QT tank questions

lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
I set up a QT for a fish I bought and put him in now he is not doing well. (floating at top) I checked my water ant amm is 1 so I put him in a small tub filled with some water from DT water and took all the water out and put new RO salt water and tested it again and still I was getting a reading of .25 what am I doing wrong? Should I put the fish in the QT or what Help please? I think it is too late for my fish

B
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/3010723
I set up a QT for a fish I bought and put him in now he is not doing well. (floating at top) I checked my water ant amm is 1 so I put him in a small tub filled with some water from DT water and took all the water out and put new RO salt water and tested it again and still I was getting a reading of .25 what am I doing wrong? Should I put the fish in the QT or what Help please? I think it is too late for my fish

B
Okay so you did a water change in your QT, and it still reads 0.25.. that's still going to be too high for the fish.
If the fish spent any length of time in a system with ammonia at 1ppm, the gills likely have suffered serious ammonia burn... so you are right, it may be too late.
Did you drain ALL of the water from the QT and replace it, or only some? Did you test the water before putting it into the QT? Do you have any ammonia neutralizer such as Prime or Amquel? It's a useful quick fix....
IMO your best option for the fish is to just put it into your DT at this point, as the more you screw around, the worse you are stressing him. However, doing so puts your entire DT at risk. If you think the fish is going to die, then don't risk your DT for him. After all, it may NOT be the ammonia that's causing him to act like this, but rather any number of illnesses that can be spread.
 
lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
I am SO upset. The Fish Is a Blackcap gamma I should of put him strait in the DT tank I dont know enough about the QT to start it. I dumped all the water and Started new I ran to store and got ammo lock by api. The fish is to sick to put in the DT I think the crabs will bother him. Well I can only pray he make it if he is better in a day I will put him in.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/3010822
I am SO upset. The Fish Is a Blackcap gamma I should of put him strait in the DT tank I dont know enough about the QT to start it. I dumped all the water and Started new I ran to store and got ammo lock by api. The fish is to sick to put in the DT I think the crabs will bother him. Well I can only pray he make it if he is better in a day I will put him in.

Alright well the good thing you have going for you is that the Blackcap is a tough as nails fish. If anything is going to pull through, it's him.
The blackcap is a deep water fish, so one thing it can take is lower temperatures. I'd lower the temperature to about 72 degrees in the quarantine tank, that will slow down his metabolism, if it's burned gills, that may help. Don't do anything drastic. Just turn any heaters down and let the tank slowly cool. Keep the lights off so he stays inactive.
Good luck, he's a rare and valuable fish.
 
lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
set it up same day I got fish. Can anyone tell me how to set up a Qt? The fish made it through the night and good a little better. Do I put he the DT or Fix my QT.
 
lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
Joe I dont know I have saltwater and a small filter on the side of tank no sand no rock just pvc. I read some threads but they did not talk about bio load. What do I do now?

b
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
Her qt is brand new. Did you add any new rock? did you buy a brand new filter for it? You started a new tank with new water and are shocked you see ammonia? Your tank has zero beneficial bacteria to help with the break down of waste.
I would take out rock from you DT and water place that in your qt. This will speed up the mini cycle your tank will go through. I would not put that fish back in.
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/3011172
set it up same day I got fish. Can anyone tell me how to set up a Qt? The fish made it through the night and good a little better. Do I put he the DT or Fix my QT.
Some live rock. No sand. Filter heater light. Pvc like you already have for hiding places. I would place 10 pounds of live rock in the tank. Maybe more. Various sizes and make caves and hiding places. Bare bottom. Maybe a small power head. My 30 has a nano power head. QT require more water changes unless medicating for an illness.
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
No need to apologize. The best thing you can do is take the fish back. You are new. Your main tank is up and running just fine. I could only imagine the nightmare on your hands if this fish is sick and causes a major issuse in your tank. This fish could kill the rest of your fish. Not fair to them or you.
No fish is worth your hard earned money and happiness. For your sake and your other fishes sake take this guy back to your LFS. Try and get store credit and buy some live rock. Set up your QT correctly. It will cycle just like your DT did.
Once its cycled then go buy another fish. Patience is key. Rushing things only cause problems. This was a good learning situation. Good luck.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
A QT started with live rock from your establish tank will not need to cycle. Do you have live rock in your dt? YOu can also add filter media from the dt to the qt to kickstart the bacteria. Also, if you replaced all the water you should check your pH and Alkalinity levels as a large water change can cause streessful swings in pH levels and low Alkalinity could cause the tank to have large pH swings on its own.
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
You're not dumb. Just lack the knowledge because nobody ever told you.
Prime it may not not go into full blown cycle but until the tank and filter build up any bacteria small amounts ammonia will form. Happened in my 30. It only lasted a few days but it was present.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
There shouldnt be any cycle when using existing rock since most of the bacteria exists on surfaces. Sure theres no bacteria on the tank and filters, but there should be plenty on the porous rock. The QT might not be able to handle the same bioload as the tank until bacteria has formed everywhere, but it should be able to handle enough. If you couldnt switch tanks without having some ammonia form then there wouldnt be much point to setting up a qt on the fly and it would make upgrading/moving tanks an even bigger risk. I've set my 30 qt up a few different times and never had any traces of ammonia. I would also suggest to try to prevent the rock from ever touching air if at all possible during the transfer.
That isn't to say you shouldnt test for ammonia anyway. Whenever setting up a qt you want to check your ammonia and use ammolock or similar product if any ammonia is showing up.
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
You make complete sense. Maybe I did something wrong. Learn something everyday. I was basing off my own experience not realizing my own may have had had its own flaws.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/3011340
Learn something everyday.
So incredibly true. I just found out low alkalinity can cause violent swings in pH which might've attributed to half my fish dying. Too often we learn these things the hard way. :/
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
[. The QT might not be able to handle the same bioload as the tank until bacteria has formed everywhere, but it should be able to handle enough. If you couldnt switch tanks without having some ammonia form then there wouldnt be much point to setting up a qt on the fly and it would make upgrading/moving tanks an even bigger risk. I've set my 30 qt up a few different times and never had any traces of ammonia. I would also suggest to try to prevent the rock from ever touching air if at all possible during the transfer.
That isn't to say you shouldnt test for ammonia anyway. Whenever setting up a qt you want to check your ammonia and use ammolock or similar product if any ammonia is showing up.[/QUOTE]
 
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