Fish Only w/ Live Rock

[ZoozFishMaster]

I have been getting mixed opinions dealing with a fish only w/ live rock aquarium. I am setting up a 180 g saltwater tank and want to set up a FOWLR tank. I have been researching on the internet and it seems that people have success with such tanks. The only reason I am a little concerned is because after talking to my boss (who is in my opinion, the most knowledgable fish guy I kno) at the fish store i work at, he says that a fish only w/ live rock tank can not be successful. From listening to him, he says that the only successful way to control parasites and disease in a saltwater tank is by a UV sterilizer (which i have) and copper treatment. He says that the live rock come in with many parasites on them which can easily infect the fish, but he says that the copper in the tank will kill small organisms and invertebrates living on the rock. he said either do a reef tank, or a fish only tank...not a fish only, with live rock tank. Any opinions?

[reefrunner69]

The only way to effectively treat/prevent parasites is through quarantine and treatment if necessary. This would be done in a pretty much barren tank.

[fishfreek]

Hm, I really wonder what he would say about my 80 gal reef tank with over 100lbs of live rock and 4" sand bed.

No UV, no skimmer, no external filter of any kind.


Do i have parasites and disease ridden fish?

NO.

[HoopsGuru]

I would probably demote this guy from his "most knowledgable fish person I know" ranking . But seriously, I see a big red flag in his information.

He states not to do a FOWLR because "the only successful way to control parasites and disease in a saltwater tank is by a UV sterilizer (which i have) and copper treatment", yet he recommends a reef?! A reef tank probably on average uses more LR than a FOWLR, but copper is known to kill all reef invertebrates too, including snails, hermits, corals, etc.! Also, UV sterilizers only kill parasites that are in the water column, thus any parasites on the actual rock would be pretty much unaffected.

Personally, I have always used LR from a variety of sources and have yet to have a parasite problem. I do, however, quarantine every new livestock arrival for the tank in a separate one (you could do LR the same way) for 4 weeks before adding them to the tank. This eliminates most chances for parasitic problems.

[GT96]

why dont you just get some cleaner shrimp, they eat parasites, though you can't have copper in the water with it, but you wont need it if you have some cleaner shrimp anyways. I recomend about 3-4 cleaners and maybe some cleaner fish ( goby, wrasse) and your parasite problem wont ever happen. usually parasites dont create a huge problem, i mean from my previos sw tank, i never had any parasites even without cleaners . also i agree with hoopsGuru, you should deffinetly take him off your monst knowlegable person that you know, and he is a boss in a fish store- remind me not to ask him for advise if I am in there shopping! lol.

[ZoozFishMaster]

haha, alright thanks for your replies

Originally Posted by GT96

why dont you just get some cleaner shrimp, they eat parasites, though you can't have copper in the water with it, but you wont need it if you have some cleaner shrimp anyways. I recomend about 3-4 cleaners and maybe some cleaner fish ( goby, wrasse) and your parasite problem wont ever happen.

That is actually not correct. These animals can only aid in reducing the number of parasites in the tank if at all. It has been proven that these animals are very ineffective means of control and most asuradley not a cure.

The only 100% effective method to ensure proper health on new fish as well as your existing animals is to properly QT all new arrivals as originally stated by reefrunner69.

Once any parasite has been properly erradicated in a QT environment, that same fish will never be the cause of any further ocurances.

Cheers
Steve

[Fin-tastic Aq]

I dont see why you don't take the live rock set it in the dark , possably fresh water for a couple weeks and let the parasites die off , of course now you have expensive base rock but still makes for great biological filtration

am i too far off on this ?
help me out here

[Ghettopunch187]

I have heard of people dipping there newly aquired marine fish or liverock in a freshwater bath to remove parasites. I have a saltwater aquarium book that recommends this for some treatments on fish also.

[reefrunner69]

I dont see why you don't take the live rock set it in the dark , possably fresh water for a couple weeks and let the parasites die off , of course now you have expensive base rock but still makes for great biological filtration

Because it is not necessary. Ick (C. irritans or Oodinium) cannot live without a fish host. Leave the rock in a SW tank for 3-4 weeks without fish and there will be no parasites in the tank. Once you start adding fish, if they are properly quarantined and treated for ick (if necessary), there will be no incidence of ick in the tank.

Originally Posted by Ghettopunch187

I have heard of people dipping there newly aquired marine fish or liverock in a freshwater bath to remove parasites. I have a saltwater aquarium book that recommends this for some treatments on fish also.

This method of parasite control is rather hit and miss, not really recommended either. Dips are rarely affective on the first attempt and usually needs to be done several times to gain real results. This would require the use of a QT to house the new arrivals during the process. If the QT was properly used, dips of this nature would not be necessary.

It should also be noted that if ph and salinity are not closely matched in the fresh water bath to be used, the resulting stress to the fish can be much more damaging than the parasite being treated.

Cheers
Steve