Need Some Guidance on Quarantine Protocol

[AKL1950]

I’ve gotten my first few fish and have them in my QT. I planned to just observe them for a week before I started any chemical treatments. So far, all look healthy, all eating well and show no outward issues. The plan was to start treatment Friday, which would be one week since they went in the tank. This is where I’m looking for some guidance/clarification on medication timing. I plan on using Prazipro and Copper Power. I also have some Chloriquine, but no sure if I’m proficient enough to add it at this time.

My confusion is timing of the treatments. I’ve read start with Copper and then add In the Prazipro and another that says do the two cycles of Prazipro followed by heavy water change and then do the Copper. I suppose each method will work, but which is the preferred method I should go with. Is it better to do them all simultaneously or do each individual treatment in order. Also, is there any other treatments I should use even though the don’t show any signs of health issues. (Got these fish from Saltwaterfish.com. Pretty happy with them)

The group is two tiny clowns and two small tangs. One Orange Shoulder and one Tomini.


Jetson

 

[LeftyReefer]

I do copper power and Prazipro treatments at the same time, always have.

For QT, I go 30 days in copper power, with 3 doses of prazi spread between. (with 8 or 9 days between doses of prazi)

I've got 4 fish in QT currently. They are on day 26 right now. They've been in copper power since 3/29 have gotten 2 doses of prazi so far and wll be getting the 3rd in a few days. Friday will be day 30, at which point, I will start removing the copper and meds and will start a 2 week observation period before deciding whether to release them into my DT or not.

Make sure to oxygenate the tank when using Prazi, it has been known to cause bacterial blooms which can lower oxygen, so running an extra airstone helps. I always run an airstone in my QT tank, along with a HOB filter creating flow and more surface agitation.

 

[AKL1950]

Thanks Lefty

I‘ve got everything you mentioned. Got the HOB and took the carbon out. Also have a large foam filter with the air stone in it. Also have a 500 gph power head aimed at the surface.

How do you handle water changes. Instructions I’ve seen recommend doing at least a 25% water change after Prazipro. Do you do anything that big?

picture of the setup. That’s a mirror on the left side to keep the tangs entertained. Orange shoulder was showing a bit of bossiness so I gave him a mirror.

 

[LeftyReefer]

I generally don't do water changes with Prazipro. I dose it, then dose it again 9 days later.

My QT tank is usually fully cycled, so I only do water changes in the process of vacuuming out any uneaten food and fish waste every day, or every other day. I usually vacuum out a gallon or 2 at time, and then refill the QT tank with fresh salt water with copper predosed to 2.5 ppm. This maintains my copper level at all times and keeps my water quality pristine.

So every day or two, my 20G tank is getting a 5% or 10% water change to keep water quality high.

Prazi only takes 24 -48 hours to be effective, after that, it starts breaking down and degrading in the water column on its own. So I try to dose it and then leave the tank alone for 48 hours, before doing another regular water change.

 

[AKL1950]

Sounds great. I really like what you’re saying. It’s something that sounds easy to follow. I did pick up a Hanna copper tester. I will try to follow what I’ve read about slowly adding copper at 1.0 ppm and gradually get it up to 2.5 ppm over about 3-4 days.

One more question. After you have done your Quarantine and moved your fish to the DT, what do you do with the QT. Do you break in down and deep clean, or just put carbon in to remove the meds and let it keep running. I’ve read that some undesirable stuff that may be left in the QT could possibly go months without a host And still be viable. How do you get the QT ready for the next group of fish.

Thanks for the help.

Jetson

 

[LeftyReefer]

As far as your QT... it depends. I've left mine up between batches of fish, and I've also broken it down and bleached it.

I tried QT'ing a batch of chromies once, didn't go well and had several losses due to uronema. So in that case, I broke it down, bleached it and started over.

Other times, with no fish losses, I've kept it rolling. So it really depends. I would break it down and bleach it if I had any concerns though.

I use a 20G long for my QT, so its pretty quick, easy, and inexpensive to tear down and restart if necessary.

To break it down, I just add a little bleach to the water and let it run a for a few minutes. take everything (filters, pvc, hoses, airstones, etc.) out of the tank, soak it a bucket of hot bleach water, drain the tank, wipe it down with more bleach, refill it with tap water, and then add prime (dechlorinator), drain, rinse with more tap water, and then refill with fresh (RODI) saltwater. Add more prime if you are worried you didn't get all the bleach cleaned out. Once it's refilled, I use bottled bacteria with just a few pellets of food to feed the bacteria until more fish go in.

I don't use carbon, or cuprisorb to remove copper... it takes too long. I don't have the patience for it. I just do big water changes to remove the copper at the end of my 30 days.

 

[AKL1950]

Great info. Thank a bunch. I figure it’s going to take at least 4-5 groups of fish thru quarantine to get what I’m wanting which is about 12-13 fish for my DT. It’s 165 gallon. understand to let the fish guide me. These first four look super healthy and are already growing fast Already. They are definitely little pigs when it’s feeding time. Hopefully they will all be that way.