I’m getting 26 fish tomorrow- qt help???

[Squidward]

Thanks for the suggestion. I don’t do TTM. would you still recommend more qts?

Yes definitely more QT tanks is needed. I do TTM now knowing the fish won't have to suffer in copper. And it takes less time..(12 days) Only con is that you have to do more work manually, but I don't mind it.

 

[Cassian]

Yes definitely more QT tanks is needed. I do TTM now knowing the fish won't have to suffer in copper. And it takes less time..(12 days) Only con is that you have to do more work manually, but I don't mind it.

Ok, thank you! I can setup my 20 and 10 gal

 

[William Mumford]

I would suggest more Qts but since the fish are already on there way it is going to be hard to not have the ammonia spike in the newly set up Qts. Live rock is a good suggestion because it will give them more bio filter but still somewhat risky. To add a fish that fast to any tank.

 

[Cassian]

I would suggest more Qts but since the fish are already on there way it is going to be hard to not have the ammonia spike in the newly set up Qts. Live rock is a good suggestion because it will give them more bio filter but still somewhat risky. To add a fish that fast to any tank.

I agree, that’s why I’m taking every precaution I can. Just curious Incase I need to know for the future, would it have mattered I I would have cycled the tank? Because doesn’t copper kill all of the bacteria?

 

[HotRocks]

26 fish into a 65g tank will be an extremely heavy load. When medicating tanks your margin or error is very tight. The medications (depending on which you are using) can suppress immune system etc. So the last thing you want is ammonia in a QT or dirty water. It will just exacerbate any issue you may be dealing with.

I would highly consider setting up additional QTs if you want to be successful. All of the fish you have coming including the idols and Mandy need to go through the same protocol.

I have received orders of 60+ fish before, but that was spread across 6 tanks totaling 365g. Two of which are 125s. It's not fun, very taxing and stressful.

 

[HotRocks]

I agree, that’s why I’m taking every precaution I can. Just curious Incase I need to know for the future, would it have mattered I I would have cycled the tank? Because doesn’t copper kill all of the bacteria?

Copper does not kill beneficial nitrifying bacteria. If you don't seed the tank with some biospira you are going to have major issues IMO.

 

[Cassian]

26 fish into a 65g tank will be an extremely heavy load. When medicating tanks your margin or error is very tight. The medications (depending on which you are using) can suppress immune system etc. So the last thing you want is ammonia in a QT or dirty water. It will just exacerbate any issue you may be dealing with.

I would highly consider setting up additional QTs if you want to be successful. All of the fish you have coming including the idols and Mandy need to go through the same protocol.

I have received orders of 60+ fish before, but that was spread across 6 tanks totaling 365g. Two of which are 125s. It's not fun, very taxing and stressful.

Wow! That’s a lot of fish!!! Thanks for the advice!! I’m planning to setup the additional 10 and 20 gals I have, buy live rock, and buy bacteria to get them ready

 

[Cassian]

Copper does not kill beneficial nitrifying bacteria. If you don't seed the tank with some biospira you are going to have major issues IMO.

Oh thanks for clarifying that! I’ve always been told it does. I will get some biospira today

 

[William Mumford]

Copper is an additive for the health of the fish to resist disease and in a fish only system it gets used. I do not think it has any effect on the biological filter just will kill all coral and invertebrates.

 

[EMeyer]

I did something similar a month or so ago. I held 21 fish in a 40b with a 20g sump. My tank was well established (>1 year, with good live rock). But still, ammonia spiked to almost 0.2 ppm, nitrite to 8, and nitrate to 15(!) [That was crazy - I've never seen an NO3 reading above ~5 except while doing standard curves. ]

I advise you get a bunch of water ready and plan to change water daily...

If you have an algal refugium in the system (all my systems do), you can also crank it up by adding some extra chaeto from another tank and turning the fuge light on 24-7.

FWIW I had good success. 2 of 23 were DOA, so those don't count. 2 more died in the first few days. 19/23 survived and have remained healthy for weeks now after transferring into their homes (14 different tanks).

I didnt do any harsh medications or put them through any salinity stress or anything, just added a bunch of prime soon as I opened the bags, then put them through a ~1-2 hour acclimation as I slowly adjusted salinity (these trans shippers and their low salinity water, /shakes fist vaguely in the direction of the Indo Pacific). [my tank holds corals so adjusting the tank to match the bags was not an option]

So it worked out, but yeah, I had to really babysit them during acclimation and in the 24-48 hours they stayed in the tank. If your tank wasnt mature to start with I do worry about nutrient export. My suggestion would be
a) have lots of water on hand for WC and
b) add live rock and macro to the system if at all possible (e.g. if you have some in another tank that you can spare)

Good luck!

 

[andrewkw]

For this many fish something like a kiddie / dog pool may work out better than your 65g tall. When I got ich in my 180 years ago, I used pools to keep the fish until the 76 days passed and I could put them back in. Did not suffer any losses. This was maybe 14 or 15 fish though. I don't recall how many gallons the pools were but less than 65 for sure. The fact they were all black and I had tons of pvc for the fish to hide in made it work. That and plenty of water changes + constantly checking ammonia alert badges.

 

[Cassian]

For this many fish something like a kiddie / dog pool may work out better than your 65g tall. When I got ich in my 180 years ago, I used pools to keep the fish until the 76 days passed and I could put them back in. Did not suffer any losses. This was maybe 14 or 15 fish though. I don't recall how many gallons the pools were but less than 65 for sure. The fact they were all black and I had tons of pvc for the fish to hide in made it work. That and plenty of water changes + constantly checking ammonia alert badges.

Good idea. Unfortunately I have cats that would love to swim with the fishies lol

 

[andrewkw]

Good idea. Unfortunately I have cats that would love to swim with the fishies lol

Do you not have a room you a section off from them? Covering the top with a couple of full sheets of eggcrate and weighing it down should be enough. If you really want to get crazy you could go grab some 2x4's and make a temp stand high enough so they can't reach.

I have 4 cats and none are even slightly interested in my tanks / fish.

 

[Cassian]

Do you not have a room you a section off from them? Covering the top with a couple of full sheets of eggcrate and weighing it down should be enough. If you really want to get crazy you could go grab some 2x4's and make a temp stand high enough so they can't reach.

I have 4 cats and none are even slightly interested in my tanks / fish.

I could put something over it, but I have 4 tanks I could use as qt and would rather not spend the money.

Your cats are good cats. Mine are CRAZY haha

 

[Cassian]

Ok, so here is my plan:
I’m going to setup my 10,20 and 7 gal qt (I found another tank!!!). Buy live rock and seed each one. Also seed with biosipia. Put ammonia alert badges in each one. And treat all fish the same.

Does everyone agree that is the best course of action?

 

[Silent]

You must have got a very good deal on those fish to put yourself through this. Quite a challenge.

 

[Cassian]

You must have got a very good deal on those fish to put yourself through this. Quite a challenge.

Both very true. Lol

 

[Cassian]

Ok, I now have 4 quarantine tanks setup. I also found some cycled media I had just taken out of a tank yesterday

I have a 65 gal with sump, a 20 gal with 2 gal canister filter, a 10 gal with HOB, and a 7.5 gal with HOB.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[lion king]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I will be monitoring ammonia closely. Direct release into DT is not an option for me. I have had velvet before and don’t want to repeat. I will get some bacteria today at my lfs and prepare as best I can. I have a 10 gal and 20 gal qt as well I could setup. But I would rather not if avoidable at all. Please keep in mind that a large majority of these fish are small things like chromis. I’ve always been told not to cycle a qt because the copper kills the bacteria anyway.

I really appreciate all of the replies. I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m rushing or doing something stupid. I’ve always heard to setup the qt 24 hours before. I also have some aqua mesh filter in my DT I can seed the qt with. I will place that in there today

That is very bad info, a qt needs to set up and cycled with viable biological filtration. The absolute worst advice and the #1 reason of so many qt deaths. This is one reason the most advanced lfs here don't even reommend qr, most people set up inadaquant tanks, too small and not properly filtered. I hate to break it to you, but good luck.

 

[Cassian]

That is very bad info, a qt needs to set up and cycled with viable biological filtration. The absolute worst advice and the #1 reason of so many qt deaths. This is one reason the most advanced lfs here don't even reommend qr, most people set up inadaquant tanks, too small and not properly filtered. I hate to break it to you, but good luck.

I sorta agree with you. But humblefish sets up a QT 24 hrs before fish. I’ve heard of several people doing this. In hindsight, I probably would have cycled them before, but again this is always what I’ve been told. Hopefully it will work out and I will know for the future!