QT tank killed all new fish

[laverda]

A lot of people don’t keep Qt tanks running all the time. To set up a qt tank quickly you need to prepare ahead of time. You qt should have some sort of filtration. Hob filters work decent for a qt tank if the bio load is light enough. Take the filter media out of you filter and put it in the sump of you display tank a week or so befor you will need it. When you want to set up your qt, do a water change on your display and use the old water for your qt. Take you filter media out of your sump and install in the filter for qt tank. I usually add a little RO/DI to lower the salinity to match that of the water the fish come in. It is much easier on the fish if the salinity is a little lower. Now your ready for your new fish. I like to keep live rock and sand in my Qt for additional bacteria surface. Since I keep it set up all the time it is not a problem.

 

[Luno]

As mentioned previously when I've qt'd I have a intake powerhead with a filter compartment that lives in my sump, I keep a course pad in there. I change it every few months depending on it I intend to use the qt or not. Through that in your qt when ready and as mentioned after remove it with new pad put back in sump.

Do a water change from your display and use the water from the water change plus some fresh mixed up water in the qt.

Let it sit for a bit make sure no ammonia spoke and then your good to go. Qt because you use small amounts of bacteria needs more regular water change to keep it in check.

 

[40B Knasty]

Throwing out my 2¢. 4 fish is a lot to be QT'ing in an uncycled tank. Even for a "new" display tank. Take your time. You want add maybe 1 or 2 the most for a new tank. Let the display tank get used to the bioload. Then a month later. Add another. And so on and so on.
You said your ammonia badge was reading 0. Be careful when handling those badges. Make sure after you pull the clear film off it for it to start detecting ammonia that your fingers do not touch the center circle that reads any ammonia. The oils on your fingers can throw it out of wack. Also on a side note. Make sure you pulled the clear film off it so it can detect ammonia.

 

[LBReefer]

You should be able to cultivate beneficial bacteria in your filter media thats how youll be able to obtain that as far as cycling you need to introduce ammonia to start the process such as a block of mysis shrimp to rot and produce ammonia and then when you bacteria grow and thrive they eat the ammonia and nitrites produced from ammonia you can dose seachem stability during this process to help speed up the bio filtration process also seachem stability also helps with new tank syndrome aka shock which alot of the times when fish die for unknown reasons its nts new tank syndrome anyhow good luck man

This explaons so much. Thank you! I was blaming one my LFS for all my deaths in quarantine. I've just ordered some extra sponfe filters to seed for my biocube that i use as my quarantine tank.

 

[scott11106]

i second that ! i knew i was doing something wrong but this thread will help me

 

[kp1991]

This explaons so much. Thank you! I was blaming one my LFS for all my deaths in quarantine. I've just ordered some extra sponfe filters to seed for my biocube that i use as my quarantine tank.

No problem ive been in the freswater game over 15 years now and there are some similarities to saltwater im rather new to saltwater but its the same principles given that saltwater fish are just so much more sensitive i agree with above take your time..
I got three fish in qt right now the bioload is massive but with frequent water changes 20% changes dont do too big you will stress the fish out and use the products that i mentioned in the previous post and youll be fine

 

[kp1991]

No problem ive been in the freswater game over 15 years now and there are some similarities to saltwater im rather new to saltwater but its the same principles given that saltwater fish are just so much more sensitive i agree with above take your time..
I got three fish in qt right now the bioload is massive but with frequent water changes 20% changes dont do too big you will stress the fish out and use the products that i mentioned in the previous post and youll be fine

These guys are in qt and all get along well

 

[Billdogg]

FWIW - I have never cycled my QT. I don't even set it up unless I happen to bring a fish home from the LFS. When I do, I float the bag in my Frag tank while I am siphoning water from the FT into the QT. The QT is setup with a power head, heater, and a dual biowheel HOB. I keep the wheels in the FT's sump so they are always ready to go. A few PVC elbows of appropriate size for the fish in question and the tank is ready to go.

Then I simply let the fish go in the QT. I do daily water changes in the QT using water from the FT and then replace that water with fresh from my mixing barrel.

When done with the QT process, I rinse it all out and put it back on the shelf, ready to go for the next time.

I would guess that your fish were already infected with something (velvet?) or had issues with Ammonia toxicity from their time in the bags they came in.

 

[Victoria M]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/unread
Scott, we all go thru this kinda stuff. I am happy to hear you are trying to QT. the thread I have pasted here is in an incredible section on R2R. read, read, read. I have more than a decade of SW experience and I still learn stuff from this section every time I read it. I admit I do not have a terrible lot of experience with sick fish, just a few experiences, that were doozies. I have been fortunate I believe because of my favorite LFS. and a big dose of just dumb luck!

 

[Dom]

I'm with DLH on this one. It sounds like one or more of your fish had Velvet at the store.

 

[Velcro]

Where were the fish from? You said you drop acclimated them... If they were shipped, as soon as that bag opens a pH shift makes amonnia from traveling become deadly. They might have died from Gill burn after that.

 

[Hal3134]

How long was the QT set up before you put the fish in? In 24 hours you would not have had enough time for ammonia to build up to an amount that would be a problem, and that presumes that you had put an ammonia source into the tank.

The tank transfer method, for example, uses uncycled tanks and keeps fish in them for 72 hours. Again, not enough time for ammonia to build up.

I agree with Velcro in the sense that it sounds like an acclimation issue is more likely.

 

[scott11106]

Where were the fish from? You said you drop acclimated them... If they were shipped, as soon as that bag opens a pH shift makes amonnia from traveling become deadly. They might have died from Gill burn after that.

they were from LFS so that should not have been the case but lets say they were shipped, would i not drip acclimate?

 

[scott11106]

How long was the QT set up before you put the fish in? In 24 hours you would not have had enough time for ammonia to build up to an amount that would be a problem, and that presumes that you had put an ammonia source into the tank.

The tank transfer method, for example, uses uncycled tanks and keeps fish in them for 72 hours. Again, not enough time for ammonia to build up.

I agree with Velcro in the sense that it sounds like an acclimation issue is more likely.

qt tank was setup and salt mixed for a bit over 24 hours, then i floated fish, then open bag and fish in bucket and then started drip for 30+ min, emptied half and then dripped again before adding to qt with lights off for less stress. the fish went in ok and seemed fine initially, i even fed them a little frozen food and they seemed to pick a bit.

 

[ZachR32]

your acclimation method is fine. It is totally possible to generate an ammonia spike from 4 new fish within 24 hours. What was the size of the QT tank? What were the 4 fish?

 

[scott11106]

your acclimation method is fine. It is totally possible to generate an ammonia spike from 4 new fish within 24 hours. What was the size of the QT tank? What were the 4 fish?

55 gallon with hof and 1 powerhead, the fish were 1 wrass 2", 1 4" powder brown tang and 2 firefish

 

[scott11106]

here is a pic of the fish room and the qt tank

 

[Smprc]

Hey scott, I would find an ammonia spike hard to believe with just those fish and that much water. I do tank transfer and ammonia has not been an issue to date with me. Currently 3 3" anthias and 1 4" achilles tang...no ammonia issue in 10g tank. One thing I have done is if the fish don't acclimate in approximately 4 to 5 hours, then I immediately do a fresh water dip to check for parasites. However, keep in mind that I feel my LFS fish always come with some parasite or disease. Heck this last bunch I added prazipro on day 1, which is not something I usually do, but I noticed they were just breathing too hard and were not moving much after 5 hours, just my 2 cents. I also used to drip acclimate, now I float for 20 and match the salinity of my tank to the LFS. I test the water and as they float I adjust the tank accordingly and add tank water into the bag and wait another 20 or so min. Don't get discouraged, continue to QT! It is a pain but worth it. One last thing, not sure if you mentioned it, but make sure the tank and the HOB have been sterilized. Check out HumbleFishe's QT procedures...he's got great info.

 

[Forsaken77]

ok, wait a minute i did not cycle the qt tank, i did not know i had to cycle it as it gets new water and complete setup for every load of fish?? crap would that be it ? and do i have to cycle that tank every time? i thought if all perameters were in line it was fine and with new water freshly mixed everything was perfect...am i dumb?

You can easily use a brand new tank uncycled for QT. When you do this though, you need to be on top of ammonia and nitrite everyday. I do it all the time, but have not done it with 4 fish at once. That seems extreme. Usually 4 fish at once will put a hard hit on the bio filter in the DT and you'll be changing water everyday in the QT.

Change the water frequently in QT. I use smaller 10 gallon tanks so I can change 75-90% of the water when needed (when uncycled) and it makes it easy to medicate when in small volumes (actually it's a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon that I use). But you cannot put more than 1 fish, 2 if really small, at a time. I also use a powerful air pump for QT

As for your fish dying, and breathing rapidly... Was there too many fish in the tank? Maybe lack of oxygen? Did you use any cleaning products?

Because if you watch ammonia AND nitrite, then the fish wouldn't die on an uncycled tank. It's a temp situation but requires constant monitoring. If ever in doubt, do a water change.

 

[T Carey]

Given that your ammonia alert showed zero I'd have to go with velvet. If it was velvet you should have seen it on the powder blue tang.

I suppose the ammonia alert could have gone bad however a 55 gal tank with that fish load should not have gotten to lethal levels in 48 hrs.