Quarantine tank question

[Bill P]

I'm very new to this hobby. I have a 30 gallon FOWLR tank, with 3 damsels, a blenny, and a copperband (plus about 20 pounds of live rock, 2 snails and 2 emerald crabs.

The tank has been fully up and running for about 2 months (after a month or so to cycle). Unfortunately, all of my fish now have ich -- 3 days ago, everyone at the same time. I am unclear about how they got it; the CBB is the latest addition, but he hadn't shown any signs after 2 weeks in the QT tank.

I have been adding fish 1 at a time, so my QT tank is only 10 gallons, which -- obviously -- isn't going to be enough space to quarantine everyone for 2-4 weeks, while the ich in my main tank dies off.

So, here's what I want to know: How big of a quarantine tank do I need for all of those fish?

Also, a bonus question: I have had the suspicion that I may already have too much bio-load in my main tank. My water always tests perfect however, and I change the water with RO regularly, so I don't know. Any advice on that front?

Thanks!

 

[melosu58]

If you have a petco around you they are having a 1 dollar a gallon sale on tank. You could get a 29 gallon for 29 dollars and that be a decent size QT. Here is a good link on QT`s and about ich.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com


Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Also as you can see from the link below that your tank is too small for the copper band. I would consider going bigger on the tank or giving the copper band back.

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Copperband Butterflyfish

 

[Jimbo7]

Unfortunately, you need to take the CBB back to your LFS. They are ich magnets, and are too small for your tank. They are also extremely hard to get eating and settle into a new tank. I would go out and get a 20g for the rest of them, or separate the damsels and the blenny into their own 10g's.
Other then that, it sounds like you have been going about this the right way, probably just some misleading info on that CBB. They are awesome looking fish, and hard to resist.

Bonus: You should be fine to add one more smaller fish, as long as you are careful on how much you feed and of what. Assuming that the CBB goes back.

Edit: mike, you beat me by 2 min.

 

[Bill P]

Thanks!

I know that the CBB is supposed to be in a bigger tank, but my understanding there is that the tank-size parameters for individual fish are really aimed at mature sizes, and how much space they need to swim around, when they are grown-up. My concern at this point has more to do with how much bio load a 30-gallon tank can handle right now. This CBB is still very small, so it seemed to me as if he would be ok with less space, until he gets bigger. They guy at the pet store seemed to think that wouldn't happen for several months, at least. I'm planning to have a bigger tank ready for him by then. The big problem there is, I don't have any furniture sturdy enough to put a bigger tank on. I had a plan for everything except the furniture problem, it seems.

Anyway, I'm hoping that I can nurse him through the ich, because I see a lot about how hard CBBs can be to get eating, and this one eats well. Or at least, he did before he got sick.

And last, you're right -- they are beautiful fish, and (as you suggest) I couldn't resist.

 

[Bill P]

Also, Jimbo: I see that you are in Chicago. I'm in the western suburbs (Wheaton). Do you have any suggestions on good places to get fish? Tropi-quatics in Lombard seems like the best of the places that I have seen so far, but I don't have that much experience to work from. If you have any place that you would recommend, I'm all ears (or whatever one hears with on the internet).

 

[melosu58]

That`s not true about the copper banded. People think that they can get a smaller fish and they will be OK. What happens is the immune system suffers as the fish gets bigger. When those places post minimum tank sites it means that for even small fish for a reason.

 

[Bill P]

Thanks, Mike. I don't really understand why that should be so (about the fish size), but I see that you have been doing this for a while, so I'm sure you're right. For now, I'll be glad just to get him over the ich. Dead fish, of course, don't need much tank space at all, I guess. Anyway, very grateful for your speedy input.

 

[Jimbo7]

Mike is right, living in a smaller tank will stunt their overall body growth, but their internals will continue to grow, obviously this causes an array of problems. I would get it back to health and see if your LFS will hold it for you or something till you can get a better stand for a larger tank.

I'm out in Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg. I can suggest a couple different places, but most are close to me. How far are you willing to drive?

 

[Bill P]

Jimbo: That explanation makes some sense to me. Seems weird, but at least it gives me something to hang my hat on.

Not that I was against blind adherence to the Wisdom of the Ages (seriously), but still...

As for driving, it doesn't matter too much. I work in the northern suburbs, so I drive quite a bit anyway.

 

[Jimbo7]

Beyond the Reef is right here, good fish selection, fairly pricey
Advanced Aquatics is on Roselle, I think they are on their way out...lots of frags, fish look iffy worth a visit if you are out here though
Midwest Coral Farms is in tinley park? Awesome store, really good friends with the owners, they have really quality stuff very fairly priced.
Sea Escapes, Never been, but they setup my moms tank which looks good.

There are like 2 I can't think of. Ill have to get back to you with those.

 

[Bill P]

Awesome. Thanks. I will definitely check some of those out.

One more question, if you feel like it:

How can I control the ammonia in the QT tank? I used copper to treat the ich. I see the hyposalinity is the preferred treatment, but (clearly) I am in the learning-from-my-mistakes phase here. As I understand it, the copper kills the bacteria that eliminate the ammonia, which means that ammonia builds up pretty quickly. Can I just keep treating with something like Cycle? That's what I have been doing so far, along with fairly frequent water changes. Unfortunately, water changes will screw up the amount of copper in the QT, which sort of defeats the purpose in this case, no? I feel like I'm almost certainly not doing this right.

I suspect that this is covered in some of the links above, but I'm not through all of that yet. If you can skip me ahead to the punch line, I'd sure appreciate it.

 

[cmor1701d]

Also, I noticed you only QT'd the fish for 2 weeks. You really need to extend that to 30 days to be sure they are free of parasites and most diseases.

Some people treat in QT with Prazipro or Hyposalinity

 

[Bill P]

Thanks, Cmor. The 4-week period makes sense to me. As I mentioned, my best guess is that it's the CBB that brought the ich into the tank. If I'm right about that, then 2 weeks certainly isn't enough. Plus, being a Giants fan is presumptive evidence of good judgment on your part. So, I'm favorably inclined to believe what you say.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

... Unfortunately, water changes will screw up the amount of copper in the QT, which sort of defeats the purpose in this case, no? I feel like I'm almost certainly not doing this right....

Nope... sounds like you're doing it right. Keeping the copper levels in the QT at the correct concentration is part of the battle.