Getting Quarantine Prepared

[jackalexander]

So I had my diamond goby going through a 2 week copper treatment and then a 4 week observation/ internal parasite removal period (General Cure + Focus) and she’s currently on her last week before she goes back into the display. This is my first QT’d fish (it went surprisingly well) and I am getting ready to purchase a pair of clowns and a longnose hawkfish. I was wondering how to break down the QT and clean it before the next batch. I was treating the goby for marine velvet and internal parasites if that helps..

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My thought is always this: the goby is carrying anything that made it through quarantine, so the QT and the DT have nothing in them that is any different - so leave the QT operational for the next batch! New tank syndrome kills a lot of fish during quarantine. The only time I strip and sterilize a QT is when there were uncontrolled losses from an unknown disease.
Jay

 

[Troyer15]

So I had my diamond goby going through a 2 week copper treatment and then a 4 week observation/ internal parasite removal period (General Cure + Focus) and she’s currently on her last week before she goes back into the display. This is my first QT’d fish (it went surprisingly well) and I am getting ready to purchase a pair of clowns and a longnose hawkfish. I was wondering how to break down the QT and clean it before the next batch. I was treating the goby for marine velvet and internal parasites if that helps..

When I treat fish back to back I just start with cleaning the tank and stuff in it with tap water like my PVC and that stuff then refill with fresh salt water and you are good to go. I've never had issues with this but I'm sure some people would recommend a good cleaning before adding new fish.

 

[jackalexander]

My thought is always this: the goby is carrying anything that made it through quarantine, so the QT and the DT have nothing in them that is any different - so leave the QT operational for the next batch! New tank syndrome kills a lot of fish during quarantine. The only time I strip and sterilize a QT is when there were uncontrolled losses from an unknown disease.
Jay

And I believe that I will proactively treat the newcomers with copper so would it even matter if there’s a small traceable amount of copper? Thank you for the help Jay!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

And I believe that I will proactively treat the newcomers with copper so would it even matter if there’s a small traceable amount of copper? Thank you for the help Jay!

As long as you are using a good copper test kit, residual copper is no issue as you would just add correspondingly less for the next group of fish, based on your testing.
Jay

 

[jackalexander]

As long as you are using a good copper test kit, residual copper is no issue as you would just add correspondingly less for the next group of fish, based on your testing.
Jay

Using a copper hanna checker so it should be no issue, thank you for the help!