both eating mysis shrimp and krill.

I know that you are supposed to add one fish at the time into QT but I thought that the tank was large enough for both fishes and both are supposed to be pretty shy.

Plan to observe them for a while, if any of them get sick, I’ll take out the LR and treat the tank.

Hopefully they won’t and 4 weeks from now they will be transferred to my 300 gallon tank which is going fallow. By the time the QT fish comes out, it’ll be fallow for 10 weeks.

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Sounds like a plan. Pretty fish. Best of luck with them.

What is the plan for the live rock if the fish start to show signs of something not good. You know there is a chance they will look perfectly fine for 3 months and then break out when trasnfered to another tank and stressed. They’ll be a lot better off having the time to settle in a bit in the 55, but could still have something they could transfer in.

Hope it works out for you, very nice find on both fish.

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[quote=“Gordonious, post:2, topic:3126”]
Sounds like a plan. Pretty fish. Best of luck with them.

What is the plan for the live rock if the fish start to show signs of something not good. You know there is a chance they will look perfectly fine for 3 months and then break out when trasnfered to another tank and stressed. They’ll be a lot better off having the time to settle in a bit in the 55, but could still have something they could transfer in.

Hope it works out for you, very nice find on both fish. [/quote]

If they start showing signs of getting sick, I’ll take the LR out and treat the fish. LR into a container with pump and let it go fallow for 10 weeks… I guess.

How long do you suggest me to keep the two fish in the QT?

4

The length of time is up to you really. 4 weeks would be alright, but don’t let the conditions go down hill in the tank. Water changes will be key and could be done with wate from another tank(unless it is a tank that you are trying to let be fallow.)

Speaking of the main tank you mention, "it’ll be fallow for 10 weeks. " What is the specific reason for this? If you are trying to fully rid yourself of ich you’ll likely reintroduce it when you introduce those two fish. Was there a specific issue you were having or just some unidentified mystery problem.

5

If you treat the tank with copper , then any live rock or calcerous based gravel will interfere with the copper…you want no sand,rock,etc,the pvc pipes are about it…
In my qt I run 2 emperor’s with biowhells as a biofilter , bare bottom,couple pieces pvc for security…
if nitrates build up - do a water change and re medicate the exact amt of water you replace…

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[quote=“Gordonious, post:4, topic:3126”]
The length of time is up to you really. 4 weeks would be alright, but don’t let the conditions go down hill in the tank. Water changes will be key and could be done with wate from another tank(unless it is a tank that you are trying to let be fallow.)

Speaking of the main tank you mention, "it’ll be fallow for 10 weeks. " What is the specific reason for this? If you are trying to fully rid yourself of ich you’ll likely reintroduce it when you introduce those two fish. Was there a specific issue you were having or just some unidentified mystery problem. [/quote]

I had a Yellow Tang with black ich and a PBT with ich. So if what you said is correct, how can I introduce these two new fish into the tank w/o getting ich? I thought that the whole point of going fallow was to get rid of ich and if I QT the two fish long enough that they show no signs of getting sick, why would you think it would reintroduce ich into the tank??

7

I would venture to guess that about 99.9% of fish you purchase from online retailers or at a LFS have ich and/or some other sort or parasite of disease. Simply QTing them by keeping them in a healthy tank and monitoring them does not guarantee they are disease free. Some hobbyist might get frustrated that I bother to even mention it, but I would hate to see you introduce these fish to the tank, they get sick, you claim that you did everything you could do, you claim others told you the fish would be fine, and you give up on the hobby.(using you as an example, but I have seen many others do this)

There are many different approaches to acclimating fish to captivity, quarantining them, and treating them and it is a frequently debated topic on the forums.(then again just about everything is debated on the forums including doing water changes) Marine ich cryptocaryon or crypto for short is microscope. The tiny little white dots you see are massive clusters of eggs planted on the fish. The parasite spends the majority of it’s life off of the fish.

Most aquarists never eliminate ich entirely in their marine aquariums. Many advanced aquarist do so. If you take care of your animals and properly take care of the aquariums marine fish can live for MANY many years. The work you put in protects them. With out eliminating ich entirely there is always the chance a faulty heat will be unable to heat your tank or warm your tank to 92*F or higher and most fish will die from secondary infections such as ich. I’ve had all kinds of crap happen to my fish and never seen an outbreak for years. Many times I would have lost fish, but did not, I believe because ich wasn’t present to take advantage of the fishes weakened immune systems during these stressful times. The only fish I have ever lost after QT and treatment were jumpers.

If you manage to keep the tank in perfect conditions for ever the fish may be able to live with the ich present until they die of old age, but that is a big if.(stuff happens)

That being said hypo-salinity is the safest and most effective way to rid the fish of crypto and it is not at all recommended for novice hobbyist.

8

Thanks for your advice. I’m going to keep them in the QT for now and when I get back from a short vacation, I’m going to treat the fish with Hypo. I already bought a refractometer for that purpose.

9

Do you have a pH meter as well and some Sodium Carbonate ready?

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[quote=“Gordonious, post:9, topic:3126”]
Do you have a pH meter as well and some Sodium Carbonate ready? [/quote]

Yeah, i know that the PH has to be the same as the water I’m replacing and the sodium is to raise PH since RO water has lower PH. Thanks !

11

[quote=“Gordonious, post:7, topic:3126”]
Simply QTing them by keeping them in a healthy tank and monitoring them does not guarantee they are disease free. Some hobbyist might get frustrated that I bother to even mention it, but I would hate to see you introduce these fish to the tank, they get sick, you claim that you did everything you could do, you claim others told you the fish would be fine, and you give up on the hobby.(using you as an example, but I have seen many others do this)

There are many different approaches to acclimating fish to captivity, quarantining them, and treating them and it is a frequently debated topic on the forums.(then again just about everything is debated on the forums including doing water changes) Marine ich cryptocaryon or crypto for short is microscope. The tiny little white dots you see are massive clusters of eggs planted on the fish. The parasite spends the majority of it’s life off of the fish.

Most aquarists never eliminate ich entirely in their marine aquariums. Many advanced aquarist do so. If you take care of your animals and properly take care of the aquariums marine fish can live for MANY many years. The work you put in protects them. With out eliminating ich entirely there is always the chance a faulty heat will be unable to heat your tank or warm your tank to 92*F or higher and most fish will die from secondary infections such as ich. I’ve had all kinds of crap happen to my fish and never seen an outbreak for years. Many times I would have lost fish, but did not, I believe because ich wasn’t present to take advantage of the fishes weakened immune systems during these stressful times. The only fish I have ever lost after QT and treatment were jumpers.

If you manage to keep the tank in perfect conditions for ever the fish may be able to live with the ich present until they die of old age, but that is a big if.(stuff happens)

That being said hypo-salinity is the safest and most effective way to rid the fish of crypto and it is not at all recommended for novice hobbyist. [/quote]

Ever think that maybe it’s posts like these that scare the crap out of new hobbyist and they don’t even bother trying because it seems to be a futile effort.

I’m just saying. If someone told me that leaving my tank fallow for 10 weeks was worthless because as soon as I introduce a new fish I’m going to put ich right back in the tank I know I wouldn’t bother.

12

[quote=“Cdangel0, post:11, topic:3126”]

[quote=“Gordonious, post:7, topic:3126”]
Simply QTing them by keeping them in a healthy tank and monitoring them does not guarantee they are disease free. Some hobbyist might get frustrated that I bother to even mention it, but I would hate to see you introduce these fish to the tank, they get sick, you claim that you did everything you could do, you claim others told you the fish would be fine, and you give up on the hobby.(using you as an example, but I have seen many others do this)

There are many different approaches to acclimating fish to captivity, quarantining them, and treating them and it is a frequently debated topic on the forums.(then again just about everything is debated on the forums including doing water changes) Marine ich cryptocaryon or crypto for short is microscope. The tiny little white dots you see are massive clusters of eggs planted on the fish. The parasite spends the majority of it’s life off of the fish.

Most aquarists never eliminate ich entirely in their marine aquariums. Many advanced aquarist do so. If you take care of your animals and properly take care of the aquariums marine fish can live for MANY many years. The work you put in protects them. With out eliminating ich entirely there is always the chance a faulty heat will be unable to heat your tank or warm your tank to 92*F or higher and most fish will die from secondary infections such as ich. I’ve had all kinds of crap happen to my fish and never seen an outbreak for years. Many times I would have lost fish, but did not, I believe because ich wasn’t present to take advantage of the fishes weakened immune systems during these stressful times. The only fish I have ever lost after QT and treatment were jumpers.

If you manage to keep the tank in perfect conditions for ever the fish may be able to live with the ich present until they die of old age, but that is a big if.(stuff happens)

That being said hypo-salinity is the safest and most effective way to rid the fish of crypto and it is not at all recommended for novice hobbyist. [/quote]

Ever think that maybe it’s posts like these that scare the crap out of new hobbyist and they don’t even bother trying because it seems to be a futile effort.

I’m just saying. If someone told me that leaving my tank fallow for 10 weeks was worthless because as soon as I introduce a new fish I’m going to put ich right back in the tank I know I wouldn’t bother. [/quote]

It did get me thinking… why the hell should I even let the tank go fallow?

13

There is a school of thought that believe ich is always present in a tank and as long as the fish are healthy, happy, and stress free they can fight off the infection.

Well I’ve always wondered if that is the TRUE reason for vodka dosing ;D Seriously though - I’m going to make a fortune marketing liquid xanax for fish to prevent ich.

Leaving your tank fallow wil allow the ich life cycle to end in your main tank. Medicating your fish in the QT tank can kill off any ich they’re carrying - HOWEVER I liken this to giving your kids benedryl so they don’t get a sore throat. I think it’s a waste of time, energy, and money to treat a fish for something it’s not showing any signs of having.

Keep the fish in the QT for a week or two to observe their behavior, make sure they’re eating, and not showing any signs of being sick. Once you’re relatively comfortable that they are healthy and happy acclimate them to your DT and let them swim free and enjoy them.

If you are always worried about the “what-ifs” and “maybes” in this hobby (as in life) it’d probably be worth it to invest in a giant latex bubble to live in.

Editors note: I’ve never QT’d anything, I’ve never had ich in my tank, I usually don’t acclimate either, I am a horrible example of how to keep a reef tank. ;D

14

That school of thought will never graduate.

Here are facts on Cryptocaryon irritans (marine ich)

http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine-fish-care-health-disease-treatment/20321-marine-ich-myths-facts.html

curing ich

http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine-fish-care-health-disease-treatment/27967-curing-fish-marine-ich.htmlhttp://www.reefland.com/forum/marine-fish-care-health-disease-treatment/27967-curing-fish-marine-ich.html

You simply cannot assume your fish is disease free unless you want to risk killing all your current fish.

Vodka dosing only ever added carbon for bacteria to feed on to reproduce, you can save your money and do cheaper carbon dosing.

When you add carbon (sugar, vodka, etc.) to your aquarium, the population of aerobic bacteria shoots up to take advantage of the available carbon, consuming available oxygen (from the water), resulting in the production of CO2 and the lowering of pH. Vodka is about 40% ethyl alcohol and 60% purified water.

15

Well Craig, Cdangelo, I know Lamboboy is not complete newby a hobbyist and is more along the lines of the people I’ve known that have gotten to the point where they are trying to QT and treat the fish. When someone starts a thread about their first QT and talks about how they’ve let their tank fallow, I don’t take it as a bragging thread, but looking for comment. I know how frustrated people can be if they think they’ve done everything right and it turns out horrible.

I don’t think I was too far off base because of this comment:

[quote=“Lambo Boy, post:6, topic:3126”]
I thought that the whole point of going fallow was to get rid of ich and if I QT the two fish long enough that they show no signs of getting sick, why would you think it would reintroduce ich into the tank??[/quote]

Now because of my response he better understands that just because you don’t see it for the period of 2 months doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Based on this information he can decide what he is willing to do. I said there are multiple opinions out there. I’m just presenting facts.

Based on what I said he considering doing Hypo as well. Now that he knows he isn’t going to simply eliminate ich by allowing the tank to go fallow, if he isn’t doing Hypo he can also consider the reasons for keeping the fish in the 55 vs the larger tank. I personally think it is a good idea if he had major issues to allow that large amount of parasites that were present die of old age without the possibility of them laying eggs all over his cross hatch trigger, and Blueline Angelfish. However if someone just wants to copy what Craig has done to get a tank as beautiful as his, what’s it matter what I think? :wink: :stuck_out_tongue:

I could link to pics of my tanks and fish as well if you want.

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[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:3126”]

I could link to pics of my tanks and fish as well if you want. [/quote]

Please Jon, show some pics. I looked, but can’t find them.

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[quote=“TimH07, post:14, topic:3126”]
Vodka dosing only ever added carbon for bacteria to feed on to reproduce, you can save your money and do cheaper carbon dosing.[/quote]

You missed the joke Tim  - I was making reference to keeping the fish from being stressed i.e. using the same method I use - vodka dosing ;D

[quote=“Lambo Boy, post:12, topic:3126”]
It did get me thinking… why the hell should I even let the tank go fallow?[/quote]

And this solidifies my point. When a truly informational post (and it was a good post as far as informaiton goes) is presented without a counter balance on opinion it can have the exact opposite effect we are hoping for.Â

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:3126”]
Now because of my response he better understands that just because you don’t see it for the period of 2 months doesn’t mean it isn’t there. [/quote]

But likewise if he is practicing good husbandry and is taking care of the tank if it is not showing after 2 months the chances of it showing up later are very slim.

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:3126”]
he isn’t going to simply eliminate ich by allowing the tank to go fallow,[/quote]

But allowing the tank to go fallow WILL eliminate ich in that tank - the current population anyway. Yes he MAY reintroduce it later - but that is a chance we take with every purchase. QTing will aide in ensuring we are not putting sick fish in our DT where they may wipe out our prized fish.

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:3126”]
I could link to pics of my tanks and fish as well if you want. [/quote]

Apparently most of my jokes missed their mark in this thread.

All I’m saying is that when we focus on the bad in the hobby - the “what-ifs” if you will. We run a risk of chasing people out of the hobby. OK Lambo Boy may not be a newbie to the hobby - he may understand exactly what you mean - unfortunately he is not the only one that has the luxury of reading this. A year from now some kid getting in to the hobby is going to read it because he did a google search for ich and he’s not going to have the benefit of history, or knowing us, or a support group to discuss it wih and he’s going to say “screw it” and pack it up and get out of the hobby.

Our comments and posts have a lasting effect on the hobby whether we realize it or not.

18

I did miss that LOL, sorry :smiley:

19

Wow, good discussion!!

I’m not a newbie when it comes to this hobby but I’m a newbie when it comes to QTing a fish. Never QT my fish before with success in my other tanks but apparently not this last time around with my 300 gallon tank. Added too many fish too fast.

Now I’m going to QT every fish, at least observe them for a full month and treat them with hypo & Prazi as needed.

But I must say, it is possible to introduce a fish into your DT without QTing and the fish to be ok. Just recently, 3 months ago, I bought a Kole Tang from a LFS, I put the fish directly into my Eel tank and he has flourished ever since. The tank was seasoned and full of algae, I’m sure that helped but no signs of getting sick at all. He was even slightly bit by one of the eels and even had a sore for a few days but kicked that and it’s healthy as a horse.

I guess it’s like playing Russian roulette, sometimes it’s ok but sometimes it will kill you !!

20

Its the times that kill you that you remember LOL :BEER