Quarantine Strategies & Protocols

[Humblefish]

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 within your schedule, and yields a high success rate with the fish going through quarantine. Some prefer to just observe in quarantine and not use any medications unless necessary. This strategy can work, but it is important to set aside enough time in your day to observe for key behavioral symptoms of disease. This article explains in more detail: Chemoprophylaxis vs. Observational Quarantine

For those who wish to employ chemoprophylaxis; I have devised a QT protocol (below) that is feasible & covers a wide range of diseases that are commonly encountered with marine fish:

Pre-QT Bath (optional): After acclimating your new fish, you have the option of giving them one (or two) bath treatments prior to entering quarantine. I only recommend doing both if the fish arrive in good shape, have no ammonia burn and their bag water is clear. (Fish with ammonia burn or cloudy/stinky bag water should be given Bath #2 only.)

1. Bath #1: 30 minute H2O2 bath or 45 minute Formalin bath. Both are capable of knocking parasites off a fish before entering QT. Fish that are susceptible to Uronema (e.g. chromis, anthias) should always be given the formalin bath.
   
   
2. Bath #2: 30 minute Methylene Blue bath (or you can also use Nitrofuracin Green Powder). What It Treats: Ammonia burn, abrasions, cuts, open wounds. Mild antiparasitic/antibacterial/antifungal properties. Probably one of the best “first response” treatments for a sick fish. Will possibly detoxify a fish that has been exposed to cyanide poisoning.

NOTE: Bath #1 & Bath #2 should always be done separately, and never combined into a single bath treatment.

Recommended Quarantine Protocol
​

After the bath treatment(s), drop the fish straight into 2.0 ppm Copper Power. Take 24-48 hours to gradually raise the copper level to 2.2-2.3ppm (therapeutic) using the Hanna copper checker to verify. Copper treats ich & velvet - the two most commonly encountered marine fish parasites.

Once the copper level has reached full therapeutic, you can combine ONE of the following medications to also treat for Brooklynella and Uronema:

1. Metronidazole: 25 mg/gal every 48 hours for 10 days. (Or you can use Seachem MetroPlex - 2 scoops per 10 gallons.)​
2. Formalin: 0.9 ml per 10 gallons every 24 hours for 10 days. (This is a stronger treatment for Uronema prone fish e.g. chromis & anthias.)​

After the fish have been in this medicated soup for 14 or 30 days (this explains the difference between 14 vs. 30 days in copper); you can transfer them to an observation tank (14 days) or perform water changes + use Cuprisorb/polyfilter to remove copper from the water (30 days). Whenever transferring fish to a different tank, be sure to observe a 10 foot radius between aquariums to account for aerosol transmission. (More info on that: Aerosol transmission)

After completing the above treatments, I recommend observing the fish for 2-4 weeks to ensure that they are parasite-free. Remember, no QT protocol is 100% foolproof. (You can use black mollies to aid with disease detection in observation.) This is also a good opportunity to deworm your fish. You can accomplish this by using Prazipro, API General Cure or Fritz Paracleanse following the instructions outlined here: Praziquantel

I personally prefer NOT to prophylactically treat for intestinal worms or parasites unless symptoms are noticed. This explains in more detail: Internal Problems

After observation is complete, you may transfer the fish directly to your DT without any sort of drip acclimation. This is assuming, of course, that temperature + salinity of QT & DT match perfectly.

Make adjustments to your quarantine strategy as needed! For example, if you know that a fish has Flukes then deworm before treating for parasites. (Some will combine praziquantel with copper, but I highly recommend increasing gas exchange to compensate for the possibility of a bacterial bloom occurring.) Are you seeing signs of a bacterial infection? If so, treat with antibiotics straight away (you can combine most antibiotics with copper.)

Other Medications & Treatments​

Below you will find a list of alternative QT strategies, protocols and medications that can be used:

• Chloroquine Phosphate treats ich, velvet, brook & uronema. I recommend treating at 40-60mg/gal for 14 days and then transfer the fish into a clean observation tank.
  
  
• Fenbendazole is a dewormer used to treat (prazi resistant) flukes and gastrointestinal parasites (worms).
  
  
• Freshwater Dip provides temporary relief for a wide range of parasites & worms. Can be used to confirm the presence of skin flukes on a fish.
  
  
• Hyposalinity treats ich & flukes only.
  
  
• Tank Transfer Method (all versions) which includes my personal favorite: Hybrid TTM to treat more parasites!
  
  
• Different options for treating Uronema: Intermediate - Us vs Uronema

Video learning:

 

[Humblefish]

Sunday morning bump!

 

[Pufferlover95]

Thank you for this updated, clear, and concise protocol/strategy!

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Couple quick questions

I'm QTing 3 fish in 30gal for 4-6 weeks:
2" Powder Blue Tang
3" Blonde Naso Tang
4" Foxface Rabbitfish

They show no signs of any ich or anything. One concern I have is the foxface body which tail is attached to is reddish. Hard to tell if internal or external. Photos attached. Ammonia was elevated for like 3-4 days. I held off on raising copper until ammonia came down to zero, but copper was 1.36ppm for like 5 days until ammonia stabilized. Then I upped to therapeutic. Could the redness be ammonia burn? Or look like uronema? It seems relatively mild whatever it is.

Is this overkill?

*Copper Power 2.5ppm - Weeks 1-4
*Metroplex 3 doses 2 days apart - Week 1
*Kanaplex 3 doses 2 days apart - Week 1
*PraziPro 1 dose? - Week 3?
*GC food - Weeks 3&4

I don't have 2nd tank for observation, so I'll probably do 4 weeks in QT with copper at therapeutic, and then if they all look healthy plop them into DT. I might if I have patience like a good boy, do 50% water change and observe for 2 more weeks (weeks 5-6). @Humblefish @Dierks

 

[Charles]

Just to be clear....after my fish are treated with therapeutic copper levels i would like to observe them for a couple more weeks. I only have one qt tank. Should i bleach it before observation? or will the copper kill all parasites and no need to worry?

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Just to be clear....after my fish are treated with therapeutic copper levels i would like to observe them for a couple more weeks. I only have one qt tank. Should i bleach it before observation? or will the copper kill all parasites and no need to worry?

I'm no expert, but in case no expert jumps in, I'll try to help you brotha

Generally what Humble recommends is to do 14 days then move to new clean tank to observe for another 14 days, because some stages of Ich can last up to 30-40 days in some research. Many of us don't have multiple quarantine tanks. I mean for example I do have 3 QTs, but two are too small for the 3 fish I'm QTing right now, so I'm opting for 30+ days in copper, maybe 35 if the fish seem very happy and not being effected by the copper.

Safest is the Humble recommendation of two tanks, but if you don't have 2nd tank. It seems like maybe 30 day copper, then maybe 50%+ water change or two, and observe them for 2 weeks works too. The worry as Humble has mentioned is that leaving fish in copper for extended periods of time isn't great for them. 2 weeks most fish fine, 4 weeks probably ok too, but going on 45 days (which is what some recommend if not doing 2nd tank) is probably not great for the fish, and could even have long term effects on some of their organs I have read. What fish are you QTing? Here is a link to difficult fish just in case. I also think Copper Power is best least harsh on fish from what I read and also my experience, having lost multiple fish in other coppers. I've never lost one in Copper Power yet Difficult Fish to QT guide

Personally, I have been doing 4-5 weeks in copper with no water change, and treating with antibiotics and other things as preventative, and if I see any issues on fish, flukes, cloudy eye, reddish splotches, weird behavior, white stringy poop, ich spots, velvet spots, etc, then I treat those specifically.

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Btw I've had 100% success with 30-40 day copper power so far with just 1 quarantine tank, but only total of 7 fish, so could be luck. I'm on fishes 8,9,10 now so let's see lol Really helps to try to get the ammonia to 0 by adding simple foods like phyto or reef roids before adding any fish. Ammonia is common issue in QTs.

There's a lot of good info on Humble.fish. I've learned a lot, and went from like 10% QT success to 100% for last 7 fish, so keep reading and you'll get it! I was really intimidated by QT before, but now feel a lot more comfortable. Especially knowing if something weird happens, that you have experts here like @Humblefish, @Dierks, and so many others to help

 

[DylanF1]

@Humblefish I read the Chloroquine Phosphate thread after searching the internet and forums for the last couple weeks for fish medications and QT procedures; I then clicked on the link for this thread. I signed up to the forum and this is my first post. I am very interested in CP because it seems to treat the four major external parasites discussed in the marine fish hobby and I’m looking for efficient, simple, and not Formalin. I don’t like the idea of having Formalin around the house. My initial thoughts after reading the CP thread were to 5 min freshwater bath, treat with CP dosed in the water and metro in the food for 10 -14 days transferring to fresh medicated water every 3 days or so, then prazipro after moving to a new clean tank For observation. I have used TTM in the past and like using 5 gallon buckets because it simplifies the transfers and cleaning, something I picked of from Reef Central when I first started the hobby. I read the study about CP binding to plastics that was posted in the CP thread and it seems that polyethylene buckets would be the best for this purpose. I plan to purchase my fish from local sources if possible, otherwise I will order online. I have the following questions:

Your recommendation in the OP doesn’t include CP, why do you recommend the Copper Power and metro over CP?

Is this recommendation as effective as CP?

In your opinion would the polyethylene buckets cause an issue with CP?

Do you have a recommendation for CP protocol that includes internal parasites, worms, and flukes?

 

[Odiddy]

@Humblefish I have some fish in 2.3 ppm of copper power, I noticed flukes on a couple of the fish, would you say its safe to dose prazi as long as I make sure there is sufficient surface disturbance? Or do you suggest I complete the 30 day therapeutic cycle (its only day 2) and then remove copper and treat the flukes? I do also have GC on hand.

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

@Humblefish I read the Chloroquine Phosphate thread after searching the internet and forums for the last couple weeks for fish medications and QT procedures; I then clicked on the link for this thread. I signed up to the forum and this is my first post. I am very interested in CP because it seems to treat the four major external parasites discussed in the marine fish hobby and I’m looking for efficient, simple, and not Formalin. I don’t like the idea of having Formalin around the house. My initial thoughts after reading the CP thread were to 5 min freshwater bath, treat with CP dosed in the water and metro in the food for 10 -14 days transferring to fresh medicated water every 3 days or so, then prazipro after moving to a new clean tank For observation. I have used TTM in the past and like using 5 gallon buckets because it simplifies the transfers and cleaning, something I picked of from Reef Central when I first started the hobby. I read the study about CP binding to plastics that was posted in the CP thread and it seems that polyethylene buckets would be the best for this purpose. I plan to purchase my fish from local sources if possible, otherwise I will order online. I have the following questions:

Your recommendation in the OP doesn’t include CP, why do you recommend the Copper Power and metro over CP?

Is this recommendation as effective as CP?

In your opinion would the polyethylene buckets cause an issue with CP?

Do you have a recommendation for CP protocol that includes internal parasites, worms, and flukes?

I think he does recommend Chloroquine sometimes. I don't have any experience, but here is a thread he made about difficult to QT fish and he mentions Chloroquine for certain fish if I remember correctly. Difficult Fish to QT guide

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Welcome btw Dylan!

 

[Big G]

@Humblefish I have some fish in 2.3 ppm of copper power, I noticed flukes on a couple of the fish, would you say its safe to dose prazi as long as I make sure there is sufficient surface disturbance? Or do you suggest I complete the 30 day therapeutic cycle (its only day 2) and then remove copper and treat the flukes? I do also have GC on hand.

Hello and welcome to the group. You ask a great question. It's better to treat the fish for flukes after the copper treatment is over. You could consider pulling the fish out for a brief 5 minute freshwater dip to remove many of the flukes. The FW dip will do a good job on the "surface" flukes and some of the potential flukes in the gills. But those flukes that may be deep within the gills will need the treatment with GC. But to answer your question, if the fish is not experiencing breathing difficulties, I'd treat after the copper.

 

[Humblefish]

One concern I have is the foxface body which tail is attached to is reddish. Hard to tell if internal or external. Photos attached. Ammonia was elevated for like 3-4 days. I held off on raising copper until ammonia came down to zero, but copper was 1.36ppm for like 5 days until ammonia stabilized. Then I upped to therapeutic. Could the redness be ammonia burn? Or look like uronema? It seems relatively mild whatever it is.

More likely a minor bacterial infection: Bacterial Infections

I would attempt to treat it with vitamins before resorting to antibiotics: Vitamins, Probiotics & Herbal Remedies

Is this overkill?

*Copper Power 2.5ppm - Weeks 1-4
*Metroplex 3 doses 2 days apart - Week 1
*Kanaplex 3 doses 2 days apart - Week 1
*PraziPro 1 dose? - Week 3?
*GC food - Weeks 3&4

I personally would leave out Kanaplex (unless you are seeing signs of a bacterial infection), and GC soaked food (unless you are noticing symptoms of intestinal worms/parasites).

You also need to dose Prazipro at least TWICE in accordance with this treatment calendar: Marine Parasites

 

[Humblefish]

Just to be clear....after my fish are treated with therapeutic copper levels i would like to observe them for a couple more weeks. I only have one qt tank. Should i bleach it before observation? or will the copper kill all parasites and no need to worry?

If treating with therapeutic copper for 30 days, that should be sufficient to eliminate ich/velvet from the QT.

However, keep in mind that copper does not kill Brook, Uronema, Flukes, etc. So, you need to either prophylactically treat for those or at the very least observe for those pathogens.

 

[Humblefish]

Your recommendation in the OP doesn’t include CP, why do you recommend the Copper Power and metro over CP?

Is this recommendation as effective as CP?

In your opinion would the polyethylene buckets cause an issue with CP?

Do you have a recommendation for CP protocol that includes internal parasites, worms, and flukes?

Using chloroquine can be tricky due to biodegradation: Biodegradation - Are bacteria rendering your quarantine process useless?

Also, copper has the advantage of having a test kit - with chloroquine you are always just guessing at the concentration in the water.

So, I feel like copper + metro is more foolproof for the casual hobbyist or at least for someone new to quarantining fish.

That being said, I personally have had a lot of success using chloroquine to treat the "Big 4" i.e. ich, velvet, brook, uronema. You can dose API General Cure or Fritz Paracleanse twice in conjunction in order to deworm. I recommend using this treatment calendar to determine when is the best time to add the second dose: Marine Parasites

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish I have some fish in 2.3 ppm of copper power, I noticed flukes on a couple of the fish, would you say its safe to dose prazi as long as I make sure there is sufficient surface disturbance? Or do you suggest I complete the 30 day therapeutic cycle (its only day 2) and then remove copper and treat the flukes? I do also have GC on hand.

It would be safer to dose GC w/copper than Prazipro. Either way, crank a couple of air stones on high and/or point a wave maker towards the water surface to infuse more O2 into the water.

 

[Odiddy]

@Humblefish @Big G Thank you both for your replies. I noticed this spot and what looks like a loss of slime coat or something similar on this powder brown tang today. I have had him in copper for almost 30 days and treated with prazi before. What is this? A bacterial infection im assuming? Best course to treat it?

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish @Big G Thank you both for your replies. I noticed this spot and what looks like a loss of slime coat or something similar on this powder brown tang today. I have had him in copper for almost 30 days and treated with prazi before. What is this? A bacterial infection im assuming? Best course to treat it? View attachment 95593View attachment 95594

Probably a bacterial infection, although the last photo looks sorta "Brook like" to me. Was this fish ever treated with metronidazole (e.g. Seachem Metroplex) or formalin during the QT process?

Also, your rock looks pretty new/not mature. Is this a newly setup tank? If so, have you tested for ammonia recently?

 

[Odiddy]

@Humblefish The fish supposedly had a formalin bath from the vendor I got it from. It never had a metro treatment until last night, I decided it was best to add it to food with focus plus add it to the water. The tank is a little over 2 months old, but I set it up using media from a 10+ years established tank, live sand, and some fritz turbo start. It is a 150g system with a very small bio load and refugium. Its just weird to me because Ive had the fish for almost a month and it seemed totally fine. No new additions other than me moving my clownfish that I have had for almost a year from my smaller tank to this one. Water parameters are stable.

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish The fish supposedly had a formalin bath from the vendor I got it from. It never had a metro treatment until last night, I decided it was best to add it to food with focus plus add it to the water. The tank is a little over 2 months old, but I set it up using media from a 10+ years established tank, live sand, and some fritz turbo start. It is a 150g system with a very small bio load and refugium. Its just weird to me because Ive had the fish for almost a month and it seemed totally fine. No new additions other than me moving my clownfish that I have had for almost a year from my smaller tank to this one. Water parameters are stable.

I personally would pull the fish, and treat with Kanaplex + Metroplex in a QT.

Or you can try the reef safe option of lacing the fish food with vitamins, probiotics & Beta-glucan: Vitamins, Probiotics & Herbal Remedies

The latter might be enough to help the fish's immune system to overcome this naturally. However, there's something nasty looking about that spot & white haze on him so that's why I'm thinking ABX might be needed here.