Quarantining fish together

[Aronsaquarium]

Hey guys!
So I lost my diamond Goby after almost 2.5 years, I hope he lived his full life

I want to add a new one, as my sand is getting all dirty now..
Only thing is that my 10 gallon quarantine has a resident Mandarine Goby.
I can’t move the Mandarine as my butterfly pecks at him on the DT. So I keep him in the QT in my office

Question is, can I put a Diamond in there together with the Mandarine?

I keep substrate in my QT as it has a resident so I like it looking nicer. And it helps keep the water stable which for a 10g tank means a lot.

Also is there a prettier sand sifter than the diamond that works well?
I hear the yellow doesnt do a great job..

Thanks!

 

[Jekyl]

Few concerns here.

First is a mandarin will quickly run out of food in a 10g so I hope you're accomodating.

Second is that a quarantine tank usually means copper and other meds. A mandarin won't do good in this environment.

Quarantine should contain no rocks, if sand is needed just keep a small dish of it. Then a couple pvc elbows for hiding space.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Agreed - assuming you are medicating the goby it isn’t going to go well with the mandarin.
Additionally, though mandarins are quite disease hardy, I still wouldn’t expose it to another potentially sick fish.

Diamond gobies are the go to sand sifters. If you are looking for something to pair with a pistol shrimp, the watchman would be the way to go.

 

[Aronsaquarium]

Few concerns here.

First is a mandarin will quickly run out of food in a 10g so I hope you're accomodating.

Second is that a quarantine tank usually means copper and other meds. A mandarin won't do good in this environment.

Quarantine should contain no rocks, if sand is needed just keep a small dish of it. Then a couple pvc elbows for hiding space.

Ok so with the Mandarine,
He’s trained on regular foods, I’ve had him for almost a year.
He eats frozen mysis and brine daily, and has been happy.

With Copper, he’s been good with the Copper safe too.

Obviously if I see any stress I’ll immediately act on it, but he’s been happy so far.

Regarding the stand.
So I probably break the rules here, but I have clump on Cheato as well as sand in the 10g.
The cheato is growing super fast, I’ve thrown away good amounts of it over the months.
And I find that while yes I have to be more on top of checking medication levels because they get eaten etc.
The fish inside it are happier. Have more to peck at, and feel more stable.
And I prefer that, even though it’s more work, and it means lights on which means glass cleaning.
I’m essentially running a second DT lol with medication.
But I’ve found fish to enjoy that quarantine process much more than when I used to have bare bottom and less steady water..

I know not everyone will agree, but this seems to work by me..

 

[Aronsaquarium]

Oh man, I meant Diamond Goby!
Unless there’s a prettier option that’s as goo.
My diamond was great. Just looking for some Color, but not needed if there isn’t any..

 

[Fish Fan]

Few concerns here.

First is a mandarin will quickly run out of food in a 10g so I hope you're accomodating.

Second is that a quarantine tank usually means copper and other meds. A mandarin won't do good in this environment.

Quarantine should contain no rocks, if sand is needed just keep a small dish of it. Then a couple pvc elbows for hiding space.

I'll add that if you're going to be using medications in your QT tank, you should provide a small dish of an inert sand, not aragonite or crushed coral or anything that may interact with the medications.

Are you looking for a medicated QT tank, or is this basically a non-medicated observation tank?

Personally, I'd suggest a medicated QT following the R2R preferred QT protocol found here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

 

[Fish Fan]

Regarding the stand.
So I probably break the rules here, but I have clump on Cheato as well as sand in the 10g.
The cheato is growing super fast, I’ve thrown away good amounts of it over the months.
And I find that while yes I have to be more on top of checking medication levels because they get eaten etc.
The fish inside it are happier. Have more to peck at, and feel more stable.
And I prefer that, even though it’s more work, and it means lights on which means glass cleaning.
I’m essentially running a second DT lol with medication.
But I’ve found fish to enjoy that quarantine process much more than when I used to have bare bottom and less steady water..

I know not everyone will agree, but this seems to work by me..

My understanding is that the issue with having typical reef sand in a medicated QT tank is that the sand may absorb some of the copper medication, lowering the concentration to a point where the copper is ineffective.

Would it be out of the question to setup a second 10 gallon medicated QT for your new Goby? If you have a PetCo near you, a 10 gallon tank is currently on sale for $12.50, add a heater and either a HOB or just a sponge filter and you should be good to go. This way, you can do a full and effective medicated QT on the new fish before adding it to your DT, and not risking the health of the Manderin.

 

[Aronsaquarium]

My understanding is that the issue with having typical reef sand in a medicated QT tank is that the sand may absorb some of the copper medication, lowering the concentration to a point where the copper is ineffective.

Would it be out of the question to setup a second 10 gallon medicated QT for your new Goby? If you have a PetCo near you, a 10 gallon tank is currently on sale for $12.50, add a heater and either a HOB or just a sponge filter and you should be good to go. This way, you can do a full and effective medicated QT on the new fish before adding it to your DT, and not risking the health of the Manderin.

This has been my understanding too.
And yes it means that every several days I do add a tiny bit more copper safe.
I have to check its daily or every 48 hours.
But I don’t mind that…
It definitely doesn’t stay the same level for a week straight, but if that’s only issue, I’m good with that.

Been doing it this way for several months