QT for me.

Victor Guyton · Nov 23, 2020

I keep losing my fish in qt. Treatment is Cupramine and sometimes PraziPro. I don't use Prazi but once a week if I use it. My fish will be fine for a week and then they just crash. Ammonia not 0 but .05-.25. Ph is 8.2. Salt 1.026

DC Reefer · Nov 23, 2020

Victor Guyton said:
I keep losing my fish in qt. Treatment is Cupramine and sometimes PraziPro. I don't use Prazi but once a week if I use it. My fish will be fine for a week and then they just crash. Ammonia not 0 but .05-.25. Ph is 8.2. Salt 1.026

what is your copper level and do you have good surface agitation and or air stones going in it?

Victor Guyton · Nov 23, 2020

DC Reefer said:
what is your copper level and do you have good surface agitation and or air stones going in it?

Copper level is less than 5. 2.5-4.5. No airstone. I was told airstone raises ammonia

artieg1 · Nov 23, 2020

The killers in QT are ammonia and oxygen depletion. Not copper. I don't know your setup, but you need (1) one fish per 10 gallons, (2) HOB filter plus a strong powerhead for strong waterflow, and (3) 25% water changes every 3-4 days. I would not add prazi until the last day of QT. It is famous for depleting oxygen.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 23, 2020

Victor Guyton said:
Copper level is less than 5. 2.5-4.5. No airstone. I was told airstone raises ammonia

Airstones don't raise ammonia, what they can do is drive off carbon dioxide, which raises the pH, which in turn makes the ammonia more toxic....but you shouldn't have an excess of CO2 in the tank anyway. I think what you heard was during acclimation, when fish are in a bag of water after shipping, the pH is really low and the ammonia is really high. You put an airstone in that, and you'll kill the fish right in the bag....but this is only an issue when acclimating, not in regular tanks.

Still, as @artieg1 said, you need to manage the ammonia to near zero, and low oxygen can be a huge issue if you are dosing with prazipro.

Have you been getting your fish all from the same dealer?

Jay

Victor Guyton · Nov 23, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
Airstones don't raise ammonia, what they can do is drive off carbon dioxide, which raises the pH, which in turn makes the ammonia more toxic....but you shouldn't have an excess of CO2 in the tank anyway. I think what you heard was during acclimation, when fish are in a bag of water after shipping, the pH is really low and the ammonia is really high. You put an airstone in that, and you'll kill the fish right in the bag....but this is only an issue when acclimating, not in regular tanks.

Still, as @artieg1 said, you need to manage the ammonia to near zero, and low oxygen can be a huge issue if you are dosing with prazipro.

Have you been getting your fish all from the same dealer?

Jay