Quarantine tank

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Missjmeide

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
58
Location
Kailua, Hawaii
I have a fish that i suspect has ICK. I want to quarantine it but I don't have a quarantine tank up and running. Right now i Have him and a clownfish in a 10 gallon tank with inverts and LS/LR. I know that the copper will kill the inverts and The only other tank I have is a 20 gallon one. What should I do? I need to treat him now before he dies :(
 
Is the 20 gallon empty or set up? If its set up you could move your inverts over to that one.
Or maybe you have a friend who can care for them while you treat.
Also you should post pics so people can tell if it's ich for sure
 
Seeing as you don't have a QT set up...see if you can find someone who does and will let your clown have a shot. You could also try your hand at putting some tank water in that 20g and making sure its agitated while you dose your cure in there
 
Don't know anyone that can watch the inverts. The 20 gallon is not setup right now. In fact, I was gonna move them into the 20 gallon. Could I just put the inverts in a really small tank (I think less than
a gallon) and take out everything in my existing tank and just treat the two fish in there? Can I still use some if the water if it might have ICK in it? I'm really new to the sw aquarium hobby, so I appreciate all the advice and don't know that much about it.
 
Your inverts cannot get ick so you don't have to worry about that. Idk if it'd be safe to keep them in something as small as a one gallon tho bc it will be extremely prone to fluctuations. What is your tank set up right now? As far as sand and live rock and filters/powerheads
 
If you treat the tank you can't put the inverts back in, nor use the rock in a tank with inverts; the residual coral is deadly.
 
Heres photos of my damsel, hope they aren't blurry. :) also, his fins are sometimes frayed a little but heal in a day or two

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That little damsel gets too big and far too aggressive for a 10 gallon. Not a good choice in the long run for anything under 55 in my opinion; Lots of more colorful, friendly fish that could take its place (though the fact that its fins are frayed may mean it either gets bullied or has nutrient deficiencies).
 
Could I just use the 20 gallon when I put them back to non quarantine tank? Right now I am using just a crappy aqua tech filter and air pump from walmart. I have the air stone thing too. As far as sand, we got sand from the beach by my house ( I live in Hawaii) and the live rock also from beach.
 
Looks like it might be ick. Pictures are not that clear. I went throughout this with my 210 dt. I had to qt and treat the fish away from the dt. If they have ick your tank has ick. The best way to cure your tank with out medicine is to let the tank run for about 6 to 8 weeks with out fish in it. Your inverts will be fine because ick does not effect them. After waiting 6 to 8 weeks the parasite will die off with out any fish to feed on. If you treat the fish and put it right back in it will get ick again. I know it sounds like along time but this is the safest way I know how to treat with out harming your dt. Treat the fish in a qt and once they are better they can be put back in after 6 to 8 weeks. If you decide to remove the inverts you will mostly contaminate the sand and rock with copper from the medicine. And have to start the tank over with new sand and rock then have to wait for it to cycle again. If you are getting your sand and rock from the ocean or beach there is a good chance you got the ick from there.
 
Same thing going on over here.

I had a fish with ich in my DT and of course, I didn't have a QT setup. I just went out and got another small tank (or you could use the 20 gal you have) and moved all my fish into it since they've all been exposed. It is risky, because it's un-cycled, but I really had no other choice.

Just make sure to check the ammonia and pH at least once every day. It may take some daily water changes as well for about a week before it levels out. I also used Stability to help add good bacteria and AmQuel to help control the ammonia if it suddenly spiked, but mainly just a lot of water changes.

Leave your DT alone and let it run empty (no fish) for 8 weeks. Inverts will be fine.
 
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