Quarantine setup size lighting filtration.

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sparky5785

New member
With our 93g cube build in progress Cecily and I have been discussing quarantine. We have never done a quarantine. We have a few questions. The largest fish that would be in qt would be a small tang what size tank would you recommend? What kind of filtration? A HOB? Skimmer? Live rock? What kind of lighting would be neccessary? Do I qt corals clams or nems?

Thank you for your help.

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I think bigger is better less of a chance of a crash or ammonia spike. The bad part about going bigger is if you at using Cooper instead of hypo you will be using more chemicals then with a small qt. I use a 55 with a 30 gallon sump but that's only because I had all of this laying around.
 
Every body has different oppinions but i run a 29 gal with sand and rock with copper power and 2 cpr bak pak skimmers and when i change main tank water i use it to do wc on qt been working good for me for long time . But like i said every one has own way i refuse to do hypo for my own thoughts on that that i wont mention cause dont feal like a debate with people
 
Do you have to use copper or hypo? I mean if you buy a fish and it shows no signs of illness couldnt you just keep them in a qt tank no copper no hypo for a period of time to observe them? I mean if they get sick in qt then you could treat them but isnt the point to keep them isolated from the main system to prevent them introducing disease to the display tank?
 
sparky5785 said:
Do you have to use copper or hypo? I mean if you buy a fish and it shows no signs of illness couldnt you just keep them in a qt tank no copper no hypo for a period of time to observe them? I mean if they get sick in qt then you could treat them but isnt the point to keep them isolated from the main system to prevent them introducing disease to the display tank?
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I think this is debatable depending on your ability to identify an issue. I'm in the process of figuring out how I want to set up my quarantine also. I think if you are confident that you can identify an illness, then I think observation may be good enough. But if not and you miss something... :bawling: you now have contaminated the DT. I know for me, I'm not sure I want to take that chance. I am not observant enough to trust my diagnosing ability. I think I've decided to always treat with prazi-pro, and for less sensitive fish a course of cupramine to follow. I guess it's a risk either way???


I'm tagging along. Would like to know about QT for corals, nems and clams as well, and what we would be looking for.

As a side note... You're very lucky to have someone to share the hobby with! :dancing: My husband just likes trains.
 
edsbeaker said:
I think this is debatable depending on your ability to identify an issue. I'm in the process of figuring out how I want to set up my quarantine also. I think if you are confident that you can identify an illness, then I think observation may be good enough. But if not and you miss something... :bawling: you now have contaminated the DT. I know for me, I'm not sure I want to take that chance. I am not observant enough to trust my diagnosing ability. I think I've decided to always treat with prazi-pro, and for less sensitive fish a course of cupramine to follow. I guess it's a risk either way???

I'm tagging along. Would like to know about QT for corals, nems and clams as well, and what we would be looking for.

As a side note... You're very lucky to have someone to share the hobby with! :dancing: My husband just likes trains.
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I am also not a fish disease identification expert myself. I was just wondering what the normal QT system is like what size it should be what equipment is necessary etc.

Yes Im glad I have my wife to share this hobby with. Hopefully when my children get older i can share the hobby with them also.
 
Yep, there sure are many different points of view as Joe said. Also, I tend to agree with Marilyn about diagnosing illness. Many illnesses, such as crypt, can be suppressed by the immune system until such time that the fish is overly stressed. As an example, crypt ordinarily prefers the blood-rich tissue in the gills. As long as the fish is healthy it can suppress the parasite and live a long life without you ever seeing a white spot. I have personally had fish in my QT without copper and witnessed them for weeks eating and appearing generally healthy. Then when I moved the fish from my calm & peaceful Qt to the DT all hell broke loose. The fish was bullied a bit which caused it stress, which lowered it's immune system...which caused the crypt to spread to the rest of the body quickly...ultimately killing the fish. So it really boils down to personal preference regarding what you want to do.

Generally speaking, you want bare-bottom, no rock or sand. You will need hiding places so cutting some large pvc tubes (like you seem at most of the lfs's) is the best because it gives them a place to be calm while you can still see them.

Here's a link to a very comprehensive plan for QT. The guy who wrote it is one of the most respected people in the industry when it comes to fish disease, diagnosis and treatment. Personally, I only digress from his believe to only QT one fish at a time per tank. I usually try to buy 2 fish at a time and QT them both together in my 20G. if I already have a fish in QT and then add a 2nd, then the clock starts over for the first fish who will stay in QT for the whole session to cover the 2nd fish.

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums.../23584-fish-quarantine-process-step-step.html

Here's another good read about Qt'ing. This one goes beyond just fish and also talks about corals. Personally, I dip coral and not QT them...

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php
 
EricTheRed said:
Yep, there sure are many different points of view as Joe said. Also, I tend to agree with Marilyn about diagnosing illness. Many illnesses, such as crypt, can be suppressed by the immune system until such time that the fish is overly stressed. As an example, crypt ordinarily prefers the blood-rich tissue in the gills. As long as the fish is healthy it can suppress the parasite and live a long life without you ever seeing a white spot. I have personally had fish in my QT without copper and witnessed them for weeks eating and appearing generally healthy. Then when I moved the fish from my calm & peaceful Qt to the DT all hell broke loose. The fish was bullied a bit which caused it stress, which lowered it's immune system...which caused the crypt to spread to the rest of the body quickly...ultimately killing the fish. So it really boils down to personal preference regarding what you want to do.

Generally speaking, you want bare-bottom, no rock or sand. You will need hiding places so cutting some large pvc tubes (like you seem at most of the lfs's) is the best because it gives them a place to be calm while you can still see them.

Here's a link to a very comprehensive plan for QT. The guy who wrote it is one of the most respected people in the industry when it comes to fish disease, diagnosis and treatment. Personally, I only digress from his believe to only QT one fish at a time per tank. I usually try to buy 2 fish at a time and QT them both together in my 20G. if I already have a fish in QT and then add a 2nd, then the clock starts over for the first fish who will stay in QT for the whole session to cover the 2nd fish.

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums.../23584-fish-quarantine-process-step-step.html

Here's another good read about Qt'ing. This one goes beyond just fish and also talks about corals. Personally, I dip coral and not QT them...

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php
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Thank you Eric. Awesome post with awesome articles to read.

So you use a 20H or a 20L? How large of a fish would you use your 20 to QT. From what i gather it is best to use copper every time one QTs? Are there other meds that can or should also be used in QT for preventative measures?
 
I use a 20L. I'll do 2 fish at once if they are 4" or less. If any bigger then I'll only do 1 fish at a time. I personally use Copper Power on all fish that can tolerate it. Many people don't dose copper unless they see spots. I also run Prazi for flukes and worms on all fish. I'll usually run the Prazi for a week before copper so the fish aren't being overwhelmed.
 
Okay so heres a summary of what ive learned so far correct me if im wrong a 20L barebottom no rock pvc hiding spots minimal lighing air pump driven sponge filter sponge seeded from sump a powerhead prazi for one week copper for 6 weeks

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I am happy with my HOB Aquaclear filter. You'll also need a small heater. I don't keep them in copper for 6 weeks. I follow the directions of the copper which is usually 4 weeks to treat for crypt. Otherwise, I think you're on the right track :)
 
EricTheRed said:
I am happy with my HOB Aquaclear filter. You'll also need a small heater. I don't keep them in copper for 6 weeks. I follow the directions of the copper which is usually 4 weeks to treat for crypt. Otherwise, I think you're on the right track :)
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How big of an aquaclear do you run? Do you seed the filter from the DT? OK so 4 weeks copper then. And yes a heater doh. Lol.

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sparky5785 said:
How big of an aquaclear do you run? Do you seed the filter from the DT? OK so 4 weeks copper then. And yes a heater doh. Lol.

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I use this one...http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754143&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

I took the filter sponge and left it in the sump of my dt for a few weeks so it would have a bacterial colony all ready. However, you still will want to check ammonia religiously in the beginning to make sure the filter can handle the bioload. If it can't keep up at first, it shouldn't take long to catch up since it will already be seeded from the DT. Don't assume that the sponge will handle your load just becasue it was in your sump for a few weeks. Make sure you test for ammonia and have some Prime, or similar, on hand the first time you add fish.

Start the copper at a low dose and observe the fish for a few days to make sure they are handling it okay. Pay attention to the way they swim and breath after the first dose. If they react poorly they may also stop eating.

You'll need to do weekly wc's since you have no skimmer so remember to top-off your prazi and copper accordingly.

I think you're doing the right thing and firmly belive in this quote...

"Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony Calfo​
 
Thanks for the advice. I just set up my QT/hospital tank. Picked up a nice 10 gal tank that came with a penguin hob filter. I've got the salinity and temp matched to my DT. After losing 5 out of 9 fish last week to marine velvet I've learned the hard way. Russian roulette as you put it. I got lucky for 10 months. Here's my setup in the fish/utility room:
EC21A61F-CCA3-4E09-BC4E-E033D1B04F6E-1047-000000991E9C01FB.jpg


By the way, I have a question. Should I try to trap the remaining, apparently immune fish, and treat them? If I don't will the velvet remain in the tank even though they are healthy? Just worried I'll lose future fish after I QT and introduce them.
 
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