Question about FISH disease(ich/velvet) in a CORAL quarantine tank

[David Halderman]

Regarding a CORAL ONLY QT tank, that may or may not also have an invert.
In order to be sure any corals that come in wont bring in ICH/Velvet that is on it's bony base or frag plug, I will treat the coral QT process like fallow period, around 70-80 days or something before it goes into the display.

So here is my question..
Let's say I receive coral #1 and I dip it for coral pests, then QT it. Lets say it's been 50 days or something. But then lets say another coral becomes available that wasn't before and I purchase it, dip it and put it in QT. When I put coral #2 in there, does the clock start over for coral #1? In a tank with fish I know it would for obvious reasons. But if I'm understanding the life cycle of these parasites correctly then I think coral #1 doesn't have to start over. Once coral #1's QT is up and it's clean, any parasites in the cyst stage attached to coral #2 cannot pose a threat because if they detach, they can't attach to coral #1, they must attach to a fish, or die. Am I missing anything? Anybody have a different opinion or reason why the clock should start over if I introduce a new coral specimen before the first one's QT is over?
Thank!

 

[fishguy242]

Hi, clock starts over,
couple examples,
nudi eggs
flatworm eggs
better safe than sorry.

 

[David Halderman]

Yeah that's true. But what about for the fish diseases? The reason I want to differentiate is because the parasites cyst stage is so long potentially, that to be safe you need to go the 70-80 days or whatever. For coral QT, after a good dip regime, most recommend only to observe for signs of remaining pests, and that observation is much shorter, i've heard as short as 2 weeks to a month to watch for signs of nudi's or worms or whatever that may have remained.
So you shed some light on something I was overlooking, so lets say I if I add Coral 2, than a coral pest observation period of 30 days must start over for coral 1. But I wouldn't have to start over a fish disease clock of the 70-80 days for coral 1 right?

 

[davidcalgary29]

. But I wouldn't have to start over a fish disease clock of the 70-80 days for coral 1 right?

Possibly not, but many people still recommend a further 45-day period of quarantine -- at least -- to ensure that the parasite cycle is broken. You could, of course, also do a tank transfer method, which would cut the quarantine down to less than two weeks (but would require more equipment).

 

[fishguy242]

in theory correct, corals eat "ick" but let's get some other opinions.
@Lost in the Sauce @vetteguy53081

 

[David Halderman]

Yes yes, the more the merrier!

 

[David Halderman]

Possibly not, but many people still recommend a further 45-day period of quarantine -- at least -- to ensure that the parasite cycle is broken. You could, of course, also do a tank transfer method, which would cut the quarantine down to less than two weeks (but would require more equipment).

You know I haven't ever given the tank transfer method real consideration, I need to go do some research and see if it's a viable option for me

 

[davidcalgary29]

You know I haven't ever given the tank transfer method real consideration, I need to go do some research and see if it's a viable option for me

I think it's worthwhile given the fact that there is some evidence that hydrogen peroxide dips are effective in controlling marine velvet. One of the most popular forms of TTM incorporates peroxide dips into the process. And most coral tolerates H2O2 quite well (in a short-term dip), although apparently SPS does not.

 

[Spare time]

You know I haven't ever given the tank transfer method real consideration, I need to go do some research and see if it's a viable option for me

Tank transfer does not work for velvet (at least I know that is for fish qt)

 

[brandon429]

The answer to post one is found clearly in Jays article about bio security and also secondarily in any post titled “clean up crew killed all my fish” where a bag of 340 mixed snails from reef cleaners brought in velvet and killed someone’s entire display


there must be fifteen searchable threads on the matter, for a mini pattern to see

we can see from the bio security article that anything wet from a fish bearing tank, or a tank with disease components contained, is a direct risk albeit a small one. Post #1 here is a question on clean vs dirty fallow. Dirty fallow is risk taking, but better than no fallow at all.

 

[Tamberav]

Yeah that's true. But what about for the fish diseases? The reason I want to differentiate is because the parasites cyst stage is so long potentially, that to be safe you need to go the 70-80 days or whatever. For coral QT, after a good dip regime, most recommend only to observe for signs of remaining pests, and that observation is much shorter, i've heard as short as 2 weeks to a month to watch for signs of nudi's or worms or whatever that may have remained.
So you shed some light on something I was overlooking, so lets say I if I add Coral 2, than a coral pest observation period of 30 days must start over for coral 1. But I wouldn't have to start over a fish disease clock of the 70-80 days for coral 1 right?

The clock does not start over. Just keep track of which coral has been in how long and rinse throughly to make sure you do not transfer any water.

 

[brandon429]

Fallow periods: Going Fishless

My correspondence with Dr. Colorni (who co-authored the study) can be found here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/marine-ich-and-temperature.232825/page-2#post-3367199 I asked him specifically about the 72 day fallow period. That’s interesting. Thanks for the link. I agree getting those...

www.reef2reef.com

re Humblefish’s input. The matter is one of clean vs dirty fallow, dirty fallow cant be sold as clean fallow as I read it. Still a nice job effort in setting up the prep tank.

 

[David Halderman]

Fallow periods: Going Fishless

My correspondence with Dr. Colorni (who co-authored the study) can be found here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/marine-ich-and-temperature.232825/page-2#post-3367199 I asked him specifically about the 72 day fallow period. That’s interesting. Thanks for the link. I agree getting those...

www.reef2reef.com

re Humblefish’s input. The matter is one of clean vs dirty fallow, dirty fallow cant be sold as clean fallow as I read it. Still a nice job effort in setting up the prep tank.

Thanks! And I guess what I am asking is if, while the tank will always be dirty fallow, a coral within it can be clean. The tank, always having new “dirty corals” introduced, will always be a dirty tank. And this particular QT tank will be a coral one, never to see fish ever. And a tank never having fish should theoretically never have half of the ich cycle. Should never have the part that detached from a fish and attached to an inanimate object. Should only have the part that is already attached to an object, and free swims and dies. So coral 1, having been in the tank 90 days, should have no threats except for free swimmers from newly introduced coral 2. A thorough rinse should prevent that I’m hoping, and have only a minimal risk. This is more of a semi-hypothetical, as I’m going to avoid this scenario as well except for those rare circumstances when I have a bunch of corals that I ordered together are ready to go in, but then that last one I’ve been waiting for forever finally becomes available.

 

[Adirondackgold]

Possibly not, but many people still recommend a further 45-day period of quarantine -- at least -- to ensure that the parasite cycle is broken. You could, of course, also do a tank transfer method, which would cut the quarantine down to less than two weeks (but would require more equipment).

how do you ttm a frag plug? -- on fish stuff falls offbeat plugs if they had eggs?