Adding corals and inverts during fallow period

[Reef Addict 10-4]

Hey all,

I recently had a devastating outbreak of velvet that killed ALL of my fish, including the clownfish. I believe the strain came in on a sea urchin I purchased from my LFS. Needless to say - I'm going through a fallow period to rid of diseases. At the moment all I have in the tank are inverts and a couple of corals.

I'm currently a month into the fallow period, and I've decided to purchase some well needed CUC members. My question is: Will introducing new inverts or corals into the tank re-start the clock for the fallow period?

 

[Jekyl]

Hey all,

I recently had a devastating outbreak of velvet that killed ALL of my fish, including the clownfish. I believe the strain came in on a sea urchin I purchased from my LFS. Needless to say - I'm going through a fallow period to rid of diseases. At the moment all I have in the tank are inverts and a couple of corals.

I'm currently a month into the fallow period, and I've decided to purchase some well needed CUC members. My question is: Will introducing new inverts or corals into the tank re-start the clock for the fallow period?

Just ensure they are coming from fishless systems. Otherwise preventative measures need to be taken.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey all,

I recently had a devastating outbreak of velvet that killed ALL of my fish, including the clownfish. I believe the strain came in on a sea urchin I purchased from my LFS. Needless to say - I'm going through a fallow period to rid of diseases. At the moment all I have in the tank are inverts and a couple of corals.

I'm currently a month into the fallow period, and I've decided to purchase some well needed CUC members. My question is: Will introducing new inverts or corals into the tank re-start the clock for the fallow period?

You safely can. Doesn’t matter if from fishless system as Protozoan will die off if any without a host fish. Don’t add any more 3 weeks prior to intended introduction of fish once again

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

You safely can. Doesn’t matter if from fishless system as Protozoan will die off if any without a host fish. Don’t add any more 3 weeks prior to intended introduction of fish once again

But if the system has an active disease, tomonts can be transferred if anything wet is moved from that tank to the fallow one. It is best that if you are adding any invertebrates or algae to a tank during the fallow period, that it come from a fishless system.

 

[MnFish1]

Hey all,

I recently had a devastating outbreak of velvet that killed ALL of my fish, including the clownfish. I believe the strain came in on a sea urchin I purchased from my LFS. Needless to say - I'm going through a fallow period to rid of diseases. At the moment all I have in the tank are inverts and a couple of corals.

I'm currently a month into the fallow period, and I've decided to purchase some well needed CUC members. My question is: Will introducing new inverts or corals into the tank re-start the clock for the fallow period?

Potentially. I would stop. Don't order anything, don't add anything. It just adds another variable

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

You safely can. Doesn’t matter if from fishless system as Protozoan will die off if any without a host fish. Don’t add any more 3 weeks prior to intended introduction of fish once again

This is the kind of stuff that gets me confused, and I'm not saying what you are portraying is wrong....

The way I figure it is: I should get the majority of what I want (as far as inverts & corals go) into my tank now while I don't have any fish, and then wait out the fallow period.

My main question is: Does every (fishless) addition to the tank require a reset in the fallow period?

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is the kind of stuff that gets me confused, and I'm not saying what you are portraying is wrong....

The way I figure it is: I should get the majority of what I want (as far as inverts & corals go) into my tank now while I don't have any fish, and then wait out the fallow period.

My main question is: Does every (fishless) addition to the tank require a reset in the fallow period?

Reset no, but more than once I have added specimens as tank will go 6-8 weeks without fish. While I agree that there is potential to bring something undesired into the tank, 6-8 weeks without a host fish should assure given parasites have died off. The challenge is finding healthy stock.

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

Just ensure they are coming from fishless systems. Otherwise preventative measures need to be taken.

Would you happen to know if liveaquaria seperates their inverts and corals from their fish?

Perhaps its worth the fallow period reset just to be safe..

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

My main question is: Does every (fishless) addition to the tank require a reset in the fallow period

If the new addition to the tank comes from a tank with fish in it, it could potentially be carrying disease, so the fallow period would restart, yes.

If the new addition is from a fishless tank (and you're confident there hasn't been any cross-contamination from tanks that have fish in them), then you wouldn't need to restart the fallow period - you could just continue it.

If you're not confident about cross-contamination, then the safest course of action is restarting the fallow period.

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

Reset no, but more than once I have added specimens as tank will go 6-8 weeks without fish. While I agree that there is potential to bring something undesired into the tank, 6-8 weeks without a host fish should assure given parasites have died off. The challenge is finding healthy stock.

Were your added "additions" from suppliers/systems without any fish?

And when you added them, you didn't "reset" the fallow period? Or did you factor in an extra period of time?

Thanks for the help....

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

If the new addition to the tank comes from a tank with fish in it, it could potentially be carrying disease, so the fallow period would restart, yes.

If the new addition is from a fishless tank (and you're confident there hasn't been any cross-contamination from tanks that have fish in them), then you wouldn't need to restart the fallow period - you could just continue it.

If you're not confident about cross-contamination, then the safest course of action is restarting the fallow period.

What you are saying aligns with what I have learned (from these forums) throughout the years.

I believe this because I previously ran a tank that I KNEW had Ich present - but hadn't been an issue. I purchased a couple sea urchins from my LFS, and within hours my fish became ill, and passed a few days later. Velvet.

After a tank has been through its fallow period, does every invert or coral need to quarantine for 72 days?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What you are saying aligns with what I have learned (from these forums) throughout the years.

I believe this because I previously ran a tank that I KNEW had Ich present - but hadn't been an issue. I purchased a couple sea urchins from my LFS, and within hours my fish became ill, and passed a few days later. Velvet.

After a tank has been through its fallow period, does every invert or coral need to quarantine for 72 days?

6-8 weeks and I got those corals from an LFS with shared system and tanks had fish

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

After a tank has been through its fallow period, does every invert or coral need to quarantine for 72 days?

For the highest possible level of biosecurity, yes - 60-76 days QT for anything wet (inverts, corals, rocks, algae, etc.) is recommended.

Odds of things other than fish bringing in disease are low, but - as you've found - not zero, so a QT for everything is the safest course.

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

For the highest possible level of biosecurity, yes - 60-76 days QT for anything wet (inverts, corals, rocks, algae, etc.) is recommended.

Odds of things other than fish bringing in disease are low, but - as you've found - not zero, so a QT for everything is the safest course.

I've been "in the game" for at least a decade now... and velvet was by far the worst disease I've ran into thus far. I can't believe how fast/deadly it really is.

I lost a (stunning) adult sized emporer angel and a couple of clownfish I had had for roughly 5 years.... I dug them a shallow grave, and man did that suck.

I might get a couple more corals before the CUC members arrive, and reset the fallow period clock.

Liveaquaria has been around for quite a while, but Im not sure of their treatment methods.... and at this point any risk of cross contamination is deep on my mind.

 

[Jekyl]

Would you happen to know if liveaquaria seperates their inverts and corals from their fish?

Perhaps its worth the fallow period reset just to be safe..

Unsure on liveaquaria. Reefcleaners.org has fishless inverts though.

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

Unsure on liveaquaria. Reefcleaners.org has fishless inverts though.

Oh, cool! If that's a well know trusted source that would be great to utilize going forward.

Have you had success with them, and do you typically QT?

 

[Jekyl]

Oh, cool! If that's a well know trusted source that would be great to utilize going forward.

Have you had success with them, and do you typically QT?

I always use and recommend them. I haven't added fish in years now so QT doesn't really apply.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Oh, cool! If that's a well know trusted source that would be great to utilize going forward.

Have you had success with them, and do you typically QT?

I give my CUC from reef cleaners a rinse in clean seawater and call it good.

Live Aquaria has been reported to drop ship from a LA wholesaler. I’ve been to that facility and they (did) hold fish in at least some of their invert systems - mandarins and seahorses mostly.

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

I give my CUC from reef cleaners a rinse in clean seawater and call it good.

Live Aquaria has been reported to drop ship from a LA wholesaler. I’ve been to that facility and they (did) hold fish in at least some of their invert systems - mandarins and seahorses mostly.

Thanks Jay,

Based upon your experience with them I think I'll go ahead and start a reset period once I have all the new inverts in the tank. I need to recuperate my funds in the meantime for when I do decide to buy more fish... this hobby is more expensive than ever before.

What also sucks is I don't have the space for separate QT tanks... its either fish or corals. So for all future additions it's going to be a long introduction period before making it over to the main display. I would also need to splurge on a new light for QT tank to keep the corals...

Thank you all,

 

[Hnsmith88]

Invertedreef.com does full qt inverts