Qt and me don't mix!!!!!

[Saltgator]

Do you always use the same 5 gal bucket to drip acclimate the fish? Perhaps it is contaminated.

Never considered that, but I use 3 different buckets. No particular one. These all are also quick top off buckets too.


Is there such thing as too much oxygen in the water?

 

[3dees]

just wondering why you are acclimating for 3 hours from a lfs. Is the salinity and/or ph that different. I buy my fish from different lfs' and float for temp. if salinity and ph are good I put them into the qt. if not, then I will add tank water every 5 minutes for half hour. never lost a fish this way.

 

[Saltgator]

just wondering why you are acclimating for 3 hours from a lfs. Is the salinity and/or ph that different. I buy my fish from different lfs' and float for temp. if salinity and ph are good I put them into the qt. if not, then I will add tank water every 5 minutes for half hour. never lost a fish this way.

I drip acclimate everything I buy (coral, fish, inverts). IMO, putting them in a bucket allows them to chill out while adapting/acclimating to my parameters. Floating in a bag is fine for temp, but being in a small confined space (bag) and having water poured onto them and also seeing all kinds of movement/strange things (us reefers) adds stress. Without a hiding spot, each fish gets stressed. Just my opinion.

 

[3dees]

keeping them in a bucket isn't stressful? IMO, get them into the tank as quickly as possible. drip maybe fine for fish coming in overnight, but bought locally?

 

[-Logzor]

Your mistake is that you're treating fish that may not need to be treated. The purpose of QT is to observe the fish to ensure it is healthy, if the fish shows signs of sickness, you then tread in a hospital tank and treat based on the symptoms the fish is showing. Also, the 3 hour acclimation is not necessary. Acclimation should not take longer than 20-30 minutes. Go to LiveAquaria.com and use their acclimation guide.

Acclimate your fish by floating the bag in your QT system and slowly pull out the water with a turkey baster and add QT water in with the turkey baster. You can keep the bag in place by taping it up to something so it doesn't go underwater and fill up.

 

[Saltgator]

Just to clarify, I do not treat any fish, invert, or coral unless necessary. My qt (as stated above) is at standard reef parameters. I have treated previous fish for ich using hyposalinity (which is a continuous control of salinity and difficult for some hobbyist) and was successful in my attempts. The lastest fish losses were in the EXACT same water as my 2 year old reef (water is pulled from there via siphon near the water surface) without any treatment to the fish.

Yes, typically 20-30 minutes of transferring water would be ok, but going on a slower acclimation (drip 3 hours) minimizes risks vs water transfer when bringing home livestock. Cycling your tank for 4 weeks is recommended, but cycling it for 12 weeks has a better result (IMO). Nothing, again, nothing in this hobby is rushed. Moving a frag of sps to the top of your rocks after you purchase it because it likes high light (according to online sites) would probably end up bleaching out. Instead, starting at the bottom of your system then slowly adjusting it after some time.