Quarantining? what do you do?

**Neenie** · 10-03-2007, 1:57 PM

We just wanted to see what everyone elses opinions were on Quarantining.
Having learnt the hard way and having to break down a tank due to ick and as we have the new tank now, obviously we will be quarantining everything that goes into the new tank.

We wanted to know what you all did with your quarantine tanks, how long do you quarantine your fish for? 2,3,4 weeks?

Do you break down your tank between quarantining, or do you keep the old water in there with the filters etc? and just pop any new fish or coral in there?

If you break it down what do you do when you want to quarantine again, do you use fresh water or water from the main display tank and what do you use for the filter media?

If you had to treat with copper for instance in the quarantine tank then you threw the water away presumably the filter would need to be thrown away and renewed for the next fish? (but the new filter media would not be matured enough to cope?)

Sorry for the ramble just wanted your opinions.

Thanks

**Max** · 10-03-2007, 6:14 PM

Hello, I just use a bare bottom tank with heater, a couple of flower pots , and a sponge filter. I keep my fish in q.t. from 2 weeks,"the lfs qt's for 2 weeks" to 6 weeks depending on the source and if they show any signs of an infection etc. I just stash a spare sponge under my live rock in my main and throw away the old sponge after use that way I have one ready to go if there is a must have. I just keep it very simple so that I'm not tempted to set up another tank.
hth
Max

**Grins** · 10-03-2007, 6:47 PM

I do pretty much what Max said. I tear it down between use and keep a spare sponge in the sump so it is ready to go.

**Neenie** · 10-04-2007, 8:59 AM

Hi thanks for that

Just another question do you use the water from your main tank when setting up the QT? or fresh water and the sponge you had in the sump?

**Grins** · 10-04-2007, 9:05 AM

I use old tank water....with the one exception of when I was battling ich.

**Subliminal** · 10-04-2007, 9:46 AM

I have 2 10g tanks.

I fill one with mixed water a heater, 2 pcv plumbing elbows for hiding space, and something for flow.

The fish stays in there for 2 days

After 2 days, the fish is transfered to the second tank for 2 days and everything is cleaned and left to air dry in the first

I repeat that twice (2 days in one, 2 days in two, 2 days back in one, 2 days in two) and then release into the display.

I haven't done it, but a guy (or girl) could use 10g of water to do a water change in the main display and then use the display water to fill the QT tank, but that just seems like extra unneeded work to me.

Also, adding sponges or whatever into a qt tank where parasites drop eggs and such seems like a bad idea to me, but whatever works for you, i guess.

**fsn77** · 10-04-2007, 11:16 AM

Subliminal: Can you explain the reason for QTing like that? I'm curious about it and would also like to know your results or any problems you've had with that method.

**Subliminal** · 10-04-2007, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by fsn77

Subliminal: Can you explain the reason for QTing like that? I'm curious about it and would also like to know your results or any problems you've had with that method.

Originally Posted by NJReefers.Org

Originally Posted by Carlo
To get rid of the parasites is a two part process. One part is to rid the fish themselves of the parasites and the second part is to rid the tank (complete system) also.

To rid the tank (complete system) you have to leave it fallow (without fish to host the parasite) for 2 months. Without a fish host the parasite it can't complete it's "cycle" and will die off (this requires a lot of patience and discipline).

To rid the fish of ich you have a few choices. You can treat with copper in a hospital tank or treat with hyposalinity (again in a hospital tank) or use the tank to tank transfer method. Some fish are less tolerable to copper then others. Also some fish don't do real well in hypo either. I myself prefer the tank to tank transfer method. I've tweaked the T to T transfer method and have a following on RC and other boards with people using it. Here's an overview of the process.

You will need a minimum of 2 QT tanks and HOB sponge filter (or other filter). The type of filter isn't a big deal and servers more to oxygenate the water then really "filter it". The process my method exploits is the fact that the parasites will only stay attached to the fish for 3 to 7 days before falling off into the substrate and rock to reproduce and start the next phase of it's cycle. What we want to accomplish is to let the parasite drop off the fish but never allow it to reattach to the fish. We do this by:
1. Put fish in QT tank 1
2. Move fish from QT tank 1 to QT tank 2 in 48 hours
3. Empty and thoroughly clean tank 1 including filter system. Let airdry until you use it again.
4. Move fish from QT tank 2 to QT tank 1 (now clean) in 48 hours.
5. Empty and thoroughly clean tank 2 including filter system. Let airdry until you use it again.
6. Move fish from QT tank 1 to QT tank 2 in 48 hours.
7. After 48 hours in QT tank 2 move the fish to it's new destination.

Basically, you put a fish in a clean QT tank for 2 days. Every 2 days you move it to another clean tank. At the end of 8 days all the parasites will have fallen off the fish (3 to 7 day cycle) but since each fish was never in the same tank long enough for the parasite to reattach it will come out "clean". This works for marine ich and velvet (much worse then ich and a fast killer).

To do this process you need 2 sets of tanks, 2 heaters and 2 filters. I myself don't use any sponges or media in the filters (mostly to aerate the water). Since the fish get completely new water ever 2 days there isn't any worries about testing the water. It's important to make sure the water in each tank matches so you don't stress the fish on the move. For example make sure the temp, pH and salinity match. You can use 10g or 20g long tanks depending on size of the fish to be treated.

You can of course use more then 2 sets of tanks. For example if you have 3 tanks you could start one today and start the next tank tomorrow (staggered). You will have 2 tanks with fish in them and always have one tank (clean and dry) to use as the new replacement tank. Same with having 3, 4 or 5 totals tanks (just hold one back as the clean tank and stagger the start up of each tank). Don't put sand or live rock or anything porious in the QT tanks. You don't want anything the parasite will "stick to". You can and should drop a couple pieces of PVC tubing or elbows in the tank for hiding places. Any PVC used in the tank needs to be cleaned and allowed to dry out before using again.

The tricky part is getting all the fish out of the tank! The other obstacle is that you need to leave the main system fallow (without fish) for 2 months. You'll end up needing yet another tank to put the fish in after they get done the QT process while you wait for the main system to rid itself of ich. This tank needs to be setup clean and you don't want to use any sand or rock from your system or you would contaminate the holding system from the start.

The holding system (after QT) doesn't really need to be a tank at all. I've used 32 and 44 gallon brute trash cans with a canister filter attached and a powerhead and some household light near the tank. Keep an eye on ammonia, nitrite and nitrates in this tank.

It's a major pain and undertaking to rid your system of ich. The best method (ideally) is to never allow the parasite to enter the system in the first place. You can do this by using the method above for all new fish arrivals (8 days in the T to T QT method). You technically should also QT any non fish for 2 months before allowing it to enter your tank. This includes corals, sand, rock etc. The reason this last piece is important is that the parasite could be attached to a piece of coral you pickup from somebody else. Once in your tank if it successfully attaches to a fish the ich cycle has started in your tank.

With all the above said you can also try and wait it out. The ich parasite has been studied very, very well. It has been shown that after enough cycles (attach to fish, drop off, multiply, reattach to fish) it will die off in your tank in approximately 11 months if no new ich has been introduced. This is where both UV and Ozone can have a big impact. A properly setup UV system can help tremendously in keeping the parasites from reproducing at a fast pace. If the water is flowing slow enough (check your UV docs) it will kill off any parasites going through the unit. The key is to run the UV unit stand alone and not hooked into the sump. You want the UV unit to pull water from the middle of the tank at the bottom (parasites live mostly in the substrate). Ozone is also good at killing off the parasites and no special setup is needed for this. Other methods that are usefull in controlling ich are to syphon the substrate as often as you can. If you can do this every couple of days then do so. Just top off with new salt water.

If you can't let your main system go fallow then you pretty much have to try the above items as best you can to get to the point of letting the parasite die off. Just make sure to QT any new arrivals so you don't introduce new parasites. If you can net a fish with obvious parasites attached to it you can give them a dip in methylene blue.

All the above is just one way to combat this. It was also just an overview but should contain enough info to use. If anyone has questions or wants more information let me know and maybe I can write up a more detailed instruction set/article on the tank to tank transfer method and uses of methylene blue in QT procedures (what it treats, ways to use it, etc).

This is only one way to treat the fish and other methods are copper and hyposalinity.

Of course, we aren't worried about ridding the display of ick like in the quote above, but he explains the other step pretty well.

**fsn77** · 10-04-2007, 5:51 PM

Thank you!!!

That's an interesting method for QTing that I hadn't heard before. We have several extra 15g tanks... I'll have to give that a try the next time we buy a fish.

**mrtuskfish** · 10-05-2007, 8:57 PM

My QT has no substrate and I keep the spare sponge in my main system, like a few of the other folks. I tend to use copper more than most people, sometimes just as a caution. I know this isn't common practice, but it works for me. Of course; I'd never do this with copper-sensitive fish, such as many dwarf angels. I always use Sea-Chem cupramine, their test kit, and remove it with Sea-Chem cuprisorb. If you keep the cuprisorb running, it will remove any copper that leaches...very l;ittle the way I set up. Cuprisorb can also be recharged several times. I'm not pushing this as a cure-all and copper does need to be monitored closely, but I haven't had to treat a fish for ich, or any other parasite in many years.