How is his behavior – any changes like flashing?
(It's hard to tell what you're referring to in the photo...can you kill your blue lights and/or use the flash on your camera?)
If you haven't ID'd any pests yet, why do you already know what you'd treat him with?
That's having the cart before the horse.
Have you given him a freshwater dip at any point yet?
If you do suspect anything on him....be at least a little sure first, and then give him a freshwater dip. About 5 minutes...longer up to 15 minutes is ok if he seems to be cool with it. Sometimes little fish are more sensitive, so just pay attention.
BTW your quarantine tank is still way too barren to be no-stress.
I missed the corner-hiding comment earlier – that's not great, it's a sign of stress from the tank being too open. You'd hope to see swimming behavior instead and hiding among the cover in the tank vs in the corners. Some hiding can be normal, but corner hiding is not usual. Make sure the lights aren't very bright.
Adding some plastic plants would be the easiest way I can think of to give him some naturalistic cover. 1-3 plants should do it if they're good-sized compared to him, but if you don't have to pay much for them, go nuts and add several – he'll appreciate it!
Rockin Meds
Concerns about the meds and the live rock are pretty well-founded and
certainly well-intended , but are also over-stated IMO. Especially in light of that being the tank's only real cover. (PVC alone doesn't cut it...especially not that one tiny piece.) Leave the rock in for best results. And if you're really afraid of it absorbing something (or whatever) then throw it away at the end or save it for QT-only usage. Both are legitimate options. But I'd keep it.
IMO the worst case scenario
if you take care to remove the medicated water from the rock (maybe rinse 10 times or something) and place the rock into the display is that maybe it could have more algae problems than other rocks. Not a "real problem"....if that comes to pass, then remove the rock or handle the algae another way. Easy.
However, I'm not sure you'd even be able to notice the "medicated" rock compared to your dead rock.
I don't believe there's much if any chance at all of seeing
actual effects from the medication you used in quarantine
in your display tank.
Dilution alone would seem to be enough to kill that worry...
A dose consisting
only of the residue of the med contained on live rock after 10 rinses, which is then diluted by the
xxx gallons of seawater your display tank can't even be worth talking about, can it?
You can make the same considerations about efficacy (dosing) and dilution for any med you're considering....maybe you'll find some med that really is so nasty and foul that it really will ruin your rock and really can't even be rinsed off....but I don't see any advantage in makes assumptions or jumping to conclusions about it.
- One reason is that a lot of folks have dosed metro (one of your suggested meds) and other meds right into their reefs. I wouldn't do it or suggest it, but it happens and the reef tank apparently lives on.
- Another reason is that many meds have to be continually re-dosed to maintain effective levels even in the treatment tank because they degrade so fast.
- To wit: Gereral Cure appears to require a repeat dose every 48 hours, so hard to worry about that one. Seachem MetroPlex has the same dosing advice – re-dose every 48 hours.
Not every med is the same, and I could also be wrong abuot the whole thing (maybe not the whole thing
) – but I still wouldn't deprive your buddy of the live rock during any medication you do.
The rock is more fungible than he is
unless it's still live from the ocean too.
(No space, no way, no how for a 10 gallon hospital tank just for the duration of the med? Get some plastic plants for the hospital tank too if you can go that route.)
