To quarantine or not to quarantine

raptor72

raptor72

Member
After several attempts at quarantining fish for a month and then only to have them die a week after I release them into the DT, I've joined the "Forget the QT club". The past five fish have all successfully thrived after directly introducing them into the DT. I know, I know, I can hear it already
. I just got tired of spending money on fish and having them die over and over.
ANYWAYS, I have two more fish left to go to complete my stocklist, a Yellow Tang and a Blue Hippo Tang. I'm contemplating quarantining these two only because of the horror stories I keep hearing about how delicate they are. Any advice on quarantining these? How about medications to keep on hand just in case?
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
That's odd. Was there a big difference in the water parameters between the two tanks? How did you acclimate them to the display?
 
raptor72

raptor72

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/389044/to-quarantine-or-not-to-quarantine#post_3435409
That's odd. Was there a big difference in the water parameters between the two tanks? How did you acclimate them to the display?
The parameters appeared identical. The PH was a little higher in the DT because I keep it at 8.4, it being a reef tank. The QT would be about 8.0.
After being in there for a month, I would place them in a bucket with some QT water and drip for about an hour. I lost about 4-5 clowns this way, usually one in the first day and the second about a week later. That all adds up to what appears to be a lot of time wasted when you think about it.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptor72 http:///t/389044/to-quarantine-or-not-to-quarantine#post_3435505
The parameters appeared identical. The PH was a little higher in the DT because I keep it at 8.4, it being a reef tank. The QT would be about 8.0.
After being in there for a month, I would place them in a bucket with some QT water and drip for about an hour. I lost about 4-5 clowns this way, usually one in the first day and the second about a week later. That all adds up to what appears to be a lot of time wasted when you think about it.
It doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with your quarantine or acclimation process. So I'm leaning away from stress as the cause of death. It sounds like something else is going on with the display. Maybe a faulty piece of equipment leaking current or voltage into the tank. Clown fish aren't the easiest fish in the world to kill by accident. They are very hardy and can usually outlast most fish living in less than ideal conditions.
 
raptor72

raptor72

Member
I have a probe in there and I've checked it for electrical currents and it's good. I also don't think it would be a coincindence that the only fish affected would be the ones that are just introduced.
I'm planning on getting the Tangs soon and would like to also know what would be a good medicine to keep handy in case of a ich outbreak, in the QT of course.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptor72 http:///t/389044/to-quarantine-or-not-to-quarantine#post_3435513
I have a probe in there and I've checked it for electrical currents and it's good. I also don't think it would be a coincindence that the only fish affected would be the ones that are just introduced.
I'm planning on getting the Tangs soon and would like to also know what would be a good medicine to keep handy in case of a ich outbreak, in the QT of course.
Do you have the ground probe plugged into a GFCI. IMO and that of many others, there are a great number of people who don't like the idea of ground probes for the fact that they take the normal voltages in the tank that are typically radiated from power cords, lights...etc and pass it through the tank in form of current which can stress fish. It would be no suprise to me that you wouldn't be detecting any voltage since it's all being passed as current through the probe. If you have the ability to check the tank for Amps I would definitely check that. At least just to rule out any possibilities of electricity stressing the fish. If it's something that built up slowly over time your other fish may have slowly adapted to the change. Just a thought.
 
mjm889

mjm889

Member
never had a problem with a yellow tang they always been pretty hardy, the blue hippo would be the one i would be most concerned about, with the blue hippo i had better sucess getting them when they were bigger than 3 inch than the smaller ones.
 
raptor72

raptor72

Member
Picked up a yellow tang today. I think I got the nicest looking one in the store. It's fins are perfect and high and almost give it a regal kind of look. He's been acclimated and is swimming the length of the tank. It seems like he'll do well, hopefully. As far as the Hippo Tang, I've been told that they're kind of hard to get this time of year so I'll be waiting a while. Meanwhile I can finish getting my Ich medication ordered. What's a good one to keep on hand?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Your best bet for QTing is to use your tank water to set up the QT and to do water changes (as long as that water is excellent). Changing out about a gal a day is a good practice. This way, when it comes time to transfer fish over to the display, the water is near the same, and you minimize acclimation. Frankly, I have basically done direct transfers to the display in situations where treatment in QT was not needed for the fish since the water, temp was the same in display as in QT.
Also, how big is your display tank.
 
raptor72

raptor72

Member

Your best bet for QTing is to use your tank water to set up the QT and to do water changes (as long as that water is excellent). Changing out about a gal a day is a good practice. This way, when it comes time to transfer fish over to the display, the water is near the same, and you minimize acclimation. Frankly, I have basically done direct transfers to the display in situations where treatment in QT was not needed for the fish since the water, temp was the same in display as in QT.

Also, how big is your display tank.
I was actually thinking about this today. How strange. I'll try this.
My tank is a 125, already want to go bigger.
 
mjm889

mjm889

Member
good luck with your yellow, i always used copper for qt/hospital tank against ich,some do hypo, but for the 4 to 6 weeks that the fish would be in copper i dont think it would harm them
 
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