Sick or not???

[Requin]

My display tank is 6-months old, 90Gal with four fish. All fish have gone through QT before DT. I know everyone has their own way, this is what has worked for me in the past and it is what I am comfortable doing.

Process:
72 hours in QT, catch and observe:
No sign of illness: two weeks in QT.
Signs of illness: treat accordingly

I've seen ich and brook in the past at observation and treated. This was a long time ago before either this QT or DT so irrelevant other than to say I have seen those diseases before.

I have two tangs in QT, put in there two weeks ago, and looked fine the whole time, never showed signs of illness.
I went to catch them to add to the DT and one has what looked like Ich and the other has what looks like Brook.
Both eat just fine, swim just fine, show no signs of stress outside of when I caught them.

I started copper treatment and less than 24 hours later they both look just fine.

Is it possible that both diseases can be that dormant? My plan is to continue 14 days of copper treatment, should that be enough? I've never heard of these diseases coming and going so quickly. Is it possible that the stress fish just looked like it had the disease and I mistakenly ID the disease?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My display tank is 6-months old, 90Gal with four fish. All fish have gone through QT before DT. I know everyone has their own way, this is what has worked for me in the past and it is what I am comfortable doing.

Process:
72 hours in QT, catch and observe:
No sign of illness: two weeks in QT.
Signs of illness: treat accordingly

I've seen ich and brook in the past at observation and treated. This was a long time ago before either this QT or DT so irrelevant other than to say I have seen those diseases before.

I have two tangs in QT, put in there two weeks ago, and looked fine the whole time, never showed signs of illness.
I went to catch them to add to the DT and one has what looked like Ich and the other has what looks like Brook.
Both eat just fine, swim just fine, show no signs of stress outside of when I caught them.

I started copper treatment and less than 24 hours later they both look just fine.

Is it possible that both diseases can be that dormant? My plan is to continue 14 days of copper treatment, should that be enough? I've never heard of these diseases coming and going so quickly. Is it possible that the stress fish just looked like it had the disease and I mistakenly ID the disease?

Yes - it is very common for observational quarantine processes to let diseases get through. Usually flukes, but sometimes protozoans like ich. Ich trophonts are in sync when they first get started, so it is very common for them to show up, then drop off about the same time. This can lull people into a false sense of security, but then the offspring of those parasites return in greater numbers.
Jay

 

[Cell]

I go at least 4 or 5 weeks with observational QT.

 

[Requin]

Yes - it is very common for observational quarantine processes to let diseases get through. Usually flukes, but sometimes protozoans like ich. Ich trophonts are in sync when they first get started, so it is very common for them to show up, then drop off about the same time. This can lull people into a false sense of security, but then the offspring of those parasites teturn in greater numbers.
Jay

Interesting... there are no signs of disease. I've never heard of such a thing. I'll be sure to go the full 14-day treatment then. TY

 

[HotRocks]

Interesting... there are no signs of disease. I've never heard of such a thing. I'll be sure to go the full 14-day treatment then. TY

I’m a fan of prophylactic treatment. Not everyone is and I understand and respect that. I will tell you my fish are all happy and healthy and many have been with me for years, several are very hard to keep species. So for me the added value and protection is worth it while it may be a lot of work on the front end I just sit back and enjoy my tank now with zero stress. There are also vendors who sell disease free fish that have been treated upon arrival. Best of luck!!!