QT trouble- fish won't stay alive

[Cassian]

Hello all. So I recently got 4 fish in from LA and I put them in QT. I acclimated them correctly, waited 2 days, then began dosing copper and feeding food with metroplex. After a few days one fish died and another was breathing very heavily. next morning he died. The remaining two appeared to doing worse the next day, so I gave up and moved them to the DT. I got 2 more fish in today, but I put them straight into the DT because they were from a good supplier and I was scared to put them in my QT . Anyway, the two surviving fish from the quarantine perked right up in the DT. Why are they doing badly in the QT, but are fine in the DT??? I do weekly waterchanges with the DT's water 1x a week. The copper was only 0.5 when I took them out. all params were fine except ammonia was 0.25, but that was after a fish died and was in the QT overnight. I quickly fixed that with a WC.

 

[dwest]

Hello all. So I recently got 4 fish in from LA and I put them in QT. I acclimated them correctly, waited 2 days, then began dosing copper and feeding food with metroplex. After a few days one fish died and another was breathing very heavily. next morning he died. The remaining two appeared to doing worse the next day, so I gave up and moved them to the DT. I got 2 more fish in today, but I put them straight into the DT because they were from a good supplier and I was scared to put them in my QT . Anyway, the two surviving fish from the quarantine perked right up in the DT. Why are they doing badly in the QT, but are fine in the DT??? I do weekly waterchanges with the DT's water 1x a week. The copper was only 0.5 when I took them out. all params were fine except ammonia was 0.25, but that was after a fish died and was in the QT overnight. I quickly fixed that with a WC.

Sorry. It sounds like you are doing good things.

I would make sure i was using a Hannah copper checker to measure copper and have a sea chem ammonia badge in the qtine. I use this procedure successfully:

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Cassian]

Sorry. It sounds like you are doing good things.

I would make sure i was using a Hannah copper checker to measure copper and have a sea chem ammonia badge in the qtine. I use this procedure successfully:

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...

www.reef2reef.com

thanks for the suggestions!

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Sorry. It sounds like you are doing good things.

I would make sure i was using a Hannah copper checker to measure copper and have a sea chem ammonia badge in the qtine. I use this procedure successfully:

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...

www.reef2reef.com

+1 what type of copper are you using? and did slowly increase copper or add all at once?

 

[Punchanello]

A couple of things I learnt the hard way might be helpful -

1. Copper depletes the water of oxygen. If the fish started breathing rapidly after copper was introduced then this is worth checking. Adding an airstone or a powerhead will help.
2. Were any of the fish wrasse? They tend to do poorly in copper like Cupramine.
3. A Hanna checker was a game change for me. What I though was .5 often wasn't. It also allows you to dose at and hold a lower concentration of copper for more sensitive fish.

 

[dwest]

+1 what type of copper are you using? and did slowly increase copper or add all at once?

I use copper power. I start at 1 ppm, then ramp up to 2 ppm over 3 days. Note there are some species that can’t handle copper, plus variances to the technique if you are quarantining fish with possible uronema.

Fish and Treatment Guidelines (with chart)

Fish and Treatment Guidelines (with chart) The following chart is a quick reference guide on what QT protocol should be used according to which type of fish you are running through QT. It will give you an idea of which methods are generally safest with certain species but is not meant to be...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Ramping up copper is key, Copper Power does appear to be the easiest on fish. I’ve qt’ed All of my Wrasses in it without copper related issues.
Another common mistake is using Prime to detoxify ammonia while using copper. That will kill quickly.

 

[Cassian]

+1 what type of copper are you using? and did slowly increase copper or add all at once?

I use cupramine and increased to 0.5 over the course of a week

 

[Cassian]

A couple of things I learnt the hard way might be helpful -

1. Copper depletes the water of oxygen. If the fish started breathing rapidly after copper was introduced then this is worth checking. Adding an airstone or a powerhead will help.
2. Were any of the fish wrasse? They tend to do poorly in copper like Cupramine.
3. A Hanna checker was a game change for me. What I though was .5 often wasn't. It also allows you to dose at and hold a lower concentration of copper for more sensitive fish.

1. I have a bubbler in the tank
2. yes one of the fish is a wrasse, but it is the one that survived
3. I use the sachem test kit. ill have to look into a checker

thanks!