Do I need to quarantine clownfish?

[wnnabereefer]

I have had amazing luck with clownfish and never quarantined them, but now that my dt literally got ran over with velvet I fallowed for a year and decided I wanted to go back to fish keeping so I added a blue tang and emperor. I want to add a pair of clowns but I don't want to have a quarantine tank up for a long time. Can I go freshwater dip then into dt? Or copper for 2 weeks then into the dt? I am impatient but I still remember the horrors when my whole tank got pretty much wiped except for a few fish.

 

[GoVols]

To play things safe for your tang and angel, do a full qt.

 

[wnnabereefer]

To play things safe for your tang and angel, do a full qt.

Gotcha boss, I kinda didn't quarantine the blue tang correctly, I had him in a qt tank and released him to the dt without any medication cause I saw he had no problems, my fault 100% I literally prayed nothing was wrong with him. I guess I'll do everything by the book with the new clown addition don't want to take any risks

 

[CanuckReefer]

The answer is no, but you are taking big risk...remember the horror. So many factors here.... are you purchasing from a trusted local retailer who will quarantine for you? I have no QT tank, but I trust my local guy to do it for me religiously.... been there years ago rolled the dice numerous times all good, and then the wipeout.... don't be the wipeout. It's tragic.

 

[gentlefish]

It’s really not what it used to be. The risk of introducing contagious diseases is more and more common.
Freshwater dip is only diagnostic with no cure potential. Copper only works for ick/velvet and after 2 weeks TREATMENT for manifest disease, I would still observe.

 

[wnnabereefer]

It’s really not what it used to be. The risk of introducing contagious diseases is more and more common.
Freshwater dip is only diagnostic with no cure potential. Copper only works for ick/velvet and after 2 weeks TREATMENT for manifest disease, I would still observe.

So how should I go about this? Copper for insurance and then observe? How many fish can I house in a 10 gal qt? I want to pick up a yellow tang but 2 clowns, a yellow tang is probably pushing the tiny 10 gal, yellow tang alone is pushing it i think

 

[gentlefish]

10g? Pair of clownfish. Yellow Tang would not thrive.
Personally I prefer to observe for ick, velvet, internal, diagnostic FW dip and prophylactic Prazi (plus O2).Everyone seems to have their own thoughts.
pls also remember that copper in sub therapeutic dose merely hides ick/velvet and that copper suppresses the immune system and appetite.

 

[CanuckReefer]

So how should I go about this? Copper for insurance and then observe? How many fish can I house in a 10 gal qt? I want to pick up a yellow tang but 2 clowns, a yellow tang is probably pushing the tiny 10 gal, yellow tang alone is pushing it i think

This is too much bioload at once depending on your display tank size regardless all three....is it 100 gallon or less?

 

[wnnabereefer]

10g? Pair of clownfish. Yellow Tang would not thrive.
Personally I prefer to observe for ick, velvet, internal, diagnostic FW dip and prophylactic Prazi (plus O2).Everyone seems to have their own thoughts.
pls also remember that copper in sub therapeutic dose merely hides ick/velvet and that copper suppresses the immune system and appetite.

So what you're saying is add the pair of clowns into the tank first then observe, when they get established fw dip. Then if they are fine I'm good, if they are sick I treat them accordingly? I have a small bottle of prazipro when should I use it?

 

[wnnabereefer]

This is too much bioload at once depending on your display tank size regardless all three....is it 100 gallon or less?

I have a 135 gallon display tank. Either way I will just do the pair of clowns, I don't want to deal with nitrates in the qt. If the local fish store has a yellow tang I might settle for him first since I heard that Hawaii banned the collection of yellow tangs so if the price is fairly cheap I think I might do that instead, if he's small enough

 

[sergifed91]

I might not do it right. But when I buy new fish I throw them into a qt tank for 60 days. Make sure they eat and watch them for any signs of velvet, ich and etc. I don't medicate unless if I have to.

 

[wnnabereefer]

I might not do it right. But when I buy new fish I throw them into a qt tank for 60 days. Make sure they eat and watch them for any signs of velvet, ich and etc. I don't medicate unless if I have to.

Sounds like I need to do some more research on qt. I really want to have a successful reef, I'll do the extra long qt

 

[sergifed91]

Sounds like I need to do some more research on qt. I really want to have a successful reef, I'll do the extra long qt

Always qt. My first tank I never qted and list all my fish. It was a lesson learned. I heard of a local reefer with a 500 dt.he never qted and a year ago bought some fish from a lfs. He didn't qt and the fish had velvet. He didn't catch it in time. Blamed the lfs for his own mistake....

 

[vetteguy53081]

Answer is Yes. You are talking about a fish that is very susceptible to Brooklynella and bacteria and should get a series of formalin baths prior to going into display tank.

 

[wnnabereefer]

Answer is Yes. You are talking about a fish that is very susceptible to Brooklynella and bacteria and should get a series of formalin baths prior to going into display tank.

formalin? Is there another method? I dont think I feel comfortable with that? Does copper not work for brook? I remember I cured my clown that had brook with copper and he came out just fine

 

[wnnabereefer]

Always qt. My first tank I never qted and list all my fish. It was a lesson learned. I heard of a local reefer with a 500 dt.he never qted and a year ago bought some fish from a lfs. He didn't qt and the fish had velvet. He didn't catch it in time. Blamed the lfs for his own mistake....

Thanks for snapping reality back to me again. I will not skip qt for the clowns

 

[vetteguy53081]

formalin? Is there another method? I dont think I feel comfortable with that? Does copper not work for brook? I remember I cured my clown that had brook with copper and he came out just fine

Copper is for parasites such as Irritans, Oodinum, ich and velvet. General Cure by API is a very safe form of formalin and is really the one of few treatments recommended for clowns and especially brooklynella

 

[wnnabereefer]

Copper is for parasites such as Irritans, Oodinum, ich and velvet. General Cure by API is a very safe form of formalin and is really the one of few treatments recommended for clowns and especially brooklynella

Alright so I feed them general cure even though they show no symptoms right?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Alright so I feed them general cure even though they show no symptoms right?

Not feed- Treatment in quarantine or in a bucket giving them a bath.
Typically a standard formalin solution is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container. Initially, all fish are given a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration, followed by continued treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank (QT).
While Brooklynella cannot be totally prevented, one way to avoid the parasite is to only buy well maintained captive-bred aquarium fish. Brooklynella was originally known as clownfish disease because it was most common in that type of fish. Wild-caught clownfish most often suffer from the disease and it's rarely seen on captive-bred clownfish. Any new aquarium fish should be quarantined for 2 to 4 weeks prior to being placed in your aquarium. A freshwater dip is also beneficial. This will help ensure only healthy fish are introduced to an aquarium.