Hospital tank questions

[JoshG]

I currently have a 125G and am upgrading to a 260G soon. My tangs for sure have ich and I want to treat them accordingly so the new tank starts clean. I have a 60G long, will this work to house all my fish while I treat them with cupramine? My fish list is

1 Purple tang
1 Naso tang
1 Scopas tang
1 Lamarck's angelfish
2 Clownfish
3 Dispar anthias
6 Chromis
1 Algae blenny

Thanks for the help!

 

[Robzilla]

I would say the 60 is too small for that many tangs plus an angel. Its better than what most people have for a hospital...but still tiny for all of them.

 

[Skyreefer]

I think the 60 long will work for a temporary hospital tank. Read up on curing ich first (leebca posted a great read here somewhere.) Many marine fish are sensitive to copper and I have killed a clownfish in the past from using it. After a few good reads I found out that angelfish and clownfish don't tolerate copper very well.

 

[JoshG]

I think the 60 long will work for a temporary hospital tank. Read up on curing ich first (leebca posted a great read here somewhere.) Many marine fish are sensitive to copper and I have killed a clownfish in the past from using it. After a few good reads I found out that angelfish and clownfish don't tolerate copper very well.

Thanks, I plan to follow the treatment exactly as he has laid it out. I just really don't want to have to run two tanks.

 

[cheeks69]

Yes the 60 will be fine short term IMHO just keep an eye out for aggression between the Tangs and have a plan in place if they decide this isn't going to work and refuse to share their space.

 

[Orcrone]

Is it possible to move the rock, sand and inverts to the 260 leaving only the fish in the 125 and use that as the hospital tank?

 

[leebca]

Orcone has the best idea. If that's not an option, then use the tank you have AND be prepared with dividers should 'monkey fights' break out.

 

[JoshG]

Well I got them all together, so far so good. Put them in the tank on 3/24 and started Cupramine treatment on the 26th.

All the fish seem fine except for my purple tang. He is eating but just moving very sluggish and not active at all. Nothing physically seems wrong, guess I will have to keep an eye on him.

 

[JoshG]

Just going to start a little log on water treatment.

I'm guessing 48G total water volume, the tank ended up being smaller then the 60G I originally thought.

3/26 4.5mL Cupramine
3/28 15G waterchange
3/28 6mL Cupramine

 

[JoshG]

Well my Purple Tang is showing the first signs of HLLE Water checks out good, copper is at .5, feeding the same as before so I'm not sure what would have caused it.

For food I am feeding homemade frozen mixture of seafood, mysis, spirulina flakes, dried sheets of seaweed, Spectrum Thera-A pellets and Formula Two pellets. 5 days of treatment left.

 

[leebca]

Assuming you are using a good copper test kit, let the copper go down to 0.3 ppm. Copper is stressful to marine fishes. What kind of copper medication are you using?

 

[JoshG]

Assuming you are using a good copper test kit, let the copper go down to 0.3 ppm. Copper is stressful to marine fishes. What kind of copper medication are you using?

Im using cupramine and a salifert test kit that expires next year. I'll drop it down some, will I need to extend it past the 14 days now?

 

[leebca]

No need to extend the treatment. The copper is effective down to .3. It's that some fish are expecially bothered by it.

Try to add more supplements (vitamins and fats) to the feedings and even attempt to get some immune boosters into the fish. http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/67943-fish-immune-boosters.html

Vitamin and fat supplement info is provided here: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...eeding-marine-fish-marine-fish-nutrition.html

Also, just check this out, in case you haven't read it; http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...41782-how-feed-macro-alage-marine-fishes.html