Quarantine tanks in my apartment.

[Stick-y]

Hello !

I'm about to start the cycling of my new 150 gallons reef tank and I planned to have one powder blue tang (I hope 150 gallons is enough for a powder blue, there won't be a lot of fishes anyway) . So I started to do some research about quarantine and I read HumbleFish'article about quarantine. So after reading I thought the best option was ich eradication over ich management. Here comes my problem : I cannot have three tanks (my DT, my coral quarantine tank and the fish quarantine tank) in my apartment with more than 10 foot distance between then. Basically, I can't handle the aerosol ich propagation.

So knowing these facts about my situation (I can't get a bigger apartment), what should I do ? Is it worth to only quarantine fish and not corals ? Can you maintain one powder blue tang healthy with ich management ? I live in Belgium and there is just no LFS that provide full quarantined coral or fish...

Right now, given the fact I cannot quarantine properly, I think the right decision to make would be ich management (using good foods, a big UV sterilizer, etc.) and not putting any "acanthurus " genus in the aquarium (I really like power blue tang tho...).

What do you think guys ?

PS: don't go too hard on my english please, it's not my native langage and I didn't googletrad anything

 

[Nburg's Reef]

QT for the fish is definitely a good idea given that power blue’s are very prone to suffering from ich.

Honestly, most do not QT corals, including me. I do dip every coral and inspect it on a magnetic frag rack for a good 2 weeks before attaching it to the rocks. I also only buy coral from refutable sources known to provide clean coral. Kudos to those that do it, but it’s a risk that I accept.

If I needed to QT every thing including snails, corals, etc., it’s probably add to the chores of maintaining a reef and drive me away from the hobby.

 

[Brew12]

Hello !

I'm about to start the cycling of my new 150 gallons reef tank and I planned to have one powder blue tang (I hope 150 gallons is enough for a powder blue, there won't be a lot of fishes anyway) . So I started to do some research about quarantine and I read HumbleFish'article about quarantine. So after reading I thought the best option was ich eradication over ich management. Here comes my problem : I cannot have three tanks (my DT, my coral quarantine tank and the fish quarantine tank) in my apartment with more than 10 foot distance between then. Basically, I can't handle the aerosol ich propagation.

So knowing these facts about my situation (I can't get a bigger apartment), what should I do ? Is it worth to only quarantine fish and not corals ? Can you maintain one powder blue tang healthy with ich management ? I live in Belgium and there is just no LFS that provide full quarantined coral or fish...

Right now, given the fact I cannot quarantine properly, I think the right decision to make would be ich management (using good foods, a big UV sterilizer, etc.) and not putting any "acanthurus " genus in the aquarium (I really like power blue tang tho...).

What do you think guys ?

PS: don't go too hard on my english please, it's not my native langage and I didn't googletrad anything

I would suggest asking other hobbyists in your area what they recommend. My understanding is that EU laws prevent wholesalers from selling fish that are in the same bad condition that we often get in the US. I think this is one of several reasons prophylactic QT isn't widely practiced in Europe. This should make ich management a much better option for you. And I also agree that I wouldn't put more than one acanthurus in a tank that size, regardless of QT method.

 

[Stick-y]

QT for the fish is definitely a good idea given that power blue’s are very prone to suffering from ich.

Honestly, most do not QT corals, including me. I do dip every coral and inspect it on a magnetic frag rack for a good 2 weeks before attaching it to the rocks. I also only buy coral from refutable sources known to provide clean coral. Kudos to those that do it, but it’s a risk that I accept.

If I needed to QT every thing including snails, corals, etc., it’s probably add to the chores of maintaining a reef and drive me away from the hobby.

Coral and fish quarantine is actually a lot of work, I understand how it could drive away from the hobby...

 

[Stick-y]

I would suggest asking other hobbyists in your area what they recommend. My understanding is that EU laws prevent wholesalers from selling fish that are in the same bad condition that we often get in the US. I think this is one of several reasons prophylactic QT isn't widely practiced in Europe. This should make ich management a much better option for you. And I also agree that I wouldn't put more than one acanthurus in a tank that size, regardless of QT method.

Actually your comment is really on point : I talked a bit with other hobbyists and they told me that my desire to quarantine everything before putting it in the display tank was foolish. But I know those hobbyists friends of mine, they can't read or write english so it's very difficult for them to reach the amount of knowledges of this forum for example.

All I know about fishes in Europe is that they mainly come from "Dejong marine life" and these guys to some quarantine before they send the fishes to LFS. But there is no proper quarantine at the LFS, they just look the freshly imported fishes for 2-3 days then they are all for sale. I didn't know about those laws, thx for the info.

I just want the best for my pets, so I won't to limit the risk for the powder blue so if the risk exceeds certain limite, I just won't try the Leucosternon.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Brew12]

Actually your comment is really on point : I talked a bit with other hobbyists and they told me that my desire to quarantine everything before putting it in the display tank was foolish. But I know those hobbyists friends of mine, they can't read or write english so it's very difficult for them to reach the amount of knowledges of this forum for example.

The question I would ask, is are your friends successful? Do any of them keep similar fish that they haven't put through prophylactic QT?

Even here in the US, I have stopped prophylactic treatment of my fish. I have knowingly added fish from systems thought to be infected with both ich and velvet. Other than Anthias, my fish loses have gone down significantly since I stopped prophylactic treatment. I have tried Anthias before and after stopping prophylactic treatment with no success. They allude me but I think it has been due to aggression.

Depending on your stocking plan, prophylactic treatment may be your best option. If you want multiple tangs in a smaller system, or other fish that can potentially be aggressive to each other, than prophylactic treatment is almost mandatory. Just because fish aren't attacking each other does not mean they are not causing each other stress. This stress can break down their immune systems and make them vulnerable to parasites.
I feel that with a careful, low aggression stocking plan, and with good husbandry, prophylactic treatment was causing me more harm than good.

Just something else to consider.

 

[Stick-y]

The question I would ask, is are your friends successful? Do any of them keep similar fish that they haven't put through prophylactic QT?

Even here in the US, I have stopped prophylactic treatment of my fish. I have knowingly added fish from systems thought to be infected with both ich and velvet. Other than Anthias, my fish loses have gone down significantly since I stopped prophylactic treatment. I have tried Anthias before and after stopping prophylactic treatment with no success. They allude me but I think it has been due to aggression.

Depending on your stocking plan, prophylactic treatment may be your best option. If you want multiple tangs in a smaller system, or other fish that can potentially be aggressive to each other, than prophylactic treatment is almost mandatory. Just because fish aren't attacking each other does not mean they are not causing each other stress. This stress can break down their immune systems and make them vulnerable to parasites.
I feel that with a careful, low aggression stocking plan, and with good husbandry, prophylactic treatment was causing me more harm than good.

Just something else to consider.

Very interesting point of view. I don't intend to have a lot of fish, tangs wise I think it will be one powder blue and on flavescens and that's it. I will put them at the same time in the tank and will chose one small power blue and one medium flavescens in order to reduce agression.

I think that my fellow local reefers don't keep their tangs more than two years, I don't feel like two years is a big success tho ...

 

[Brew12]

Very interesting point of view. I don't intend to have a lot of fish, tangs wise I think it will be one powder blue and on flavescens and that's it. I will put them at the same time in the tank and will chose one small power blue and one medium flavescens in order to reduce agression.

I think that my fellow local reefers don't keep their tangs more than two years, I don't feel like two years is a big success tho ...

I would agree that 2 years is not a success for tangs. I'm proud to say my Hippo tang and Kole tang have been with me for over 3.5 years and my Yellow tangs for over 2. If I do my job, they should still be around 5+ years from now imo.