quarantine tank

[lmforbis]

Rid ich would not be my first choice. It is more for fresh water. I don’t believe malachite green is particularly good at getting rid if marine ich. It is great for freshwater Ich.
Hypo salinity is my first choice. After that copper safe then cupramine.

 

[jay0705]

Agreed. To be effective hypo has to be done precisely, copper safe has always worked for me. Hypo is the easier on the fish tho

 

[beth]

I have used coppersafe for a long time and it is quite effective, but it seems to be a bit harsher long-term on fish. Generally, SeaChem's Cupramine is the better choice if copper treatment is the choice of treatment. The important thing with copper is that you can't just dump doses in the water and hope for the best. You have test daily with the correct copper test kit applicable to the type of copper you are using and maintain therapeutic dose levels.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

Ok. The sg is now at 1.009. Once the new spot is gone and I see no more scratching / flashing, I'll start the countdown. I'll check out the zeocon / selcon options.

I appreciate all of the advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions before it is all over with.

 

[beth]

Feel free to ask. Just keep eye on pH; with that low salinity pH can drop way too low.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

If the PH is too low, what is the recommended buffer to get it back into the right range, and how quickly / slowly can / should the adjustment be made?

 

[lmforbis]

I just use a tiny bit of the alkalinity soln I usually use from the BRS 2 part. As long as pH is above 7.5 you should be fine. It won’t take much to increase the pH al hyposalinity.

 

[beth]

I'd aim for 7.8 min. with striving for whatever pH is in the display tank fish will permanently reside.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

Update! My tang is looking great! We are almost through the treatment process. He was strutting around the quarantine tank the other day showing me how pretty he is! Thanks for all the help!

 

[beth]

Did you end up treating something? How long has the fish been in QT?

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

He's been in QT for 6 weeks. I initially treated with hyposalinity (1.009) and reduced doses of formalin / malachite green. But I discontinued the meds when the spots cleared. I bought a bottle of cupramine just in case, but it doesn't appear to be necessary, since I haven't seen any symptoms for at least three weeks. I did add the Zoe to his food as recommended, and that seemed to make a huge difference in his color. So that will be a staple in the diet from now on. I have also given him part of a seaweed sheet every day the whole time. He seems to enjoy that as well.
I have a new (to me) 90 gallon set up all cycled and waiting for him. I plan to transfer him over pretty soon. When the original 75 setup is through the fallow period, I get to start thinking about how to set up a second system!

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

Going forward, I intend to do a quarantine on everything. I have read some differing opinions on whether to treat with something like cupramine or prazipro in quarantine as a preventative measure before putting the fish in general population. Some say that they do this whether the fish has any symptoms or not. Others say not to treat them unless there are symptoms.

Unless I hear any input that changes my mind, I figure I'll quarantine for at least 4 weeks, and only treat if they show symptoms after the second or third week.

I'm also debating on keeping any new fish in hyposalinity for the first week or two as a preventative, but I may wait for symptoms before doing that as well.

Any thoughts the forum has on preventative treatments in quarantine?

 

[lmforbis]

I don't like to treat with harsh meds unless absolutely necessary. I use the tank transfer method initially which will get rid of ich and treat with PraziPro twice during the transfers otherwise only observation.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

How often do you transfer tanks? Is it daily? How many transfers do you do?

 

[lmforbis]

i transfer every 72 hours (no more) five times. The last transfer is into a observation tank where the fish remains for at least 2 weeks. If there are no issues then they can go into the display. This has never failed me, I have put a couple tangs through this protocol. I have managed to prevent disease from getting into my display.

 

[beth]

Unless I hear any input that changes my mind, I figure I'll quarantine for at least 4 weeks, and only treat if they show symptoms after the second or third week.

I'm also debating on keeping any new fish in hyposalinity for the first week or two as a preventative, but I may wait for symptoms before doing that as well.

Any thoughts the forum has on preventative treatments in quarantine?

Good plan. QT is the preventative. Good quality water, food, environment, and even supplements is best.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

Does anyone have any wisdom on keeping a diamond goby in QT without sand? I'm hoping to add one to my stock soon, but I want to make sure he gets what he needs in quarantine.

Will he get enough food out of the column to survive the quarantine period, or do I need to take special steps to get him through it?

 

[beth]

Shouldn't be an issue on a bare bottom for short duration. You need to feed him, however. I always had a couple of cups of sand in my QT anyway (20L).

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

I intended to feed him the way I normally feed the display tank, I was just concerned that it wouldn't be enough given how much they like to sift the sand.

When you put the small amount of sand in the QT, doesn't it tend to spread out? I'm wondering if that would be enough to keep the goby happy.

 

[lmforbis]

You can put the sand in a glass pan. You will want to target feed the fish. Even once it is out of QT you may need to target feed. They don’t often get enough food from the sand and can starve to death even in a large tank.