QT Plan - Help or Suggestions

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

I’m going to QT all my fish. I have Copper Power and a Hanna Copper tester. My plan is to build up the copper to 2.0 (maybe 2.25?) for 15 days, minimum. I don’t have a second QT tank, but I do have a large tote (38 gallons) that I could place the fish in while I sanitize the QT tank. How long would it take to completely sanitizing the tank? I would like to think a few days in the tote wouldn’t be bad as long as it was heated and had a sponge and air stone (minimum). That would minimize the amount of additional equipment I have to purchase, plus help keep my spouse happy. Any reason this wouldn’t work?

Jay Hemdal · Feb 28, 2021

Sorry, I couldn’t figure out what it is you’re trying to do....why do you need to sanitize your qt?
Jay

mickeysreef <*))))< · Feb 28, 2021

clean it, bleach it, clean it a couple more times then let 2 days dry

mickeysreef <*))))< · Feb 28, 2021

he wants to treat for 15 days and move to sterile qt. he doesnt have a 2nd tank so he will move to sterilite container while he sterilizes his qt. he cant put back in tank as will need to be fallow 76days

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Sorry, I couldn’t figure out what it is you’re trying to do....why do you need to sanitize your qt?
Jay

I think a 15 day quarantine is preferable to 30 days. I just don’t have a second tank to do that. I would have to sanitize the existing qt tank while moving the fish out during the process.

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

My plan is getting harder to put into action. I thought I lost four fish in a week due to ich. Turns out I only lost two. I know I have ich and the only way to eradicate it is to quarantine and treat. My problem is I was planning on 5 fish in a 20 gallon tank during the quarantine now I’ll have 7.

When I purchased the tank and brought it home I had 8 fish and they lived in quarantine for about 60 days while I got everything set up again. If everyone lives 15 days during treatment I could move some fish to a secondary container (the tote) until the 76 days runs it course.

I have two clowns, a yellow tang, hippo tang, one spot Foxface, yellow tail damsel and a spotted watchman goby to quarantine. From reading about copper treatment it sounds like the fish will be pretty lethargic, is that a fair assessment? Would lethargy reduce aggression? The tank is blacked out on all sides except one. I also plan on going lights out except a few hours at night when I’m home. My DT will remain on schedule.

Having only inverts in the DT during the fallow period will the need of water changes be reduced? I know I have to put some food in the tank to keep everyone fed and the bacteria going, I just don’t know about water changes.

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

mickeysreef <*))))< said:
he wants to treat for 15 days and move to sterile qt. he doesnt have a 2nd tank so he will move to sterilite container while he sterilizes his qt. he cant put back in tank as will need to be fallow 76days

Is there any concern doing this? I don’t want to rush anything and if there’s a better solution I’m all ears. Thank you.

Sam816 · Feb 28, 2021

reeferericb said:
Is there any concern doing this? I don’t want to rush anything and if there’s a better solution I’m all ears. Thank you.

yes, the fish might not show signs again in next 2 weeks you keep it out of copper. better to do 4 weeks of copper. i introduced ich in my tank 2 weeks back doing just what you are planning. 2 weeks of copper. 1 week of prazi, 2 3day treatments of kanaplex and i put he fish in my DT. yesterday I had to tear down the whole tank in order to catch all the fish.

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

Sam816 said:
yes, the fish might not show signs again in next 2 weeks you keep it out of copper. better to do 4 weeks of copper. i introduced ich in my tank 2 weeks back doing just what you are planning. 2 weeks of copper. 1 week of prazi, 2 3day treatments of kanaplex and i put he fish in my DT. yesterday I had to tear down the whole tank in order to catch all the fish.

I have 76 days fallow before any fish are added back to the DT (assuming quarantine works). I’m really considering buying a freshwater fish (black mollie?) to add into quarantine after copper to test for diseases just to be certain.

I’m in the process now of tearing down my tank. I guess I’m happy all my corals are still frags, I don’t have any large colonies to contend with yet. I was hoping to not tear down half the tank, that’s it lookin very promising, looks like all the rock will be removed to catch them.

Sam816 · Feb 28, 2021

reeferericb said:
I have 76 days fallow before any fish are added back to the DT (assuming quarantine works). I’m really considering buying a freshwater fish (black mollie?) to add into quarantine after copper to test for diseases just to be certain.

I’m in the process now of tearing down my tank. I guess I’m happy all my corals are still frags, I don’t have any large colonies to contend with yet. I was hoping to not tear down half the tank, that’s it lookin very promising, looks like all the rock will be removed to catch them.

what i am planning to do is put corals in their separate QT and keep them there for 75-90 days.I have mollies for same purpose. will slowly replace all saltwater with fresh water in my display in next week or so. that way 4 weeks of fresh water will kill the ich in my display(fingers crossed) then will start raising salinity again after 4 weeks with mollies in.
I already have a spare sump full of bio media cycled to start any extra QTs or my display back on. you should consider cycling a bucket full of media. all you need is heater and wavemaker/pump. keep ghost feeding every week and do partial water change every fortnight.

mickeysreef <*))))< · Feb 28, 2021

Sam816 said:
what i am planning to do is put corals in their separate QT and keep them there for 75-90 days.I have mollies for same purpose. will slowly replace all saltwater with fresh water in my display in next week or so. that way 4 weeks of fresh water will kill the ich in my display(fingers crossed) then will start raising salinity again after 4 weeks with mollies in.
I already have a spare sump full of bio media cycled to start any extra QTs or my display back on. you should consider cycling a bucket full of media. all you need is heater and wavemaker/pump. keep ghost feeding every week and do partial water change every fortnight.

i believe freshwater will kill ich in 48 hours. i think i read that in one of those science papers out of that florida school

Sam816 · Feb 28, 2021

mickeysreef <*))))< said:
i believe freshwater will kill ich in 48 hours. i think i read that in one of those science papers out of that florida school

I thinks that's for free floating ich. Some eggs can survive longer.
I will need to treat my fish for 4 weeks +2 weeks of observation anyways so 4 week of freshwater should ensure any eggs/babies etc to pop as well

mickeysreef <*))))< · Feb 28, 2021

yeah you're probably right now that I'm thinking about it. cause whenever I'm doing a water change I know 2 days of fresh water is no good to clean my buckets. they have to sit clean and dry for 2 days.

I have a whole gang of fish in a 125. copper is running 2.0+ for close to 90 days now.

Sam816 · Feb 28, 2021

for buckets/appliances you can use citric acid or even small amount of bleach. that would melt/remove the protective mucus on the ich eggs and expose them. eventually killing them.

Jay Hemdal · Feb 28, 2021

reeferericb said:
I think a 15 day quarantine is preferable to 30 days. I just don’t have a second tank to do that. I would have to sanitize the existing qt tank while moving the fish out during the process.

Oh, I strongly urge folks to quarantine with copper for 30 days. The copper does not kill the tomonts, and moving the fish out isn’t always 100% effective. You’ll still want to treat for flukes as well.
Jay

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Oh, I strongly urge folks to quarantine with copper for 30 days. The copper does not kill the tomonts, and moving the fish out isn’t always 100% effective. You’ll still want to treat for flukes as well.
Jay

My concern with 30 day copper is that some of the tomonts could remain. I thought moving the fish to a sterile environment after 15 days was the best way to get them away from the tomonts, is that not right?

Sam816 · Feb 28, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Oh, I strongly urge folks to quarantine with copper for 30 days. The copper does not kill the tomonts, and moving the fish out isn’t always 100% effective. You’ll still want to treat for flukes as well.
Jay

totally agree with Jay here. i am never going to trust on any QT schedule that's less than 4 weeks of Copper treatment or TTM.
i am on my second round of getting all fish out and starting again. I was ignorant the first time. second time I was just lazy.
Any thoughts on my '4 week of freshwater in DT' plan, Jay? I only have a hand full of corals and CuC. i will move them in a smaller tank for 75-90 days before bringing them back to DT.

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

Does 30 days of copper completely remove the tomonts as well as free swimmers?

Sam816 · Feb 28, 2021

reeferericb said:
My concern with 30 day copper is that some of the tomonts could remain. I thought moving the fish to a sterile environment after 15 days was the best way to get them away from the tomonts, is that not right?

reeferericb said:
Does 30 days of copper completely remove the tomonts as well as free swimmers?

that's what research suggests. I know there is another school of thought that suggests 2 weeks of copper treatment and 2 weeks of observation in a new cleaner tank. I did that and It didn't work for me. now instead of one fish I have to QT all my fish that were ich free previously. had to dismantle all my rock work. and now will need to move all corals n cuc.
I am not trying to scare you. just saying that its better to be thorough the first time. this month of march is going to be very long for me

reeferericb · Feb 28, 2021

Sam816 said:
that's what research suggests. I know there is another school of thought that suggests 2 weeks of copper treatment and 2 weeks of observation in a new cleaner tank. I did that and It didn't work for me. now instead of one fish I have to QT all my fish that were ich free previously. had to dismantle all my rock work. and now will need to move all corals n cuc.
I am not trying to scare you. just saying that its better to be thorough the first time. this month of march is going to be very long for me

I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m just trying to make sure I understand what the best approach is. In my case once I treat even for 30 days I’ll still have 46 days of observation left. If I put a freshwater fish in and it lives a long time that may be a good canary in the mine, so to speak. My curiosity after that is if I leave the freshwater fish in qt can I purchase a new saltwater fish and if nothing happens to the mollie I don’t need to treat the new fish?