Just picked up a new tang from an online store. Received him and because of the SG difference, I drip acclimated him to qt tank sg. All levels are good he's been a little lethargic and heavy breathing since placing in qt, I dose with fritz mardel quick cure. Wondering if I prematurely pulled the gun. What steps should I take now?
New Fish
- Thread starter Stephone
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I would toss in some prime or something in the QT just for good measure. Some good bacteria works well too.
What are all the water parms in the QT. Just saying toss some in so you don't loose the fish while you are getting ready to test.
What are all the water parms in the QT. Just saying toss some in so you don't loose the fish while you are getting ready to test.
Best procedure when receiving shipped fish is generally to match the salinity in QT with that in the bag, temperature-acclimate and release. Longer drip-type acclimation can expose the fish to high levels of ammonia in the shipping water. (Ammonia becomes more toxic as CO2 is released from the bag water, raising the pH.)
Did you raise or lower the SG for the fish?
~Bruce
Did you raise or lower the SG for the fish?
~Bruce
Quick Cure contains formalin, and IMO that's not something you want to use in QT unless absolutely necessary. It's best used in a short-term (45 min) bath solution, outside of QT. I would run carbon ASAP to pull it out of the water.
DO NOT dose any ammonia reducers until Quick Cure is gone (the water will clear).
DO NOT dose any ammonia reducers until Quick Cure is gone (the water will clear).
melypr1985
totally addicted
yes it should help.
@Stephone He looks agitated, which isn't completely out of the norm for a new fish in QT.
But the white discoloration around his mouth and eye has me concerned. Has he been bumping into things and hitting those?
But the white discoloration around his mouth and eye has me concerned. Has he been bumping into things and hitting those?
Yes, he was hitting his reflection in the bottom of the tank. I tried blacking out with spray painted cardboard to calm him down it seems to have worked. But as for the discoloration any recommendations?
I'm not sure whether that is a symptom of any disease or just physical damage.
Have you noticed any of these behavorial symptoms?
- Heavy breathing, scratching, flashing, head twitching, yawning, erratic swimming behavior
- Swimming into the flow of a powerhead
- Acting reclusive/purposely staying out of the light
Honestly, I'm new to this so I don't know what would be the correct measures to take. I was going to treat to prevent but so far I have just been observing. I don't have 2 tanks to do your TTM so I've been looking at your option A on how to quarantine trying to follow along with that.
Whether to prophylactically treat or passively observe in QT has more to do with you than the fish.
People who should always prophylactically treat for ich & flukes are:
- Not the overly observant types.
- Don't have 10-15 minutes every day to sit in front of the QT to observe for symptoms.
- Attention to detail types, who will notice not just obvious physical symptoms of disease but behavioral ones such as scratching/rubbing, flashing, head twitching, yawning, heavy breathing, swimming into the flow of a powerhead, purposely staying out of the light, etc.
- Have the time & patience to sit in front of the QT every single day to observe for the above.
So going forward in the process I would say I'm tending to more passively observe. In any case, I should be prepared for the worst which I plan to be. But can the "if it's not broke don't fix it" mentality be applied to the fish as well? I.E. no ich outbreak, normal eating habits, do I still need to treat as if they are going to get sick it? Or just deal with it as it comes?
You can deal with it as it comes, but it's very important to have some necessary meds on hand just in case: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/medications-to-keep-on-hand.213574/#post-2445601
Many people I help with sick fish ... the fish dies (or is too far gone) while they are waiting for meds to come in the mail.
