New fish QT procedure

[Pat24601]

As I’ve mentioned before, I keep a fully cycled tank up and running for the purpose of using as a QT tank.

Until recently, my QT process was really more of an “observation” tank than anything else, In other words, I put a new fish in there and if it doesn’t grow an extra head or something, I put it in my DT. There is more to this story, but that’s the short version.

I realize that some people pro-actively treat all incoming fish regardless of if they are showing signs of disease. Specifically, they treat with copper and prazipro.

I had been reluctant to treat with copper pro-actively without seeing any signs of disease in part because I hated copper test kits and I didn’t trust my ability to do it well as a result. However, now that I discovered the CHEMetrics test kit, I’m way more comfortable with copper treatment.

That said, there are a lot of folks that seem to think that copper does damage to the fish’s internal organs. So, treating it pro-actively has a downside.

Prazipro seems pretty harmless, so I don’t think it’s bad just to throw it in there.

What are opinions of folks here? Pro-actively treat with copper to avoid an Ich surprise or just monitor and see? Keep in mind I don’t think I have a great “eye” for fish diseases. So, I think it’s entirely possible a fish could get sick and I wouldn’t notice. Does that change the equation?

I realize there is no “right” answer, but I value you folks opinion.

 

[DaveK]

I have mixed feelings about you method of quarantining fish using an established tank that is fully cycled. On one had you should have a much better environment for any new fish, so they are less likely to get diseases. On the other hand, because it's an established tank, you can have all sorts of issues if you must medicate. Most meds wipe out most of your biological filtration.Copper will be absorbed by live rock and live sand, and can easily be leached back into solution, usually depending upon pH.

I think what would make me select one way or the other would be to consider the source and type of fish. Many popular fish like clowns are so mass produced and tend to be diseased that your likely top be better off putting them in a traditional quarantine tank and treating them right off. Other fish that are usually in good shape would do better in a fully cycled tank as it's less stress.

Here is a thread by @leebca about de-worming new fish, especially wild caught ones - http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/...-marine-fish-be-a-super-pooper-snooper.37765/ You may be interested in it.

My usual choice would be not to medicate unless I saw a specific disease. However, many do proactively treat for common diseases during quarantine. This includes most public aquariums.

 

[Uncle99]

My vote would go with the wait and watch approach. While we may not see the disease, unusual behavior, like panting, rubbing, lethargic, no eating, swimming problems all indicate something wrong. Not all diseases are treated the same so diagnosis or even ruling out what it's not help moving forward. I must admit it has been rare to have purchased a sick fish as I wait a week after I see, then I buy, so just treating for sake of it seems I waste IMO...

 

[Pat24601]

Thanks @DaveK and @Uncle99 !!!

Very detailed feedback!

As I mentioned, your bias of not treating unless I saw a disease was my original bias, but I’ve heard a lot of people pro-actively treat just in case. So, I was looking for opinions.

DaveK, I get where you are coming from. I actually have a second tank exactly like my QT available in case I want to medicate in a way that I don’t want the live rock in there.

Although, right now I’m trying an experiment. I bought a Flame Angel a LFS told me had lymph. I can’t really tell the difference between Ich and Lymph, which is kinda why I ended up with a raccoon with Ich when I thought it had lymph (I think).

Anyway, I put the flame angel in the QT and decided to treat with cupramine with the live rock in the tank. This wasn’t my original plan, but I read posts from Seachem implying they think rock absorption of cupramine is less of an issue.

So, I’m trying it to see what happens.

If I don’t like the results, it’s no problem to take out the live rock and reset the tank.

 

[DaveK]

Lymphocystis usually looks like a small cauliflower growth, and tends to be larger than SW ich which tends to be round and small. Here is a link to some picts of lymphocystis - http://wetwebmedia.com/viraldislymph.htm Once you see it for real you'll never mistake the two.

Here is a post by @leebca on the subject - http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/lymphocystis-info-and-cure.69537/

If the disease is on the fins only, it's not too difficult to remove. On the body is a whole different problem.

In this specific case, I think using a fully cycled quarantine tank and feeding healthy foods is the best way to go. See also the @Paul B posts on white worms and their farming.

 

[Pat24601]

Thanks again!

So, this is way off the topic of this thread, but whatever. That’s human conversation for you.

The short version of the story is that I bought an Auriga and a Racoon butterfly at roughly the same time. I thought they both had lymph and that was the advice I was given. So, I was trying to feed well in a cycled tank, but not otherwise treating.

Looking at pictures from roughly when they were added, I’m now pretty sure the Auriga had Ich. They were both in the same tank at the store.

I’m less sure the racoon did. I’m not sure it’s visible, but this is a picture from when I added him. I think you can clearly see a big white spot on his front fin and maybe small white spots on other fins. As a side note, he later developed many small white spots all over and I then started Ich treatment, which appears to have been successful. I see no white spots anywhere on him and he is in an observation tank. A different one than I discussed in this thread. I’m not fessing up to how many tanks I have.

Anyway, the question is, can you tell if this large white spot on his fin is Ich or Lymph from this picture? This is from when he was added, obviously. Not now. Maybe the pic is too small to tell?

I’m really not sure if the racoon caught Ich from the Auriga or if it had it to begin with. Doesn’t matter now, but trying to learn.

Thanks!

 

[Pat24601]

BTW, Racoon is now happy in my “observation tank” (I hope). He actually looked pretty bad until I did TTM.