Ready to give up on keeping fish (long post)

[OMGitsManBearPig]

Don't give up! There is some really great advice, here. It also sounds like you've got an epic system in the making. Just gotta slow things down. You've already done the right thing by asking for help!

You got this.

 

[Chicago-quicksilver]

Sorry for your loss, we have all been there at one time or another. I always think one more big crash and I'm out but you start slowly back in and put additional steps in place to further prevent a crash. I searched in vain for a local LFS that would properly QT but couldn't find one so I bit the bullet and set up my own QT for fish, all coral get dipped 2x and if for some reason I'm still not sure I wait 12 hours and dip them again before even thinking of placing them in my tank. Sounds like velvet, as others have stated run the tank empty, I personally would get an UV sterilizer also and run it during this time. Don't give up.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

By any chance... are you using prime to control spikes when you put fish in? (as I was recommended by my lfs)

 

[Reef2zach]

This is a slow hobby. The ocean reefs didn't pop up overnight. Let your tank run fallow and appreciate your corals for a while. Your tank isn't going anywhere, you've got all the time in the world to fill it up. Just take it slow and it will grow

 

[Reef2zach]

I've crashed 2 tanks myself so I feel ya

 

[cancun]

I bought it from a store that had purchased the fish months ago. He was happy and healthy in the tank at this store and I killed him

The store does run hypo-salinity and their tanks with medications / copper / etc., so maybe removing those chemicals caused the issue? The store is not the issue, its a premier store in New England.

Someone might have already said this but you said your LFS runs hyposalinity and your is 1.026. IMO a 45 min drip from hypo to 1.026 is way too fast. I learned that the hard way years ago. Fish would look great, eatting etc, only to die a few days later....with no signs and of disease. Thanks am not saying this is what happened to all of the fish....just something to think about! After that experience several years ago I ONLY buy fish from fish in my LFS coral systems.

 

[cancun]

Also I wanted to add how sorry I am for the loss of your fish....and don't give up! I know how frustrating it is to loose fish like that.....and the cost of it....I know no one likes to admit it, but it is both infuriating to loose the fish and your money.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I feel your pain, I am sure that MOST people here feel your pain. The sad truth is that QT and treatment is a requirement of the hobby.
Lots of people don't like to talk about it but the industry has a dark side... a dark side littered with dead fish, cyanide killed reefs, etc. So for me, if a fish gets plucked from a reef, thrown in bags and flown half way around the world to a pet store, I am going to do EVERYTHING in my power to keep him alive. Lots of fish die because people simply don't want to QT them and it really is not hard nor expensive.

Here is the other part of the equation... THERE IS NO HALFWAY!! QT everything wet or don't bother. When you get complacent.. then is when it will get you.

I have a 300 gallon with LOTS of fish and lots of big expensive adult tangs. I QTd them all and things were great. I decided I really liked acans, and bought a pack of five of them. I didn't have my coral QT up and running at the time so I threw them in my frag system that is connected to my DT. One week later...hippo had ich, then the fox face had it, then my Achilles had it..

Soooo.. I had to set up 200 gallons of temporary tanks, pull all the fish out of the DT (you want pain?.. try getting 9 anthias out of an sps tank). I had to tear all the rock work apart.

It was depressing and I just left my rock in the fuge for like 2 weeks. BUT, you have to make lemonade.

I re aquascape the entire tank.
I glued up and sold most of the sps frags I made while breaking them.
I cleaned the entire system.. I don't think it was this clean when I bought it lol.
And now I am adding pods so they can explode without my wrasse eating them.

A coral QT can be as simple as a couple t5 lights over a 20 gallon with a powerhead and a heater.

lastly, never add prime to a tank with copper in it!!

Step back, re group, and come back, you got this and it will be rewarding!

best of luck

 

[mtdaly85]

Should I do two separate QTs? Run the fish QT with copper and medications while running the coral QT with the same parameters as the display?

 

[Big G]

Yep. I run two QTs. One for fish, and one for corals and inverts.

 

[Humblefish]

It's not the stores' fault, please don't think that's what I am trying to say. It's the nature of the industry. Fish go from the ocean into collector's tanks, then into distributors / wholesalers, then into stores. They can catch a bug in any of those places. For stores, treating all incoming fish is a very hard task. Thus it's up to us, hobbyists, to make sure we keep our animals healthy upon arrival.

+1 Everyone along the supply chain is just trying to turn a profit. If they don't, they will go out of business. QTing on a commercial level involves great risk + slows down the money making process, so expect to pay a premium for such a service.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Use a quarantine tank and keep fish out of tank for next three months as there is bacteria, protozoan or marine oodinium.
As ford Family specified, Amyloodinium can infect any fish at any time, but it appears to be much more of a problem when new fish are brought into an aquarium. Adding a new fish to an aquarium is obviously very stressful for the new fish and can be stressful for the existing tank inhabitants as well. Fish that are properly quarantined and fed are not as stressed and are much less likely to become infected with the disease and to create an outbreak when transferred to the existing display tank.

 

[40B Knasty]

The store is not the issue, its a premier store in New England.[/QUOTE]
I live in New England and have been to them all. If it is not Unique Aquaria. Do not trust it. Which one did you go to?

 

[mtdaly85]

+1 Everyone along the supply chain is just trying to turn a profit. If they don't, they will go out of business. QTing on a commercial level involves great risk + slows down the money making process, so expect to pay a premium for such a service.

This makes perfect sense. I feel so stupid for not putting it into this type of perspective. I need to start thinking of my QT as being the first and last lines of defense against fish disease. My mind is made up, I'm buying a 40g breeder this weekend and setting up a QT. I plan on doing:

38g tank
Hang on back filter
150w heater
Koralia 565
some PvC pipe

Should I run the tank around 1.020? 1.022? I keep my tank at 1.026.

Should I keep a static level of medication in the tank? Copper? Would love some feedback on the best QT for fish.

 

[Big G]

I keep my fish QT at 1.020 and that seems to give me the most flexibility to adjust with the varying salinity of new incoming fish. My coral/invert QT stays up all the time; fish QT gets taken down and cleaned/sterilized as fish move out to the DT. Keep filter media: foam pads, ceramic media in the sump of the DT at all times.

 

[Whispers]

I’ve killed way too many fish in Qt and cured more tangs of ich in my DT so I don’t QT anymore.

 

[427HISS]

mtdaly85,

I have health issues and almost gave up, and wrote about my thoughts a couple weeks ago.
Several people told me not to give up and had all positive things to say, so I'm getting to work with a positive mind and heart with this beautiful rewarding hobby. So, band together with everyone here and do what ever it takes, even if it means starting over with a QT sysstem.

Be strong buddy.
We Love this lifestyle and everyone will help you !

(if you don't mind, what's your name)

Kevin

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I think for right now you just need a QT flr your fish if your DT is going fallow.

Instead of a HOB, I would go with a sponge filter. they are surprisingly effective, cheap and keep the tank well aerated. Your looking at $15 on amazon with a whisper 100 air pump.

another thing that people forget.. use separate nets and tank cleaners for QT and DT. I would also cover three sides of the QT. Make it a nice chill place without a lot of activity near it and your fish will settle in nicely.

QT is not really a pain, it can be fun. It prolongs the excitement of putting a new fish into your tank.

And you can feel good that you are doing everything you can to help your finned friends get a jump on life.

 

[Big G]

Instead of a HOB, I would go with a sponge filter

I use both an Aquaclear HOB & bubble/sponge filter. Soak the media (foam pads, ceramic media like Seachem Matrix or Fluval Biomax) in Dr. Tim's/Biospira for both if an emergency. But I keep a set of the media soaking in my main tank sump at all times. Works for me.

 

[stevieduk]

i think you overloaded your system as it was so new. after your tank had cycled i woud have put in ONE fish for about 6 weeks then another and another over the following months. Got to let your system mature and that can take a year till it all harmonises