About QT

[mtsuguy]

I would like to put 3 fish into my new tank next week, 2 false percs and a bicolor angle. There are no fish in the tank and it has finished "cycling" with live rock from my LFS. Do i need QT these fish for 2 or 3 weeks or can I just put them in after acclimating them? I know once adding fish later I will need to QT but I was unsure about if nothing else was in the tank at the time.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by mtsuguy
I would like to put 3 fish into my new tank next week, 2 false percs and a bicolor angle. There are no fish in the tank and it has finished "cycling" with live rock from my LFS. Do i need QT these fish for 2 or 3 weeks or can I just put them in after acclimating them? I know once adding fish later I will need to QT but I was unsure about if nothing else was in the tank at the time.
You should always QT fish to be sure you're not putting a diseased fish into your DT, imo. Everyone has differing opinions, though, but I think if you QT for 3-4 weeks you'll be able to ensure they don't have ich, among other diseases.

 

[mtsuguy]

Alrighty, Thanks!

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by m0nk
You should always QT fish to be sure you're not putting a diseased fish into your DT, imo. Everyone has differing opinions, though, but I think if you QT for 3-4 weeks you'll be able to ensure they don't have ich, among other diseases.
Correct.
The treatment for many parasites and diseases will kill your live rock. Therefore it's always best to QT fish even before introducing them into a new tank.

 

[mtsuguy]

What about a cleanup crew?

 

[sepulatian]

If there are no fish in your display then you can add your cleanup crew directly to that, after acclimating of course.

 

[waterlogged]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
If there are no fish in your display then you can add your cleanup crew directly to that, after acclimating of course.
But don't add fish right away after putting in clean up crew.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Waterlogged
But don't add fish right away after putting in clean up crew.
Correct, the fish go into the qt.

 

[mtsuguy]

I only have a 10g QT, do I only need to do one fish at a time? I know bigger is better when it comes to saltwater but frankly I just dont have the money to spend on a 30g setup that I'm only going to use 4 weeks and be stuck with.

 

[nicetry]

It' not advisable to quarantine more than one fish at a time, unless they are a bonded pair. I would start with the clowns. As this is a new tank, I would suggest against adding any angel fish until your system has matured for at least 5-6 months. It sounds like a long wait but angels fare best in well established systems. New tanks can often display swings in parameters that can be harmful to sensiitive fish. FWIW, the bicolor is not the hardiest of angels. Pretty fish but an overall sketchy record of survival in captivity. You may want to explore other options.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by mtsuguy
I only have a 10g QT, do I only need to do one fish at a time? I know bigger is better when it comes to saltwater but frankly I just dont have the money to spend on a 30g setup that I'm only going to use 4 weeks and be stuck with.
It really depends on the overall size of your main tank, and you shouldn't be getting that many fish at one time anyway. A tank that's 25-50% of the size of your main display tank is fine for QT, but if you'll be housing bigger fish, it's better to have a bigger tank. And for adding fish, you should really only add one or two fish per month, no matter the size of your tank. The reasoning there is to keep your tank stable between additions. The more fish you add, the quicker the bioload change, which can disrupt the biological filtration (bacteria growth, pods, etc) and add a lot of extra waste/food all in one shot. 4 weeks definitely won't be long enough to QT all new incoming fish to stock a tank.
And you won't always just need it for the initial stocking. If a fish gets sick you should pull it out and place it in QT asap just in case it's something that can spread to other fish, to treat it, and also to reduce it's stress while you treat it.