Serious QT question

[salt nate]

I have been keeping sw fish for 2 months. I started with one 75 gal tank and now I have 2. I have one reef tank which is gonna be mostly small fish, corals, cuc... The other is going to be a fowler with tang(s), angels, trigger maybe...
I have already had the dreaded ich outbreak. This is actually why I got the other 75 gal, but thats another story. I am ich free for now and want to start adding fish and "building" the tanks. I can only afford/fit a 20 gal QT. If a tank gets ich again, and I have to leave the tank fish free.
1:Can I put a bunch of fish into a QT tank this big and keep it running without a "crash"?
2:Most medicines kill or hurt the nitrifying bacteria, so how do you keep a qt going into major ammonia/nitrite swings?

 

[paxrom]

20 gal won't handle more than a tang
copper doesn't harm nitrifying bacteria. Formalin does
My opinion- take it slow, get 1 fish at a time

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by salt nate
http:///forum/post/2786446
I have been keeping sw fish for 2 months. I started with one 75 gal tank and now I have 2. I have one reef tank which is gonna be mostly small fish, corals, cuc... The other is going to be a fowler with tang(s), angels, trigger maybe...
I have already had the dreaded ich outbreak. This is actually why I got the other 75 gal, but thats another story. I am ich free for now and want to start adding fish and "building" the tanks. I can only afford/fit a 20 gal QT. If a tank gets ich again, and I have to leave the tank fish free.
1:Can I put a bunch of fish into a QT tank this big and keep it running without a "crash"?
2:Most medicines kill or hurt the nitrifying bacteria, so how do you keep a qt going into major ammonia/nitrite swings?

If you quarantine ALL new purchases then you will not get ich in your display again. You cannot cram a tank full of fish into a 20 QT. You know that.
Most medications do have an impact on biological filtration. They do not kill it all though, just put a dent in it. If a tank is fully cycled then the meds will not have a big impact. If the tank is not cycled yet then the meds will kill the small amount of bacteria trying to colonize.

 

[salt nate]

Yeah I figured I couldnt, but how would I be able to leave a tank fish free? I thought no question was a stupid question

Probably the obvious...get a bigger qt!

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by salt nate
http:///forum/post/2787089
Yeah I figured I couldnt, but how would I be able to leave a tank fish free? I thought no question was a stupid question

Probably the obvious...get a bigger qt!
Your question isn't stupid at all. I was pointing out that if you quarantine all new purchases then you will not have to worry about pulling all of the fish out of your display. You just treated your fish so just quarantine new stuff. If something were to happen that caused your fish to have to be removed then you would need a larger QT. It is best to plan ahead if you are concerned that something may happen, such as you have added a new item without quarantining it first.

 

[salt nate]

yeah the whole qt ing a fish for 3 weeks does scare me(I dont have much patience) but I guess it pays off in the end.
even if you qt, cant a fish still get ich or something from being stressed, temp changes, etc??? arent there always some parasites living in them that they can usually fight off, unless something is wrong?

 

[sepulatian]

No. Ich is a parasite and MUST be introduced to the fish. Ich does not come from stress, poor health, etc. Granted, conditions that cause the fish's immune system to be compromised will make fish more susceptible to ich but ich has to be introduced for fish to get it.
As far as quarantine goes, you can take your pick. Do you want to wait for three weeks to be certain that a fish is healthy, or to be sure that ich is dead on non fish, or do you want to have to catch all of your fish and treat them while leaving the DT empty for six weeks?

 

[salt nate]

I know whats right, the problem is my instant gratification gene

 

[rcreations]

I just finished adding my last 2 fish to my 150gal DT. What I've been doing is just running hypo for 4 weeks in the qt from the start. These last 2 fish went from the store to hypo in QT. What's the point of observing them in QT for 2 weeks, then see ich and run hypo for another 4. Too much wasted time. Just hypo or copper from the start. I couldn't do copper because one of the fish was a dogface puffer.
As for your original question, I think a 75gal is too small for tangs, angels and triggers. So a 20gal QT will obviously be way too small. Might want to set up a 55gal as a QT or have one on hand in case you need it.

 

[al mc]

Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/2791167
I just finished adding my last 2 fish to my 150gal DT. What I've been doing is just running hypo for 4 weeks in the qt from the start. These last 2 fish went from the store to hypo in QT. What's the point of observing them in QT for 2 weeks, then see ich and run hypo for another 4. Too much wasted time. Just hypo or copper from the start. I couldn't do copper because one of the fish was a dogface puffer.
As for your original question, I think a 75gal is too small for tangs, angels and triggers. So a 20gal QT will obviously be way too small. Might want to set up a 55gal as a QT or have one on hand in case you need it.
RCreations and I do not always agree on Ich treatments, but I do think this is the right way to go with a QT tank. I hypo (not copper) all fish right from the start to try to keep Ich out of my systems. IMHO why just observe in QT for 3 weeks when you can do a complete hypo in as little as 4 weeks.
Also agree on the 'tang' question.