Tank Transfer Method

[Alexpora Corals]

To whom may concern, I would like to suggest an alternate version of the Transfer Method (Transfer Method II if I may) to eradicate Cryptocaryon irritans from new arrivals that I've had success with, in which sterilization and ammonia levels aren't a concern nor is there a large amount of water wasted. In this method instead of two buckets or aquariums you simply use 5 permanent small quarantine aquariums where you transfer every 3 days. You then start over and reuse them without contamination concerns after 2 and half months or 72 days:

Start 5 small quarantine aquariums with a small amount of inert gravel using cycled water from an established Cryptocaryon free system and then wait a week to cycle or simply add freshly mixed water and wait a month to cycle. One air pump can be used with valves to run all five.

- Day 1 - Place your fish in the first quarantine aquarium.
- Day 4 - After 72 hours transfer your fish from the first to the second quarantine aquarium with a net or other small container. This is easier to do at at night when the fish are asleep and sluggish.
- Day 7 - Repeat transfer to the third quarantine aquarium.
- Day 10 - Repeat transfer to the fourth quarantine aquarium.
- Day 13 - Repeat transfer to the fifth quarantine aquarium.
- Day 16 - Transfer to larger quarantine system (for further observation and treatment of other diseases) or optionally transfer directly to your main display aquarium.
- Day 73 - After 72 days you can safely start over again with new fish using the same water.

Please pass this information around and I hope it might help someone else.

 

[s2nhle]

wow, very simple systems.

 

[Humblefish]

@Alex Wilson Thank you for that. "Transfer Method II" works fine so long as aerosol transmission is respected: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/

 

[Alexpora Corals]

- You can optionally treat the water with Seachem’s ParaGuard or similar to prevent a wide rage of diseases during the whole process of 15 days. It has a mix of aldehydes, malachite green, and other propreitary fish protective polymers to fight against ectoparasites including Cryptocaryon irritans, external fungal, bacterial and viral lesions including fin rot. According the manufacturer.
- Optionally treat for 24 hours with Prazipro for worms on the last day.

- I recommend tight lids. If you fear aerosol transmission you can switch to small powerheads.
- The aquarium size used depends on how big and how many fish you have.
- Here is one example using one gallon clear plastic boxes ($0.98) at HomeDepot. I used a soldering iron to melt a small hole for airline tubing and I've had very little salt creep with these. I use these with a maximum of two small fish at a time.

Regards,
Alex Wilson

 

[Ojoh]

Is t there a chance that the ich will transfer on the colander?

 

[Humblefish]

Is t there a chance that the ich will transfer on the colander?

No, so long as you don't scrape near the bottom/sides of the aquarium and inadvertently pickup a tomont.

 

[Deinonych]

- You can optionally treat the water with Seachem’s ParaGuard or similar to prevent a wide rage of diseases during the whole process of 15 days. It has a mix of aldehydes, malachite green, and other propreitary fish protective polymers to fight against ectoparasites including Cryptocaryon irritans, external fungal, bacterial and viral lesions including fin rot. According the manufacturer.

My concerns with manufacturers' claims is that they are very rarely backed up with scientific studies. While there is some anecdotal evidence that ParaGuard is effective against Brooklynella (it's basically designer formalin), I personally wouldn't take my chances using it to prevent crypto or velvet when there are far more effective treatment options (TTM for crypto, CP for velvet etc.)

 

[Bob Escher]

How well do diamond watchman gogbies, blennies and a yellow watchman do in a tank without sand or rock

 

[Brew12]

How well do diamond watchman gogbies, blennies and a yellow watchman do in a tank without sand or rock

For sand preferring species the recommendation is typically to put a bowl of sand in each tank and discard the sand when the fish is transferred out.

 

[Bob Escher]

Thanks and no medication at then? I think I have ich imported via a snail or a trumpet coral. I have 13 fish and have the ability to do two buckets or three but five Gallon buckets. I also have a ten tank and a 2.5 gallon tank that I can use. Obviously to me the best bet is to QT and treat all the fish and then to fallow the DT for the 76 days. Any suggestions in this and is prizopro and cupermine a good treatment other than the med prescribed by your vet?
Thanks all. I'm just freaking out because I don't have the room ( or funds at this second) to do all 13 unless they all go into a Home Depot buckets or the ten gallon tank thanks

 

[Brew12]

With the tank transfer method you wouldn't use medications unless you see another health issue other than ich.

If you treat with copper then you can leave them in the 1o gallon tank for the entire course of the treatment. The tank transfer method is an option for those who don't want to treat with copper. Also, you only need 2 tanks to do the tank transfer method as long as you have time to properly clean the tanks between transfers.

 

[Bob Escher]

So would you say the ten gallon would be ok for all of them while the main tank is fallow? Or two ten gallon and maybe a bucket or two?
Thanks Brew

 

[Brew12]

So would you say the ten gallon would be ok for all of them while the main tank is fallow? Or two ten gallon and maybe a bucket or two?
Thanks Brew

Sorry, I don't know enough to help you there. I'm still new at this! Maybe someone else can if you list your fish and how big they are.

 

[Balz3352]

10 gallon for 13 fish is a definite no go. But yes we need a list of fish

 

[Humblefish]

10 gallon for 13 fish is a definite no go. But yes we need a list of fish

^^This

 

[Alexpora Corals]

- You can optionally treat the water with Seachem’s ParaGuard or similar to prevent a wide rage of diseases during the whole process of 15 days. It has a mix of aldehydes, malachite green, and other propreitary fish protective polymers to fight against ectoparasites including Cryptocaryon irritans, external fungal, bacterial and viral lesions including fin rot. According the manufacturer.
- Optionally treat for 24 hours with Prazipro for worms on the last day.

- I recommend tight lids. If you fear aerosol transmission you can switch to small powerheads.
- The aquarium size used depends on how big and how many fish you have.
- Here is one example using one gallon clear plastic boxes ($0.98) at HomeDepot. I used a soldering iron to melt a small hole for airline tubing and I've had very little salt creep with these. I use these with a maximum of two small fish at a time.

Regards,
Alex Wilson

 

[Alexpora Corals]

Here's an update with the total time to again start over extended out three more days to be more accurate.

I would like to suggest an alternate version of the Transfer Method (Transfer Method II if I may) to eradicate Cryptocaryon irritans from new arrivals that I've had success with, in which sterilization and ammonia levels aren't a concern nor is there a large amount of water wasted. In this method instead of two buckets or aquariums you simply use 5 permanent small quarantine aquariums where you transfer every 3 days. You then start over and reuse them without contamination concerns after 2 and half months or 75 days:

Start 5 small quarantine aquariums with a small amount of inert gravel using cycled water from an established Cryptocaryon free system and then wait a week to cycle or simply add freshly mixed water and wait a month to cycle. One air pump can be used with valves to run all five.

- Day 1 - Place your fish in the first quarantine aquarium.
- Day 4 - After 72 hours transfer your fish from the first to the second quarantine aquarium with a net or other small clear drain container to transfer as little water as possible with the fish. This is easier to do at at night when the fish are asleep and sluggish.
- Day 7 - Repeat transfer to the third quarantine aquarium.
- Day 10 - Repeat transfer to the fourth quarantine aquarium.
- Day 13 - Repeat transfer to the fifth quarantine aquarium. Optionally treat for 24 hours with Prazipro for worms on the last day.
- Day 16 - Transfer to larger quarantine system (for further observation and treatment of other diseases) or optionally transfer directly to your main display aquarium.
- Day 76 - After 75 days you can safely start over again with new fish using the same water.

-There is a very small chance of transfer of a Tomont or Protomont in this process (with the water and on the fish) yet not to worry that's why you have a series of transfers over time. The whole idea is to leave the parasites behind and thus you try to transfer as little water as possible on each transfer. That said, you don't need to expose your fish to air if you don't want to. You can simply transfer them over in a clear container with just enough water for them to be submersed under.

- You can optionally treat proactively with Seachem’s ParaGuard or similar to prevent a wide rage of diseases during the whole process of 15 days. It has a mix of aldehydes, malachite green, and other proprietary fish protective polymers to fight against ectoparasites including Cryptocaryon irritans, external fungal, bacterial and viral lesions including fin rot, this according the manufacturer.

- Optionally treat for 24 hours with Prazipro for worms on the last day.

 

[Alexpora Corals]

- There is a very small chance of transfer of a Tomont or Protomont in this process (with the water and on the fish) yet not to worry that's why you have a series of transfers over time. The whole idea is to leave the parasites behind and thus just in case transfer as little water as possible on each transfer to avoid any possible free swimming, however, you don't need to expose your fish to air if you don't want to. You can simply transfer them over in a clear container with just enough water for them to be submersed under. At each transfer transmission become less likely by the fourth transfer it's should be gone. I added a fifth transfer just to make sure.

 

[Congaken]

Edit: A more detailed article covering TTM can be found here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/spars-tank-transfer-method.209690/

Tank Transfer Method: Treats Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) only.

How To Treat - Tank transfer (TTM) is probably one of the most underused and underappreciated resources in our hobby. To properly execute TTM you need two tanks (or buckets), with dedicated equipment for each tank (not to be shared between the two). I personally use 2 of the 10 gallon tanks to do TTM, each with its own heater, thermometer, air stone, airline tubing and PVC elbows for hiding places. This is how TTM is implemented:

• Day 1 - Fish is placed in initial QT.
• Day 4 - Roughly 72 hours later transfer the fish to new tank. The time of day you do the transfer is unimportant, but never exceed 72 hours from the last transfer. The temperature and SG of the new tank should match the old one perfectly, so you can just catch & release (no acclimation). Transfer as little water as possible with the fish.
• Day 7 - Repeat.
• Day 10 - Repeat.
• Day 13 - Repeat and done (fish should now be ich free).

After transferring, immediately sanitize the "old tank" and all equipment using bleach or vinegar. Rinse well. Let air dry thoroughly before next use. The air drying is the sterilization process when using vinegar, or detoxification process when using bleach.

Simply put, this process works because you are literally outrunning the parasite's known life cycle. If a fish is infected with ich, trophonts will leave the fish at some point during the TTM process, and the encysted stage doesn't have enough time to release theronts (i.e. free swimmers that re-infect the fish) before the fish exits the tank. Ammonia isn't much of a concern with TTM, because every 3 days the fish is placed in a new tank with new water; or you always have the option of using ammonia reducers, such as Amquel or Prime, in conjunction with TTM since there is no risk of negative interaction because no medications are present. However, you do have the option of dosing Prazipro (if you need to deworm) at the onset of "Day 4" and "Day 10"; transfers 2 & 4 respectively. Just remember if you do this that you can't use any ammonia reducers while Prazi is present in the water.

One of the cons to tank transfer is the amount/cost of saltwater needed to do it. For example, using my 2-10 gallons I go through 50 gallons of saltwater before the TTM process is complete. However, a thrifty hobbyist can use water stored from a recent display tank water change to implement TTM. Obviously, this only works if you are 100% confident that your display tank is disease free and don't siphon anything off the bottom. The other problem with TTM is netting the fish every 3 days. That concern can be somewhat alleviated by using a plastic colander in lieu of a net to catch the fish (square ones work better than round ones):

Pros - Chemical free solution to ich, highly effective when performed properly, can be combined with deworming via Prazipro.

Cons/Side Effects - Cost (if using all new saltwater), time/effort expended, probably somewhat stressful on the fish being caught every 3 days, does not treat other parasites such as velvet, brook, uronema.

One problem is that my 65 has the ff in it and had the tang and RG...therefore its contaminated...since the ff show no signs of problems, any credence to my HyperCure idea or leaving them in there and letting them run out the ich cycle clock...the tank has cuc and a shrimp and a urchin...so it would be hard to drain all of that water and clean the tank of any ichites also lots of live rock...don't want to make 65 new gallons and still could not clean the tank thoroughly...any way out.?

 

[Humblefish]

One problem is that my 65 has the ff in it and had the tang and RG...therefore its contaminated...since the ff show no signs of problems, any credence to my HyperCure idea or leaving them in there and letting them run out the ich cycle clock...the tank has cuc and a shrimp and a urchin...so it would be hard to drain all of that water and clean the tank of any ichites also lots of live rock...don't want to make 65 new gallons and still could not clean the tank thoroughly...any way out.?

ALL the fish must be removed from a DT in order to starve ich out.

Are you saying you want to do hyposalinity in your DT with the firefish still in there? To avoid having to catch them? That may or may not work, but all corals/inverts will need to be removed beforehand as they will die in hypo conditions.