Help save my fish!

[bruno3047]

Here he is today. No visible ich but he's gonna stay in QT the full period.

That’s an absolute MUST!

 

[Ohlawd]

So my next question is a big one. Obviously I have ich in my display. I have a lot of coral and inverts so my only option is to put all 9 of my fish in hospital tanks.

I am thinking a 75 breeder would work. Here is what I have in my main display currently.
1 foxface
1 convict
1 coral beauty
1 Scopas tang
1 clown
2 diamond gobies
1 purple neon dottyback

I think the diamond gobies will go bananas if they are in a bare bottom tank so I was thinking to get some sand from the DT for them to sift through. If I am dosing copper I should be okay to use that sand right?
I am also thinking I might need to sacrifice some live rock to the DT to help with filtration since I need to make this move pretty fast.

What are your thoughts/suggestions?

 

[bruno3047]

So my next question is a big one. Obviously I have ich in my display. I have a lot of coral and inverts so my only option is to put all 9 of my fish in hospital tanks.

I am thinking a 75 breeder would work. Here is what I have in my main display currently.
1 foxface
1 convict
1 coral beauty
1 Scopas tang
1 clown
2 diamond gobies
1 purple neon dottyback

I think the diamond gobies will go bananas if they are in a bare bottom tank so I was thinking to get some sand from the DT for them to sift through. If I am dosing copper I should be okay to use that sand right?
I am also thinking I might need to sacrifice some live rock to the DT to help with filtration since I need to make this move pretty fast.

What are your thoughts/suggestions?

You should wait until Jay weighs in because he’s the doctor. If it was me, I would lay down about a half inch of sand and a few small rocks from the DT for your filtration seeding. Get a large sponge filter and air pump and run that also. Most of the bacteria will be in the sand with some in the rocks. The water flowing through the sponge filter will eventually populate it with bacteria and that will start to help with the filtration too after a week or so. The sand and the rocks are going to make the copper levels unstable, so you may have to keep adding copper as the sand and rocks absorb copper out of solution. You’ll need a reliable copper testing mechanism, either a checker or a test kit to monitor your levels because you’re going to have to add more than what the directions call for, but you don’t want to add too much so as to poison the fish. You probably shouldn’t feed for a couple days and then feed very sparingly. Test ammonia levels every day and if they start to show, you have to be ready to do water changes, with additions of copper to adjust the levels. But like I said. I would wait to see with Jay has to say before you do anything. Good luck.

 

[Ohlawd]

@Jay Hemdal sir would you like to give your input on how I should do this QT process?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal sir would you like to give your input on how I should do this QT process?

Depending on their sizes, a 75 breeder would be fine for those fish, just monitor ammonia of course.

Mixing Coppersafe and calcareous material (rock and sand) isn't ideal, as this will absorb copper. However, it can be overcome by testing and redosing as needed.

Maybe put the sand in a container, or only in part of the tank.

Jay

 

[Ohlawd]

Depending on their sizes, a 75 breeder would be fine for those fish, just monitor ammonia of course.

Mixing Coppersafe and calcareous material (rock and sand) isn't ideal, as this will absorb copper. However, it can be overcome by testing and redosing as needed.

Maybe put the sand in a container, or only in part of the tank.

Jay

I read your thread where you talked about using glass beads instead. That would be an option no?

 

[bruno3047]

I read your thread where you talked about using glass beads instead. That would be an option no?

The main reason for using the sand is because of the bacteria. You should try to use as much sand off the top of your DT sandbed as possible because this is where most of the bacteria resides. Of course, any advice I give you is contingent upon Jay’s approval. He’s the fish medic. I’m only telling you what I would do.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I read your thread where you talked about using glass beads instead. That would be an option no?

Non calcium substrate is fine, I don’t recall talking about glass beads,(silica sand I’ve talked about) but if they were small enough, wrasse could bury in it, but it wouldn’t of course have any beneficial bacteria on it.
Jay

 

[bruno3047]

You should probably do a little research to confirm this, but I vaguely remember reading Dr. Farley saying that while calcareous material does absorb copper out of solution, it reaches a saturation point relatively quickly, after which the copper levels in the QT become stable. The material, however, becomes basically useless after that unless used in a copper environment because it is saturated and will leach copper.

 

[Ohlawd]

You should probably do a little research to confirm this, but I vaguely remember reading Dr. Farley saying that while calcareous material does absorb copper out of solution, it reaches a saturation point relatively quickly, after which the copper levels in the QT become stable. The material, however, becomes basically useless after that unless used in a copper environment because it is saturated and will leach copper.

With the QTY of fish I'm going to be putting in to my 60g QT I will be fine with sacrificing some sand and rock, and I know it will take longer to get the copper levels I need.

 

[Ohlawd]

Update, got everyone into my 60g and no one is fighting so all is well. I dosed for 60g and came up to about 1.86 so I'll be adding and monitoring to get and stay at 2.5.

Rock and sand will be disposed of after QT. Costly but I wanted my fish to not stress the heck out during QT.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Update, got everyone into my 60g and no one is fighting so all is well. I dosed for 60g and came up to about 1.86 so I'll be adding and monitoring to get and stay at 2.5.

Rock and sand will be disposed of after QT. Costly but I wanted my fish to not stress the heck out during QT.

Maintain water quality and oxygen

 

[Ohlawd]

Maintain water quality and oxygen

I have two 100g HOB filters + a wave maker pointed at the sky, lots of water movement. Also got seachem alert badge on deck.

Also the same day I added these guys to QT I may have taken the opportunity to add a Powder brown beauty that I got super cheap because he had ich. He's doing great now with no visible ich.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have two 100g HOB filters + a wave maker pointed at the sky, lots of water movement. Also got seachem alert badge on deck.

Also the same day I added these guys to QT I may have taken the opportunity to add a Powder brown beauty that I got super cheap because he had ich. He's doing great now with no visible ich.

Remember that if you add a fish to a group of fish in quarantine, or being treated for something, you need to reset the counter to day 1.

Jay

 

[Ohlawd]

Remember that if you add a fish to a group of fish in quarantine, or being treated for something, you need to reset the counter to day 1.

Jay

Yeah it was on day one. Thanks for the reminder.