Best setup for quarantine tank?

Bright42020

New Member
Hello everyone. I am new to aquariums and i have a 54 gallon and a 75 gallon saltwater tank. In my 54 gallon tank my sailfin tang developed ich and passed it to my kole tang which died in about a day and a half and to my eibli angel looks real bad now and didnt eat tonight. My sailfin tang is still swimming around and eating and although looks kinda rough, looks ok for now. So im not very happy after only having these for a few weeks.

After recently learning what ich is and how it spreads would you recommend immediately isolating a fish in a QT tank if you notice he is developing ich? If so what setup and size would you recommend?

I have been adding ich attack made by kordon twice a day for the last 4 days. I have crabs and shrimp in the tank as well. So i was told this chemical doesnt hurt the crabs or shrimp but can be used to treat ich. I havnt seen much results yet and i lost my kole tang yesterday.
Thanks.
 

Bright42020

New Member
Hello everyone. I am new to aquariums and i have a 54 gallon and a 75 gallon saltwater tank. In my 54 gallon tank my sailfin tang developed ich and passed it to my kole tang which died in about a day and a half and to my eibli angel looks real bad now and didnt eat tonight. My sailfin tang is still swimming around and eating and although looks kinda rough, looks ok for now. So im not very happy after only having these for a few weeks.

After recently learning what ich is and how it spreads would you recommend immediately isolating a fish in a QT tank if you notice he is developing ich? If so what setup and size would you recommend?

I have been adding ich attack made by kordon twice a day for the last 4 days. I have crabs and shrimp in the tank as well. So i was told this chemical doesnt hurt the crabs or shrimp but can be used to treat ich. I havnt seen much results yet and i lost my kole tang yesterday.
Thanks.
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
if one fish has ich you need to treat ALL of them. You now have ich in your tank and any new fish will also get ich. The only way to get the ich out of the tank is to leave it fallow (no fish) for 72 days. This removes the parasites food source and it dies.
Any fish you have, should be treated in a hospital tank. I’d recommend a 20-29 gallon if there are a lot of fish, with just one or two small fish you can get away with a ten gallon. I use a sponge filter (I’d use 2 in a 20 or 29 gallon tank). These are cheap and run on an air pump. Since you need it immediately. I’d soak the sponge in a bottled saltwater bacteria like Dr Tim’s For a couple hours before adding it. Use it straight no dilution. This helps jumpstart the colonization. Add some PVC pipe connectors, elbows and Ts, for the fish to hide in and add a small heater. I’d suggest a seaChem ammonia alert badge so you can monitor ammonia in real time.
To treat for ich you need copper or hyposalinity. Ich attack will NOT kill ich. I personally prefer hyposalinity as it is easier on the fish.
for hyposalinity You need to slowly lower the salinity (over a couple days) to 1.009. You need a calibrated refrectometer for this, no hydro meters, the salinity must stay at 1.009 for 4 weeks. If it goes higher you need to start the time over. Once your fish are cured you need to very slowly (over a week or more) increase the salinity of the tank to match your display. You still need to keep your fish in the hospital tank for the full 72 days.
Copper treatment requires either cupramine or chelates copper like copperSafe. You also need a copper test kit compatible with the copper you choose. follow the instructions on the package. Chelated copper is easier to use.
Once your display is ready to get the fish back add them. Sterilize the hospital tank and all the equipment in it with 10% bleach. Make sure it is pure bleach, some have surfactants added and you don’t want that. It is usually the super cheap bleach. Let the equipment air dry completely (About 48 hours). Now the tank is ready to be set up as a quarantine tank. The set up is identical as for the hospital tank. This will be where you quarantine any new fish (one at a time) for 30 days. Some like to treat for inch and other parasites while the fish is in QT. Unless it is a tang or a rescue from ***** I just observe and treat if necessary.
Your 54 gal is a small tank You can’t do any tangs in it. They need space to swim even when they are very small. As they get older they get very territorial (all SW fish do this) and will be aggressive Especially in a small tank. In your 75 you could do ONE tang but only a bristle tooth like a Tomini, kole, or similar. Keep track of tank size requirements and adult size of these fish. Only buy what is appropriate for your tank or you will end up with a lot of aggression resulting in stressed fish that have health issues.
 

Bright42020

New Member
Thank you very much for responding. So in my 54 gallon i have an eibli angel, sailfin tang and a talbot damsel left. The sailfin tang is a baby. If the 54 gallon I have right now is not big enough for my tang, will they be ok in a 20 or 30 gallon tank for 72 days and would I be ok with a 20 or do I need 30?

So i planned on getting a 180 gallon tank in about a year and but regardless the guy who sold me the sailfin tang said it would be ok in my 54. I could move him to my 75 afterwards but do you think he would be ok for about a year? I dont want stressed fish, and especially if thats a main cause of health issues.

Do you put any live sand or live rock in the hospital tank?

Will the ich still die in my 54 gallon tank if i have crabs and shrimp still in the tank that im feeding brine shrimp, with no fish in the tank?
 

Bright42020

New Member
How did the ich get in my tank? The guy at the store was trying to tell me that ich is always in the water and when the fish get stressed they succumb to it and show symptons, but that doesnt make sense if im trying to kill the ich in my water.
 

Bright42020

New Member
What will happen if i leave the fish in the tank? Will the ich for sure kill them or can they survive it? If they did survive would there still be ich in the tank?
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Your guy at the fish store is full of crap and he probably knows it. His tanks likely do have ich in them. We advise against believing the guy at the fish store. They are trying to sell you fish. There are exceptions but they are few and far between. A good fish store will ask you about your tank and refuse to sell you inappropriate fish. They will advise you to quarantine all fish. He probably runs a sub therapeutic level of copper in his tanks. Not enough to kill ich but enough to hide the infestation. The ich came in on one of your fish. ich only lives on fish so crabs and other inverts are fine to leave in the 54.
I’d suggest returning the sailfin. Once you have a big enough tank you can get another one, they are easy to find.
id keep a close eye on the fish in your 75 for any signs of disease.

the hospital/QT tank should be bare bottom. I’d suggets a 20 gallon long or a 29 for those fish to be treated. Mostly because of the damsel. Damsels are beautiful but vicious little fish.

if you left things as they are the ich would stay in the tank Forever. It will likely kill any fish that are currently affected. Any that survive will always be at risk and any stressor will cause an outbreak. New fish will be at a very high risk of dying. It isn’t worth it. These are living creatures and we don’t want to knowingly put them into a situation where they will likely get sick. Treating the 3 you have and letting the parasite die in the tank is the best choice. It is the most humane and realistically the most cost effective.
 

Bright42020

New Member
Thanks again for replying. I really appreciate the advice. So i am going to buy a 29 gallon quarantine/hospital tank to begin treatment to try and save my fish.

I understand the fish store wants to sell fish. I dont think they have complete malicious intent to move fish regardless of the environment they are going to. Ive had several conversations about appropriate tank size/mates and tank age when it comes to buying fish. But i agree with your philosophy and want to buy fish and set them up for success and not failure. I will not make this mistake again.

I had a conversation with a store employee just now and i was asking about what they thought about hyposalinity/copper vs the ich attack they sold me. They do use copper in their tanks at the store to fight ich they told me. Im a little curious about why you believe hyposalinity is easier on the fish vs copper treatment because he had the opposite philosophy and his point was the fish already have ich, you gonna catch them and put them in a new tank inducing more stress, and then lower the salinty on them stressing them even more and they said it might kill them.

Ive only been doing this for 2 months so im clueless myself the correct path but ive been reading and learning a lot and trying to get the best advice possible. Ive never done hyposalinity before so i believe it would be easier for me personally to do a copper treatment then to figure out how to get the salinity to the level you specified and keep it there. The most important thing for me is saving the fish, and using the most efficient treatment. If you could elaborate for me on why hyposalinity is easier on the fish i would really appreciate it. They also said 30 days to kill the ich instead of 72. Could you elaborate on why 72 days is needed? Thank you.
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
It doesn’t contain the correct medication to kill the parasites. The correct medication is copper.
 
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