HELP QT for everything and I need advice

[Becerril17]

Long story short newbie here.

I didn’t qt and lost all of my fish to velvet. I really will try to keep this short but I don’t want it to come off like I don’t care, this was truly devastating and I wish I had been smarter and did what I knew should have been done. Once all was said and done I didn’t know what to do so I tore my whole system down. My tank was only 2 months old so I moved my coral and inverts over to a smaller tank and started all over.

Now I will be following a quarantine system for everything no matter what but I am still unsure on a few things.

For the coral and inverts I will QT them in a tank for 90 days before moving anything over to my DT. 90 days will start over if anything new is added during that period of time.

I have a BTA that was in my main tank and was moved to QT with the coral and inverts. I’ve gone down a bit of a rabbit hole in my head. Can someone please help settle this madness?
*If a fishless qt tank has to be fallow how does one feed the anemone? Can velvet or ich host on frozen food thawed and fed to the anemone that isn’t all consumed?* This may sound silly but I need clarification. How do I ensure the disease dies off but also feed my inverts?

I rebuilt my DT, I moved all of my coral into it and kept the inverts and anemone in the previous qt tank. The new display tank will remain fallow, I actually started the 90 day clock over once I moved everything into the new set up. I feel like I cannot be cautious enough especially because I don’t feel like I know for sure if I’m doing this right.

So my question is, can fish disease survive in a fish-less tank solely from food fed to the inverts?

Moving forward I want to do my absolute best to avoid having this happen again. My plan is to prophylactically treat new fish and quarantine them for 6 weeks. I do not have any fish yet and won’t be getting any for a few. For now my focus is on ridding my tank of any fish disease that needs to die off.

Any advice is so greatly appreciated! TIA

Below is a photo of my current display tank, please don’t shame me for it being too “new”
I am doing my best with what I have learned so far.

 

[Vincelovesfish]

I have a BTA that was in my main tank and was moved to QT with the coral and inverts. I’ve gone down a bit of a rabbit hole in my head. Can someone please help settle this madness?
*If a fishless qt tank has to be fallow how does one feed the anemone? Can velvet or ich host on frozen food thawed and fed to the anemone that isn’t all consumed?* This may sound silly but I need clarification. How do I ensure the disease dies off but also feed my inverts?

Freezing is sufficient to kill anything off

So my question is, can fish disease survive in a fish-less tank solely from food fed to the inverts?

Most Fish Diseases need a fish host to reproduce thus why we do a fishless qt for inverts and corals. Uronema is one that doesn't necessarily need a fish host to survive but it does not encyst on inverts and corals so a rinse is sufficient.

 

[reefarium]

Don't feel too bad.

People have been recommending QT for years, yet it's only gaining more steam now. (Big credit going to the host of this site)

It usually takes an incident like these to get people to QT, otherwise people are more apt to roll the dice. No judging.

People are coming around to the fact that a QT is a necessary part of reefing, if only temporary.

Nice setup

 

[Becerril17]

Don't feel too bad.

People have been recommending QT for years, yet it's only gaining more steam now. (Big credit going to the host of this site)

It usually takes an incident like these to get people to QT, otherwise people are more apt to roll the dice. No judging.

People are coming around to the fact that a QT is a necessary part of reefing, if only temporary.

Nice setup

Unfortunately so many including myself learn the hard way. I should have known better, I work in rescue and I am a vet tech. We NEVER just toss animals together everyone knows this. People choose to do the same and ignore it thinking nothing will happen and the next thing you know you have a group of dogs all dying from Parvo. Im kicking myself real hard and have been. I will say I have learned A LOT since losing everything and having to start over, what sucks the most is that it was at the expense of a living being.

Thank you. I agree, a special thanks to Humble Fish for being a incredible resource for this community.

 

[fpizart]

I’m sorry to hear that @Becerril17! Don’t be so hard on yourself. I think all of us here learned the same way that you did. I get how you feel; I am a nurse practitioner in Florida and I made the exact same mistakes! But we learn and move forward. That is part of what we do in our field 🤗

You absolutely need to leave your tank completely fishless (fallow) until the disease dies out. I have done this in the past with many tanks including my own. See this New Ich Fallow Period

You can spot feed the anemone and corals while keeping an eye on the nutrients. These parasites need a living fish to complete their life cycle. If you want, get a long dropper and get close to the anemone. In the past, I have used larger pieces of food and placed it directly on top of it with success. However, I have never had issues with disease surviving on invent food.

Moving forward, make sure you get your fish from a reputable source and quarantine them properly. This forum has a lot of information and amazing people always ready to help out. I know your pain! Where are you located?

 

[Becerril17]

I’m sorry to hear that @Becerril17! Don’t be so hard on yourself. I think all of us here learned the same way that you did. I get how you feel; I am a nurse practitioner in Florida and I made the exact same mistakes! But we learn and move forward. That is part of what we do in our field 🤗

You absolutely need to leave your tank completely fishless (fallow) until the disease dies out. I have done this in the past with many tanks including my own. See this New Ich Fallow Period

You can spot feed the anemone and corals while keeping an eye on the nutrients. These parasites need a living fish to complete their life cycle. If you want, get a long dropper and get close to the anemone. In the past, I have used larger pieces of food and placed it directly on top of it with success. However, I have never had issues with disease surviving on invent food.

Moving forward, make sure you get your fish from a reputable source and quarantine them properly. This forum has a lot of information and amazing people always ready to help out. I know your pain! Where are you located?

Thank you @fpizart
I’ve got to say it’s comforting knowing that there are so many supportive people out there willing to share their knowledge and experience with others. Since I’ve started this hobby it’s been quite the adventure, honestly there are just too many words to describe it. I won’t lie, I laid in bed unable to sleep wondering if I should just give all of my stuff away and chalk it up to “this isn’t for me” but I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if I wasn’t passionate and dedicated in everything I do. I know that I care too much to just give up, it would eat at me until I caved and tried again. So… I had to regroup and gather myself, most days I have to do this anyways. I mean, that’s life with kids and animals anyways right?

Thank you again for taking the time to reply. I have a long pipette that I feed the anemone with, the first time I fed it I was fascinated with how the tentacles grab the food. Everything about this journey has been quite amazing, I have learned so much and it’s so cool to keep learning new things daily.

So far my plan is to wait until the end of August to add two clowns to my display tank. I think I’ll get them in the beginning of August and set them up in QT. My Birthday is August 29th so I was hoping to be able to move them over then which would be super exciting. But… as exciting as that would be I’ve already mentally prepared myself to know that there is a possibility that it won’t fall into place with that exact timeline and that’s ok! I have a couple of members of my CUC from my previous tank that are sitting in the coral QT with my BTA that I will be moving over with all of the coral in my current DT so that’s kind of exciting as well!

I am located in North Georgia 🍑

How do you go about quarantining, do you have separate QT for coral/invertebrates and then a different one for fish only?

 

[fpizart]

That’s all you can do @Becerril17! This is a hobby of patience and dedication. Do you have any local fish stores (LFS) nearby?

Honestly, I do not go out of my way to quarantine invertebrates. For those, I have a small tank (20 gallons) and just watch them for a week or so. Corals get dipped before entering the QT tank and on their way out. I use coral dip and if I’m not dealing with acros, a fresh water dip. I also try to keep my corals from a single reputable source! I am in Miami and have lots of LFS but I often stick to WWC. I went to visit their superstore in Orlando and saw how meticulous they are. Although they did have some tangs to help with the algae, the fish looked very healthy and there was no evidence of disease. Now that’s not to say that because you don’t see it it is not there! But I have never had an issue with thier corals and CUC.

As for the fish, boy do I QT the life out of them! I have a dedicated RedSea Reefer 170 where I QT all my fish, no matter the species, for 30 days running copper. For tangs I go as high as 2.7 ppm for the entire time and lower (2.2 to 2.4 pp) for wrasses and more sensitive fish. They all get a fresh water dip AND a hydrogen peroxide mixture dip before and when leaving QT unless contraindicated. After the stream last night with @Dierks, I will be dipping them using tea tree oil to cover Uronema. During QT, I use general cure AND Prazipro at two different points. Honestly, I never do water charges in between but do treat one at the beginning and the other at the end of the QT period. At day 30, I add high-quality activated carbon to gradually remove all medication and Cu from the system. I have found that if something survived the QT, it starts showing up at concentrations below 1.5 ppm. The fish are then transferred to a clear container and carefully inspected using light. I look closely at the scales, fins, eyes, etc. If I’m happy, they are good to go! I also do this for my friends and family. You have to know what fish you are working with in order to select the right medication. For instance, I quarantined Bindi, my epaulette shark, using Chloroquine Phosphate because they are susceptible to Cu. So also verify here or ask 🤗 Now mind you, you don’t have to do 30 days for every single species! You can do 14 and observation but I go a little extra since many times these are my own fish. Just need to fight the instant gratification urge lol. Make sure you also see the medications to have in case you need them. Here is what I recommend you need to have for basic QT:

- Basic aquarium (10-20 gallons)
- Basic light
- Ammonia badge
- Air pump with a stone
- Filter with filter media (can be hang-on) love marinepure or brightwell ceramic media
- Brightwell Microbacter7 is my favorite bacteria! Don’t overdose it as it is some powerful stuff.
- Seachem Prime for emergency ammonia control
- Seachem marine buffer for pH control. Bacteria has vinegar so your pH can drop too low, can be compensated with this.
- Piece of PVC or something for fish to hide
- Water heater
- Hanna Copper checker

Water:
- Salinity 28-30 ppm (I don’t like to go too low unless I definitely have to by I know other people do get very low with good results.
- Temp 81-82 F
- pH 7.8 - 8 Note that you don’t want your pH too high as it makes ammonia “more toxic”.

Medications (Basic 3)
- Copper Power
- Prazipro
- API General Cure

Tips:
- Constantly observe the fish!
- I introduce fish to a Cu level of 1.5 - 2 ppm on day one (my QT is always around there when I add them) and go to full therapeutic of 2.5 ppm on day 2. Note your QT count starts when you hit 2.5 ppm
- DO NOT overfeed if you have a small QT tank. Offer small frequent meals whenever possible
- try not to use food additives
- algae is normal
- bacteria blooms eat up O2, make sure you don’t stop that air stone
- Cu + Prazipro favors bacteria blooms! Keep that in mind
- Cu may suppress appetite, this is normal! Make sure your fish are fat enough when you get them. Again, it all starts with selecting the right fish.
- Not ALL fish do ok on Cu, read up before
- seed the filter media by putting it in a bucket with salt water, add bacteria, a heater, and air stone for 24-48 hours
- Remember to remove all carbon from filter
- use filter floss to collect larger particles
- if a water change is needed, make sure to match the Cu level BEFORE adding it to the tank
- keep the QT tank at least 10 ft away from your DT. I have them in different rooms
- NEVER share equipment between tanks
- Care for QT and DT at different times of the day (morning and after shower for example). If that is now possible, use meticulous hand hygiene between tanks and avoid putting your hand in the water! In some cases of serious QT infections, I have used PPE or completely taken a shower and changed clothes between tanks.
- always have your QT ready to go.
- reset QT between treatments whenever possible! I use DT water when I do so.

My QT gap is Uronema! But I will start playing with TTO. As a healthcare provider, I am fully against formalin so this is a welcome option for me! Because I don’t have a large number of susceptible fish going though QT, I don’t see it very often but it is definitely out there!

That was a lot lol I’m sorry!

Did I miss anything guys?

 

[Humblefish]

@Becerril17 Below are some links to help guide you:

How To - Quarantine

How to Setup a Quarantine Tank (updated 4-6-2023) The following are the essentials: Aquarium (10-30 gallons seems to work for most people. A larger QT lets you house more fish and gives you more wiggle room when it comes to ammonia. A smaller QT is cheaper, easier to maintain and can be...

humble.fish

Quarantine Strategies & Protocols

PART 1: How to Setup a Quarantine Tank Quarantine Strategies & Protocols (updated 4-14-2023) Preface: There is no "perfect" way to quarantine fish. Every method has pros & cons, and in the end it only matters that whatever you do works best for you + your fish. Something that is feasible to do...

humble.fish

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames IMPORTANT UPDATE: Raising aquarium temperature to 27C/80.6F can shorten the coral/invert isolation period to 6 weeks: New Ich Fallow Period Preface: The purpose of this article is to outline time periods required to properly quarantine (QT) marine corals &...

humble.fish

 

[Becerril17]

@Becerril17 Below are some links to help guide you:

How To - Quarantine

How to Setup a Quarantine Tank (updated 4-6-2023) The following are the essentials: Aquarium (10-30 gallons seems to work for most people. A larger QT lets you house more fish and gives you more wiggle room when it comes to ammonia. A smaller QT is cheaper, easier to maintain and can be...

humble.fish

Quarantine Strategies & Protocols

PART 1: How to Setup a Quarantine Tank Quarantine Strategies & Protocols (updated 4-14-2023) Preface: There is no "perfect" way to quarantine fish. Every method has pros & cons, and in the end it only matters that whatever you do works best for you + your fish. Something that is feasible to do...

humble.fish

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames IMPORTANT UPDATE: Raising aquarium temperature to 27C/80.6F can shorten the coral/invert isolation period to 6 weeks: New Ich Fallow Period Preface: The purpose of this article is to outline time periods required to properly quarantine (QT) marine corals &...

humble.fish

Thank you! I’m still learning how to navigate my way through all of the videos you have on YouTube. You leave me with very minimal questions, and if any there is a explanation from you in the comments. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you leave no stone unturned. Thank you again ✨