Quarantine Tanks

[crentch21]

How important are quarantine tanks?...and on average, how long should fish, coral, etc stay in them?

 

[HiddenUser]

Very important. Quarantine 4-6 weeks for fish.

I don't quarantine coral, but I do dip it in Revive.

 

[ReefKeeper09]

IMO, Very important. I put all my fish in a Q-Tank for 3-4weeks before they go into the main display. It's easier to catch & treat them when they are in a tank with only 1 or 2 rocks, no sand or anything than it is in a Display tank. Plus, You can't dose medications to treat an illness in the display tank. You can I guess, But it's not recommended. Plus, It's easier to make sure the fish is feeding when he/she is in its own tank.

 

[ReefKeeper09]

I too, dip my corals in Revive. I don't Quarantine Corals though.

 

[TJ's Reef]

As stated above, VERY IMPORTANT and also IME IMHO all fish should be treated while in QT by either a hypo-salinety or Cupramine (copper) treatment especially Tangs and Butterfly's. Some species of Wrasses and larger Angels maybe even through a Prazi-Pro treatment for internal parasites.

Cheers, Todd

 

[crentch21]

As stated above, VERY IMPORTANT and also IME IMHO all fish should be treated while in QT by either a hypo-salinety or Cupramine (copper) treatment especially Tangs and Butterfly's. Some species of Wrasses and larger Angels maybe even through a Prazi-Pro treatment for internal parasites.

Cheers, Todd

Quick description of hypo-salinety and cupramine treatment...please

 

[HiddenUser]

Quick description of hypo-salinety and cupramine treatment...please

Hypo-Salinity is when you lower the salinity in the QT / HT down to around 1.01 and keeping it there for a period of time.

Cupramine is a copper treatment which you'll gradually add to the water and maintain the the amount of copper in the water for a set period of time.

 

[ReefKeeper09]

On a basic level, Hyposalinity is where we effectively lower the specific gravity of the aquarium water to a level below natural ocean water. To make this treatment effective, the SG needs to be down to 1.009 with the tank running at its usual temperature of around 79f.

Cupramine explained in the link.
Seachem. Cupramine

 

[ReefKeeper09]

Sorry to repeat, ChukeeR beat me to it.

 

[TJ's Reef]

Thanks Chukee, for responding so quickly got busy. QT-ing fish for observation only brings about a parasite outbreak some of the time and typically not as stressful as being bullied by already established livestock within our Reefs so without actually medicating/treating them not very effective. I can tell you from personal experience "It aint no fun catching all your fish in an established Reeftank to put in a QT and medicate after the fact" then running DT Fallow for 8-10 weeks.

Cheers, Todd

 

[crentch21]

Thanks Chukee, for responding so quickly got busy. QT-ing fish for observation only brings about a parasite outbreak some of the time and typically not as stressful as being bullied by already established livestock within our Reefs so without actually medicating/treating them not very effective. I can tell you from personal experience "It aint no fun catching all your fish in an established Reeftank to put in a QT and medicate after the fact" then running DT Fallow for 8-10 weeks.

Cheers, Todd

Silly question but this Q tank should go through a cycle first...?

 

[reefermadness55]

From what I've heard/read no. As most treatments used in QT will end up killing any of the beneficial bacteria grown from cycling a tank just also have to make sure that the QT water doesn't get dirty

 

[KoleTang]

Silly question but this Q tank should go through a cycle first...?

Just have a couple sponges floating in your DT sump to develop bacteria. Then every time you set up the QT put a seeded sponge in the QT. Since there aren't many porous surfaces in the QT tank the sponge will be the main area the bacteria will be living anyway.

Make sure to sterilize the sponge with bleach before putting back in DT sump.

 

[jduck]

You use seeded sponge filters. I keep a bag of ceramic media in sump. It goes in a hob on qt tank. So qt is not up and running all the time. Smaller fish will be ok in a 10g. But a 20g long is nicer for bigger fish.

 

[reefermadness55]

Just have a couple sponges floating in your DT sump to develop bacteria. Then every time you set up the QT put a seeded sponge in the QT. Since there aren't many porous surfaces in the QT tank the sponge will be the main area the bacteria will be living anyway.

Make sure to sterilize the sponge with bleach before putting back in DT sump.

Ok so to clarify, you get sponge filters and let then just float in the sump? Not have them held under by anything or have flow going through the sponges? And just put them in the QT when you use it. So whichever treatment you're using won't kill off the bacteria in the sponge? Although I'm sure the bleach will. And how do you go about bleaching the sponge? Do you let it dry before putting back into the DT sump?

 

[crentch21]

Can you put more than one species of fish in the QT?

 

[crentch21]

You use seeded sponge filters. I keep a bag of ceramic media in sump. It goes in a hob on qt tank. So qt is not up and running all the time. Smaller fish will be ok in a 10g. But a 20g long is nicer for bigger fish.

What if you dont have a sump? i only have a 29 g with a HOB

 

[HiddenUser]

Can you put more than one species of fish in the QT?

Yes, but keep in mind that you don't want to cram a bunch of fish into a QT. You also don't want to put a large fish that requires a lot of swimming space into a tiny QT.

What if you dont have a sump? i only have a 29 g with a HOB

Just take a sponge seeded with bacteria from your DT and place it into the HOB. Otherwise you just need to test for Ammonia and be ready to do water changes.

 

[JMLewis]

Very important. for the first time in 12 Years i haven't had ich killing off my fish. The last 3 years I've been parasite free and haven't lost a single fish. I'd never do it any other way.

 

[jduck]

Ok so to clarify, you get sponge filters and let then just float in the sump? Not have them held under by anything or have flow going through the sponges? And just put them in the QT when you use it. So whichever treatment you're using won't kill off the bacteria in the sponge? Although I'm sure the bleach will. And how do you go about bleaching the sponge? Do you let it dry before putting back into the DT sump?

I use chloroquine phosphate for 10 days, then 2 cycles of prazipro.
Throw out sponge after your done. They are about $5 each.