Invert QT Question

MakerofThings · Jan 17, 2020

Hey guys!

So, I am about to put a pair of clowns in a dedicated QT tank, but I also wanted to get a couple of snails and maybe a shrimp or hermit crab for my display tank. I am trying to be extremely careful about QT so I want to do this the right way.

My current understanding is that if the clowns have ich, I can treat them in their own tank, but most of these treatments would kill inverts.
I also have heard that inverts could potentially have ich on them, and this could transfer to fish during the ich's life cycle.

Am I right in assuming that since ich lives for 72 days, and it can't survive without a FISH for _____ (40? 70? days) that if I put inverts into my display tank and the clowns in my QT tank that by the time the clowns have finished that 72 day QT I can put them in the display and be pretty sure that even if the inverts had ich on them that it would have died off in the 72 days that everyone was separate?

As a note, I am aware I would have to feed the inverts since there isn't much for them to clean in that time.

Thanks in advance! Any other QT tips would be greatly appreciated.

Super Fly · Jan 17, 2020

I dont QT inverts and believe not a lot of folks do... haven't heard of them having ich either
If anything, should drip acclimate inverts.

arturoo1977 · Jan 17, 2020

The ideal would be to have separate QT for fish, that can be threaded with meds, and another QT for inverts/corals without meds.
Of course this is not practical for everyone so... you can quarantine them for separate using same tank and cleaning it very well between uses.
Back into your plan... if you dont have any fish in your DT, then you can add inverts to that and wait 72 days prior to add fish in it. And during same time quarantine fish in your QT.
But that could only works the first time, as you will add fish to your display right after this procedure.

MakerofThings · Jan 17, 2020

arturoo1977 said:
The ideal would be to have separate QT for fish, that can be threaded with meds, and another QT for inverts/corals without meds.
Of course this is not practical for everyone so... you can quarantine them for separate using same tank and cleaning it very well between uses.
Back into your plan... if you dont have any fish in your DT, then you can add inverts to that and wait 72 days prior to add fish in it. And during same time quarantine fish in your QT.
But that could only works the first time, as you will add fish to your display right after this procedure.

Great, thanks!

Yeah, ideally I'd have an invert QT tank too but physically don't have the space right now, that's why I was thinking if I can get started on inverts now in this way, then at least in a couple of months I can look at adding a second small QT tank for inverts and right now I can be effectively using the display as a QT while it's possible.

Ron Reefman · Jan 17, 2020

I'm a serious outlier in this one. I collect snails, stars, crabs, urchins, shrimp, anemones, feather dusters, soft corals and more (very rarely fish) in the Florida Keys. I do sometimes keep some of them in a holding tank until I'm sure they are healthy (as best I can tell) and will be good citizens in the DT. But I don't quarantine any of them. In 20 years the only ich I've treated was on a friend's tang. I've never had any invaders other than aiptasia and flat worms. And to be honest, I think they came on other people's coral frags!