Expert Quarantine Advice Needed

[begginersluck]

After a lot of misunderstanding and mixed opinions on the QT topic i have decided i dont want to loose any fish in the future to stress or disease. Therefore i plan to QT all new fish i buy.

I am waiting for my new 90G to arrive and should be with me in 4 - 6 weeks. I do not want any white spot or anythnig else nasty getting in this tank as i plan on doing everything the best possible way for my fish and inverts.

I am concerned as i have a Regal Tang that has a minor case of white spot. She's had it before but fought it off. I dont want this parasite going in to my new tank as i want it to be a peaceful tank that wont require and 'breaking down' to remove cetain problem fish.

My questions are as follows,

1. Will my 80 litre QT be sufficient for 1 Regal, 2 Clowns, 1 Strawberry Basslet & 1 Royal Gramma.

2. If removing my fish and treating for ick will the parasite in my tank die off as there is no host there?

3. What do you recommend using? I have Cuprazin but haven't sucessfully used it. Is Hypo better?

Like i said i plan on QT'ing every fish going forward and want to make sure this new setup is as good as poss!

 

[begginersluck]

Anyone?

 

[Sniperhank]

It will take 2 months of the tank being fallow for the ich to be completely gone.

The 80 liter...well I have no clue how many gallons that is but I wouldn't put all of your fish in there. If just the tang is showing signs of ich, then I would only QT/treat it and move the other fish over. There is a good chance that the tang is just stressed due to it being in a smaller tank with no room to swim, as they are open water swimmers and need lots of room.

In terms of what is better, copper based meds or hyposalinity...depends on if you are a cat or dog person. Hypo is used if there isn't an option for a QT tank and you don't want the copper leaching into the rock in your display tank. Buth both can be successfully used within a QT tank as well. I look at it as if you have a QT tank, then treat with copper. But that is my opinion as a guy who does not have a QT tank.

 

[begginersluck]

So you think I should move all the fish into the new tank except the tang. I have a QT so I can put her straight in and start treating immediately.

Have you heard of cuprazine? It says it contains copper sulphate. Is that what I'm looking for?

 

[Schism]

After a lot of misunderstanding and mixed opinions on the QT topic i have decided i dont want to loose any fish in the future to stress or disease. Therefore i plan to QT all new fish i buy.

I am waiting for my new 90G to arrive and should be with me in 4 - 6 weeks. I do not want any white spot or anythnig else nasty getting in this tank as i plan on doing everything the best possible way for my fish and inverts.

I am concerned as i have a Regal Tang that has a minor case of white spot. She's had it before but fought it off. I dont want this parasite going in to my new tank as i want it to be a peaceful tank that wont require and 'breaking down' to remove cetain problem fish.

My questions are as follows,

1. Will my 80 litre QT be sufficient for 1 Regal, 2 Clowns, 1 Strawberry Basslet & 1 Royal Gramma.

2. If removing my fish and treating for ick will the parasite in my tank die off as there is no host there?

3. What do you recommend using? I have Cuprazin but haven't sucessfully used it. Is Hypo better?

Like i said i plan on QT'ing every fish going forward and want to make sure this new setup is as good as poss!

Ich only has 2 known cures, hyposalinity and copper. All other methods are simply treatments that do no guarantee anything.

A quarantine tank will need be set up using either hyposalinity or copper, hypo being the better option in most cases as its less stressful on the fish. Many species of fish dont tolerate copper well.

Ich has a life cycle of 28 days meaning you need to run your display tank fishless for a minimum of 28 days. Most people go 4-6 weeks. During this time you will also be treating your fish in the QT tank for the same amount of time. All new fish will need to be quarantined the same way for a minimum of 4 weeks.

During a new fish quarantine you want to observe the fish for any signs of infection and disease. If something is discovered a course of treatment can then be applied. Many people start treating with hypo or copper right away, regardless of the fish is infected. This is ok to do however treating in itself is stressful so treating at uninfected fish is just causing unneeded stress.

Your probably going to want a bigger QT for those 4 fish or 2 separate QT's. The tang by itself and the other 3 in another. If the tang is fairly small then they could all work fine in 80 liter for 4-6 weeks. Divider glass can be used of there are issues.

Also remember that QT tanks need to be clean. No sand or live rock. Supply PVC fittings for cover. After treatment the QT tank needs to be thoroughly cleaned before a new fish QT begins. Also constantly monitor ammonia levels and have spare saltwater on hand incase an emergancy water change needs to be done. For hypo treatment you will need a refractometer. For copper treatment you will need a good copper test kit and a copper treatment, hypo os generally easier.

 

[begginersluck]

Ok thanks that was helpful.

The tang is quite big which is one of the main reasons i posted this thread. I dont think i can get anything else to put her in. Really annoying as none of the other fish have the white spot its only the tang and i dont have a QT big enough. Even if i did i dont know where i would put it.

Quite happy to QT all new fish going forward however i will have to be careful on the size of the fish i buy if the QT is small.

 

[Sniperhank]

Keep in mind the tang is probably has ich from stress, which would stem from lack of space to swim. Most tangs require a 6ft of swim space, the smallest min requirement I have ever seen for a tang is a 90 gal tank. Without this room, I have never heard of a successful case of keeping a tang in smaller long term. Would be similar to you trying to live in a refrigerator box. Just not enough room to roll over let alone thrive.

Basically, treat your tang as recommended on the bottle and move him into the new tank. The added room should help out greatly.

 

[Schism]

Ok thanks that was helpful.

The tang is quite big which is one of the main reasons i posted this thread. I dont think i can get anything else to put her in. Really annoying as none of the other fish have the white spot its only the tang and i dont have a QT big enough. Even if i did i dont know where i would put it.

Quite happy to QT all new fish going forward however i will have to be careful on the size of the fish i buy if the QT is small.

Keep in mind that unless all fish are treated before they go into the new tank they will probably transfer the ich to the new tank.

 

[Grizz]

Put the fish in the new tank then hypo it. Then QT anything new before adding to the new tank That tang is going to out grow the 90 in a few months though