HKfshkpr1
Active Member
Have used the TTM with good success. I'll stick with this method although I had a few failures. I'd like to share them and hopefully no one will make the same mistakes.
1st lesson:
Have used just the air tube "without" the air stone with no issues. No need to replace air stones.
2nd lesson:
1 minute after I trasfered the Heni butterfly to the 2nd tank, he was laying on his side like playing dead. I was confused but found out ( kind of fast) that the heater had stuck and the water was above 90 deg F! I quickly put him back to the 1st tank and he slowly went back to normal. The next day he developed a bulging/cloudy eye and didn't eat. I did a 50% water change and treated with Foran-2. He responded well and started eating again. He recovered with one "round" of treatment.
----Cheap/small heaters are prone to failure and should be monitored frequently.
3rd lesson:
An hour after the Powder Blue Tang was transfered, his color intensified and became listless: a good indication of poision. I quickly did a 50% water change but it's too late. I lost him within hours. Here's why:
I used to use 50/50 bleach and water to disinfect the tanks. After drying I'd soak the tanks with Prime and water for a few hours, then scrub and rinse. That time I was in a hurry and only soaked the tank for half and hour, and I did not do a very good job scrubbing. I had some deposite build-up and silicone sealer that could have soaked up some bleach. I switched to "vinegar" from then on and have had great results.
----Vinegar is "much" safer than bleach and it's definitely "not" worth the risk to use bleach.
4th lesson:
My new Flame Angel developed the cloudy eye after the 1st transfer. I started to treat him with Furan-2 but it got worse the next day. On the 3rd day his eye was bulging badly. I performed a second round of treatment and he still did not respond well and hardly ate anything for 3 days. I was prepared to lose him. I did not perform another round but instead I added 1 more dose of Furan 2( 5 doses total). Water's really yellow by now. The next day he showed some improvement and started to eat a little. Hard for him to focus with one eye. Surprisingly he's back to normal after a few days, thank god! I did not use carbon to soak up the med but instead I kept doing partial water change for 5-6 times until the water was almost clear again.
----So this was the second time I had success with Furan 2, but that's not the full story because I did worry that the fish may deveope "drug dependence". Haha I worried too much because they've happily in my show tank for months now. Needless to say, I'm sold on Furan 2.
Final lesson( should be the first lesson?)
A few times during the 2nd or 3rd day, the water became cloudy. The fish became less active and lost appetite. I lost at least a fish after he had developed an infection( had not started to try Furan 2 at that time). I found out this was mainly because of fish to tank water "ratio", and feeding. If we have too many fish or a big fish in a small tank we have to watch out.
To maintain good water quality in the quarantine tank:
----"Underfeed". They may become thinner but still full of life. Long time ago I used to overfeed a Betta. He became huge but guess what? He would not breed and lost a fight with a Betta half his size.
----Whenever possible, use pellets instead of flakes and frozen. I like to soak the pellets for 2 minutes and pour away the cloudy water before feeding. Rinse frozen food thorougly.
----Shorten the transfer period to 2-1/2 days. I know some use only 2 days with good success.
----If necessary, after a day to a day and a half, "siphon out" the feces from the tank "bottom" and add new water. Usually 10% to 20% is enough. That will ensure good water quality until the next transfer.
Other worthwhile practices( that help the introduction into the show tank):
----Have the Q tanks in the same room as the show tank so they're used to the suroundings.
----Use the show tank water for water changes during "post" TTM(1 to 2 week observation period). So in case they deveope sicknesses because of show tank water they're still in the Q tank.
----Keep new fish in acclaimation box for 2-3 days before releasing into the show tank. We can also feed him better to beef him up and make up for the underfeeding before.
Hope this helps and I wish you success!
1st lesson:
Have used just the air tube "without" the air stone with no issues. No need to replace air stones.
2nd lesson:
1 minute after I trasfered the Heni butterfly to the 2nd tank, he was laying on his side like playing dead. I was confused but found out ( kind of fast) that the heater had stuck and the water was above 90 deg F! I quickly put him back to the 1st tank and he slowly went back to normal. The next day he developed a bulging/cloudy eye and didn't eat. I did a 50% water change and treated with Foran-2. He responded well and started eating again. He recovered with one "round" of treatment.
----Cheap/small heaters are prone to failure and should be monitored frequently.
3rd lesson:
An hour after the Powder Blue Tang was transfered, his color intensified and became listless: a good indication of poision. I quickly did a 50% water change but it's too late. I lost him within hours. Here's why:
I used to use 50/50 bleach and water to disinfect the tanks. After drying I'd soak the tanks with Prime and water for a few hours, then scrub and rinse. That time I was in a hurry and only soaked the tank for half and hour, and I did not do a very good job scrubbing. I had some deposite build-up and silicone sealer that could have soaked up some bleach. I switched to "vinegar" from then on and have had great results.
----Vinegar is "much" safer than bleach and it's definitely "not" worth the risk to use bleach.
4th lesson:
My new Flame Angel developed the cloudy eye after the 1st transfer. I started to treat him with Furan-2 but it got worse the next day. On the 3rd day his eye was bulging badly. I performed a second round of treatment and he still did not respond well and hardly ate anything for 3 days. I was prepared to lose him. I did not perform another round but instead I added 1 more dose of Furan 2( 5 doses total). Water's really yellow by now. The next day he showed some improvement and started to eat a little. Hard for him to focus with one eye. Surprisingly he's back to normal after a few days, thank god! I did not use carbon to soak up the med but instead I kept doing partial water change for 5-6 times until the water was almost clear again.
----So this was the second time I had success with Furan 2, but that's not the full story because I did worry that the fish may deveope "drug dependence". Haha I worried too much because they've happily in my show tank for months now. Needless to say, I'm sold on Furan 2.
Final lesson( should be the first lesson?)
A few times during the 2nd or 3rd day, the water became cloudy. The fish became less active and lost appetite. I lost at least a fish after he had developed an infection( had not started to try Furan 2 at that time). I found out this was mainly because of fish to tank water "ratio", and feeding. If we have too many fish or a big fish in a small tank we have to watch out.
To maintain good water quality in the quarantine tank:
----"Underfeed". They may become thinner but still full of life. Long time ago I used to overfeed a Betta. He became huge but guess what? He would not breed and lost a fight with a Betta half his size.
----Whenever possible, use pellets instead of flakes and frozen. I like to soak the pellets for 2 minutes and pour away the cloudy water before feeding. Rinse frozen food thorougly.
----Shorten the transfer period to 2-1/2 days. I know some use only 2 days with good success.
----If necessary, after a day to a day and a half, "siphon out" the feces from the tank "bottom" and add new water. Usually 10% to 20% is enough. That will ensure good water quality until the next transfer.
Other worthwhile practices( that help the introduction into the show tank):
----Have the Q tanks in the same room as the show tank so they're used to the suroundings.
----Use the show tank water for water changes during "post" TTM(1 to 2 week observation period). So in case they deveope sicknesses because of show tank water they're still in the Q tank.
----Keep new fish in acclaimation box for 2-3 days before releasing into the show tank. We can also feed him better to beef him up and make up for the underfeeding before.
Hope this helps and I wish you success!
