The DOs and DON’Ts of Quarantine

Humblefish · Dec 10, 2015

@UffnerReef As mentioned above, the bacteria from your DT water probably initiated a bacterial bloom which made the water turn cloudy and robbed O2 from the water. Nitrifying bacteria in the water is fine, but you must have a way of harnessing it. This is why it is so important to utilize a filter in QT (canister or HOB) which contains bio-media capable of housing nitrifying bacteria. You want that bacteria in your filter, where it can help break down ammonia; not free floating around in the water with nowhere to go and where it can cause problems.

For those who opt not to use biological filtration in QT, I suggest using freshly mixed SW instead of DT water as the former contains little to no bacteria.

@shoelaceike IME; fish are not overly sensitive to pH swings UNLESS going into a lower pH. Bag water will have low pH, so they will be just fine going into the higher pH your QT should afford them. Test beforehand to be sure. It should be 7.8 - 8.3.

@DeniseAndy You are more than welcome to transpose or link your protocols here, in my "How to QT" thread or even start your own thread with them. More info the better!

My ways are not the only ways.

shoelaceike · Dec 10, 2015

Humblefish said:
@UffnerReef As mentioned above, the bacteria from your DT water probably initiated a bacterial bloom which made the water turn cloudy and robbed O2 from the water. Nitrifying bacteria in the water is fine, but you must have a way of harnessing it. This is why it is so important to utilize a filter in QT (canister or HOB) which contains bio-media capable of housing nitrifying bacteria. You want that bacteria in your filter, where it can help break down ammonia; not free floating around in the water with nowhere to go and where it can cause problems. For those who opt not to use biological filtration in QT, I suggest using freshly mixed SW instead of DT water as the former contains little to no bacteria.

@shoelaceike IME; fish are not overly sensitive to pH swings UNLESS going into a lower pH. Bag water will have low pH, so they will be just fine going into the higher pH your QT should afford them. Test beforehand to be sure. It should be 7.8 - 8.3.

@DeniseAndy You are more than welcome to transpose or link your protocols here, in my "How to QT" thread or even start your own thread with them. More info the better! My ways are not the only ways.

Interesting.... I watched a documentary of the process from supplier to wholesaler and they were showing how they acclimate the fish when they arrive and they said how important it is to slowly raise the ph to the ph of the tank. This is also why they don't recommend putting an airstine in the bag as it will raise the ph too quickly....

DeniseAndy · Dec 10, 2015

Thanks Humblefish. I never thought about the fact that I actually use a sponge or bio-rings in my hob not just dt water.

Here are the links: http://www.care4reefs.org/information-and-resources.html

DeniseAndy · Dec 10, 2015

Sometimes doing things for so long and on autopilot, you forget some of the more simple steps or items you do that are very important. It is nice to back up and really walk through them.

DannyB · Jan 2, 2016

I have only quarantined a fish once the entire time i have been in the hobby. I consider myself lucky I never had any issues with disease and doubt I could be so lucky all the time.

The one fish I did QT i lost within 3 days. He looked very healthy at the LFS and was eating there. It was a Yellow Eye Kole Tang.

I know some of the actions I took are on the don't list but this thread was not one of the ones i read prior to attempting the QT process. The entire failed process has made me quite nervous about trying it again since all i could do the last time was watch as the fish just died.

I am not sure what it was that made this fish die. Is it not a good idea to QT a kole tang in a small tank? Would it have a better shot with me just taking the risk of not QTing it? I guess I am basically asking if there is anything special which would need to be done to QT a Kole Tang?

Thank you for any info you can provide.

Humblefish · Jan 2, 2016

I am currently QT'ing a sick 4" Tomini (bristletooth tang like a Kole) in just a 10 gal. The key is providing:

Biological filtration in QT, to deal with ammonia from fish waste, excess food, etc. Tangs are notorious pooping machines. I personally use an Aquaclear HOB power filter, utilizing the “foam insert” i.e. sponge it comes with. I “seed” the sponge (or multiples) in a high flow area of my DT’s sump (or you can put it behind your rocks) for at least one month prior to QT. This one month allows time for enough beneficial bacteria to transfer onto the sponge, so that it may be used as biological filtration once placed back in the power filter and used in QT. An alternative (albeit expensive) way to instantly seed your sponge is to pour some Bio-Spira, Seachem Stability or Dr Tim's Nitrifying Bacteria over it just prior to use.
Enough available oxygen in QT. In addition to the HOB breaking the surface of the water, I point a small powerhead towards the surface of the water for more gas exchange.

My "How to QT" article can be found here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/

rockstarta78 · Jan 2, 2016

Do any of you QT inverts? I know crabs and snails can carry pest. But how do you go about QT them?

Humblefish · Jan 2, 2016

My 29 gal "fishless" frag tank. I place all corals/inverts in here for 76 days before they go into my DT. Just cheap T5 lighting, Koralia powerhead, HOB powerfilter, heater, rock/sand and a frag rack gets the job done.

reefwiser · Jan 2, 2016

QT of corals is very important as you can get pest very easily with corals. The pests can be very small and you may not see them till the damage is done.

DannyB · Jan 11, 2016

I have heard you are not supposed to QT wrasses. Is this true or false?

Humblefish · Jan 11, 2016

DannyB said:
I have heard you are not supposed to QT wrasses. Is this true or false?

You can/should QT wrasses, but just be mindful they are sensitive to most medications. So take care not to OD with them. TTM is a perfect way to QT wrasses: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

DannyB · Jan 11, 2016

I have read about TTM but how difficult is it to do properly? I have not bought a fish since i lost the last one in QT and really want to avoid watching another seemingly healthy fish die shortly in my care.

Humblefish · Jan 12, 2016

DannyB said:
I have read about TTM but how difficult is it to do properly? I have not bought a fish since i lost the last one in QT and really want to avoid watching another seemingly healthy fish die shortly in my care.

Like anything, QT takes practice to make perfect. How many corals did you kill before you figured out all their requirements? I killed a bunch early on, but rarely lose any now.

TTM is labor intensive but simple to execute. You just have to pay close attention to detail (to prevent cross contamination) and keep a close eye on ammonia. And don't try to cram too many fish in a small TTM QT tank.

Like everything else in this hobby, TTM requires patience to be successful. 1 or 2 fish at a time. You'll fill up your DT soon enough and get bored with your fish because they live forever.

rockstarta78 · Jan 12, 2016

If you wanted to prophylacticly treat a wrasse and TTM wasn't an option (due to not having a 2nd tank) could you treat them with Prazipro and copper? How would you treat them?

melypr1985 · Jan 12, 2016

rockstarta78 said:
If you wanted to prophylacticly treat a wrasse and TTM wasn't an option (due to not having a 2nd tank) could you treat them with Prazipro and copper? How would you treat them?

I'll still let @Humblefish answer this, but I wanted to say that I'm in exactly this position. My plan is to use chelated copper (coppersafe) for my leopard wrasse as it is more gentle than ionic copper- starting this today. I've already done two rounds of prazi on her and she has sailed through that.

rockstarta78 · Jan 12, 2016

melypr1985 said:
I'll still let @Humblefish answer this, but I wanted to say that I'm in exactly this position. My plan is to use chelated copper (coppersafe) for my leopard wrasse as it is more gentle than ionic copper- starting this today. I've already done two rounds of prazi on her and she has sailed through that.

I'd be interested to know how the treatment went. This might be a dumb question, do you think coppersafe is milder in nature over cupramine?

Humblefish · Jan 12, 2016

melypr1985 said:
I'll still let @Humblefish answer this, but I wanted to say that I'm in exactly this position. My plan is to use chelated copper (coppersafe) for my leopard wrasse as it is more gentle than ionic copper- starting this today. I've already done two rounds of prazi on her and she has sailed through that.

+1 Myself and others have use chelated copper on wrasses without issue. Many have successfully used ionic copper (i.e. Cupramine) as well. The key is to ramp it up slowly over a period of 4-5 days. So, you will need a test kit instead of just following the dosage instructions on the bottle. Monitor the fish closely for signs of copper intolerance. If the fish stops eating for more than a day or two, start doing water changes lowering the Cu level until the fish resumes feeding. Slowly ramp the copper back up to therapeutic levels again. If the fish stops eating a second time, you'll need to find another method.

melypr1985 · Jan 12, 2016

rockstarta78 said:
I'd be interested to know how the treatment went. This might be a dumb question, do you think coppersafe is milder in nature over cupramine?

Yes, chelated copper is (generally) gentler on fish than ionic copper like cuppramine. I've used cuppramine several times and had only one issue with a pygmy angel. This will be my first time using coppersafe so we shall see how it goes.

Jlobes · Jan 12, 2016

TTM is not too complicated, but as mentioned a bit work heavy.
I just finished QT on a borbonius using TTM and prazi, no problems. Amquel helps for the transfers w/o prazi.
One thing with TTM, its best to limit how much food you put in the tank, which will help with the ammonia. Dont get me wrong, you want to FEED the fish, but try not to just dump it in there.

I unplug the airstone and use small pipettes to almost spot feed the borb. He's even coming up to the dropper to feed straight off it!