QT question?

[jzuse]

I have read Beth’s very informative posts and I am still not really clear on how to set up a QT. Right now I am down to three fish, a Coral Beauty Angel, Bar Goby and a Green Chromis. I noticed that I had/have ich in the tank, because I had a clown fish die on me. I thought I read a post that said that once you have ich in your tank the only way to really get rid of it is by taking out and putting all the fish in a QT and use Hyposalinity. I eventually want to add more fish, so is it better to cycle the QT or keep up with it and not let it cycle?
The part that I am not clear on in setting up a QT is how do I cycle the QT with out using water form the main tank which is the one with ich?
Will the LS and LR carry the ich into the QT if I use it? Are corals affected by ich?
Will the ich die off in my main tank with no fish in it? And how long will it take?
Just to make sure I am clear, I need a small 5-10 gal tank (my tank is 37gal so all I want are smaller fish), sides painted black, some kind of filter, heater, pieces of PVC pipe and elbows?

 

[unleashed]

dont use hypo in a qt the move alone can be stressful and the hypo can do more damage than good if your going to qt the the fish do it right with as litle stress for your fish as possible. if you have to buy a tank to use as a qt I recomend a 20 gal.if you have a tank already to use then use it .use water from your own tank to set this one up is say do a 50 % water change on your current set up using the discarded water to fill your qt then add new water to top off both tanks.yes you will be adding ich infected water but your also adding ich infested fish with you will be treating so it wont live in the qt anyways.I have always used coppersafe to cure ich ,its a one dose that last 30 days in the water and can be used with carbons,it wil not remove this medication as it will other types of copper treaments.this will help keep your qt much cleaner you will to set this up tank of course hang on filter(very helpful)and heater.fish must be in qt for at least 30 days I do recomend adding something for your fish to hide in such as a clean clear tube cleaned pop bottle anything that wont be effected by the copper treatment but make the fish feel safe but you can see them to make sure all is well.with plastic pop bottle remove lable cut off the top and end vala you have a tube.if you have a the hang on filter you wont need a powerhead...this is how I do it. good luck. oh yes you can add sand if you want from main tank but its not nessesary if you dont plan on keeping the qt up and running permanantly id keep it a barebottom once you treat the substrate with copper or any med you cant return it to the main tank.. as for the ich in the main tank with out the fish for it to feed on it will all die off. ps make sure you keep the quarenteened fish well fed this will help them with the healing prossess

 

[jzuse]

Thanks Unleashed,
Is it still a good idea to paint the tank black? and also the copper removes the slime coating right, is there something that I can buy to put that coating back on before placing them back in the main tank? When I purchase new fish it is safe to place them into this tank first right?

 

[beth]

You can use water from your display. It doesn't matter if ich is carried to the QT, since the fish have ich. You are going to treat the ich. Hyposalinity is the best choice, if you have a refractometer. Take a look at the post on hyposalinity in the FAQ.

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by Jzuse
Thanks Unleashed,
Is it still a good idea to paint the tank black? and also the copper removes the slime coating right, is there something that I can buy to put that coating back on before placing them back in the main tank? When I purchase new fish it is safe to place them into this tank first right?
painting the tank isn't nessesary just makes more work for you.as for the coppersafe I have had very good results from it.copper is a very harsh chemical and can be lethal is overdosed.this is the main reason I used coppersafe to begin with easy to dose inexpencive and I found it to be very effective in curing My hippo tang and a good diet in conjunction with this treatment.is what I found effective.coppersafe is not only made for treatment it is also created as a prevention unlike other copper treatments.should not harm the slime coat.from all of me readings I found that hypo should only be used in a non reef enviroment in cases of infestations that fish cannot be removed from to treat.keep the quarentine tank as stable as possible to whats its used to and it should recover well.this has been my personal experience at least. a couple atricles you can read up on hope these help
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichart2mar.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/martrthyposalfaqs.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/martrthyposalfaq2.htm

 

[jzuse]

So what would be better? Hyposalinity or the Copper? I dont have a refractometer, I just got a hydrometer. Would it be ok to use both methods in the same QT?

 

[evanish]

I would qt the fish. I have qted a number of fish and used a hydrometer and all the fish that came out of the qt haven't gotten ich yet. I belive my clown and damsel have been ich free for over a year.

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by Jzuse
So what would be better? Hyposalinity or the Copper? I dont have a refractometer, I just got a hydrometer. Would it be ok to use both methods in the same QT?
copper is absolute cure to ich Ive lost fish due to hypo treatements before.you will get a lot of differnt oppions on which is best I suggest taking a look at the links posted above to help you decide which is best for you.as I stated above removing your fish is stressfull enough by reducing sg causes more undue stress on the fish as well why would you remove a fish from the main tank to qt to not treat it properly with meds just to stress it out more without meds.jmo but check out the links I urge you to at least read up on your choices the does and dont they whys and why nots.some fish are copper sensitive and cannot be treated with it.make sure your is not.

 

[beth]

unleashed, those articles should be posted here, since this is a no-competitor link site.

 

[unleashed]

ty beth

 

[mavgi]

agree with beth you can use water from your main tank and from my experience hypo will be the best option.

 

[novak]

Unleshed thanks for the post! It answered alot of my questions. I'm treating a purple tang with copper safe. I followed the directions and added 1 teaspoon of copper safe per 5 gallons of water. (20 gallon tank = 4 teaspoons). When I mesure the copper leval it is 1 part per million. My only problem is I have no idea if this is right or to high or to low. Can you or some one tell me what amount of copper I should have. Thanks for all your help. Shane