to dose or not to dose

Oldsalt01

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Week 5 in 5g QT for my two ocellaris, Bruce and Caitlyn, and they're doing great. Eating like little pigs, no scratching, flashing, heavy breathing or obvious disease signs, and I have been watching them very closely. As I contemplate transfer to the DT next week I'm wondering if I should dose them prior to moving. They will be the first fish in my 14g Biocube and I want to make sure they won't be the last, but I don't want to stress them unnecessarily. Opinions and chemical dosing options, please.
 
Week 5 in 5g QT for my two ocellaris, Bruce and Caitlyn, and they're doing great. Eating like little pigs, no scratching, flashing, heavy breathing or obvious disease signs, and I have been watching them very closely. As I contemplate transfer to the DT next week I'm wondering if I should dose them prior to moving. They will be the first fish in my 14g Biocube and I want to make sure they won't be the last, but I don't want to stress them unnecessarily. Opinions and chemical dosing options, please.

There are any number of things you could be worried about and an equal number of meds for each one. What are you concerned with exactly? ich? flukes? Worms? You could always give them a FW dip and see if anything falls out of their gills.
 
Due to their incredibly thick mucous coat, clownfish are unlikely to ever show visible symptoms of ich (for example). And with all that swimming up & down they do, it's hard to say if they are twitching their head or displaying some other behavioral symptom. Have you monitored them closely in QT? Any rubbing or flashing?
 
I generally spend a couple of hours over the course of every day watching the clowns and have never seen any flashing, scratching or twitching. Having had clowns for years, I'm familiar with their unusual swimming behavior. Having said that, HF's advice to other reefist's leads me to believe I should dose as a precautionary measure. On hand, I have PraziPro and Seachem ParaGuard. I'm reluctant to use the Prazi as it can negatively effect the pH of a system, and as I'm dealing with a 5g QT, it wouldn't take a whole lot to throw the pH off the rails. I suppose I could do an out-of-tank dip, but there again.... STRESS. So, we come back to my original ?. Do I not dose and take my chances, or do I dose and take the risk of stressing my little friends out and exposing them to unnecessary medications?
 
I treat my fish as if they all have ick and flukes. They all get treated for it no matter what. Of course that's up to you if you do that too. If you've observed them closely and haven't seen any outward signs or behavioral symptoms then a freshwater dip before going into the DT may be something you can do to ease your mind about it. Anything you do besides feeding will cause stress on the fish. Just being in the QT causes some amount of stress. @Humblefish may have a better plan for your particular situation than I.
 
I am reluctant to advise using meds in just a 5 gal QT unless absolutely necessary. Just too many fluctuations can occur in that small volume of water. If you have spent hours per day watching your fish in QT, then you should have noticed behavioral symptoms by now if they had ich or flukes in the gills.

You could buy another 5 gal QT (and all equipment) or use a 5 gal bucket to do TTM to prophylactically treat for ich: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

As mentioned above, a FW dip can be done at any time to check for flukes (see below).

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes, Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.
 
Don't over think it brother. You've done all the right things so far.
I'd say dump em in.
Thanks humble fish exactly what should be done.
But those steps are usually done in the qt period or when they fish arrive.

Put em in.
 
After careful consideration and consultation with my LFS, who I trust implicitly, I've decided to do a FW dip, and pop em into the DT. Thanks to everyone who gave me input on this matter.
 
Well, they're in the DT. Did a FW dip last night and intro'd them to their new digs in the 14g Biocube. Of course, they've stopped eating and are just hanging in the front of the tank. The whole process must have been more stressful than I imagined. Hopefully they'll start exploring today and settle in.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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