The DOs and DON’Ts of Quarantine

[Humblefish]

"Marine teleost fish (bony reef fish) readily adjust to a rapid drop in salinity without any apparent ill effects. Place fish directly into a salinity of 12-14ppt."

IMO; that's just insane. I've seen public aquariums drop a fish from 35ppt to 12ppt (full hypo) in about 12 hrs via slow drip. But doing so instantly would likely send most fish into osmotic shock after 5-10 minutes.

 

[linus.chan]

Thanks for the reply- I wanted to make sure before I tried this, and so now I know I won't. even if I do use hypo, I will acclimate it slower, rather than just dropping it in.

 

[linus.chan]

Though with the use of freshwater dips it wasn't out of the range of possibility that a drop in salinity wouldn't hurt.

 

[Humblefish]

Though with the use of freshwater dips it wasn't out of the range of possibility that a drop in salinity wouldn't hurt.

FW dip only lasts 5 mins, not long enough to cause a rapid change in the movement of water across a fish's cells.

 

[Robink]

Very helpful info. Have to come back occasionally, can't remember everything! Thank you @Humblefish .

 

[OceanL0ver]

Just some stuff I thought up. I'll probably add more later. Please list any useful tips you might have in the comments below!

Quarantine DOs and DON’Ts​

The purpose of this article is to offer useful tips and point out common mistakes made during quarantine (QT).

• DO quarantine for a minimum of 4 weeks; longer is always better (in most cases.) DO house your QT at least 10 feet away from any other saltwater tank/vat, to avoid aerosol transmission. DON’T house corals/inverts in your fish QT.

• DO float & release your new fish; DON’T drip acclimate if you can help it. One of the advantages of QT is you can set the specific gravity (SG) to match the bag water. This can usually be determined beforehand by asking the online vendor or local fish shop (LFS) what SG they keep their fish in. Knowing this, you can just float the fish for 20-30 minutes, to slowly bring the temperature of the bag’s water to match that of the receiving tank. Once that is done, open the bag and double check the SG. So long as the SG is within .001 (up or down) of the receiving tank, you can release the fish without further acclimation. If the SG in the bag is lower than the QT, you can quickly lower the SG of a QT by replacing some saltwater with freshwater. If the SG in the bag is much higher than that in the QT, then you are forced to drip acclimate. When doing drip acclimation use an ammonia reducer (ex: Amquel or Prime) if a fish has been in transit for more than a couple of hours.

• DON’T add more fish to the one(s) you already have in QT. You risk introducing a new disease into your QT and having to restart the QT clock. Be patient; add more fish once the current occupants have graduated to the DT.

• DON'T ignore your QT. DO spend at least 10-15 minutes everyday in front of it. In addition to obvious physical symptoms (ex. white dots), observe your fish for key behavioral symptoms of disease such as: Heavy breathing, scratching, flashing, head twitching. Fish with Marine Velvet Disease may never show visible signs, but they will usually swim into the flow of a powerhead and act reclusive (velvet causes fish to be sensitive to light).

• DON’T cram too many fish or house incompatible species in a QT. If you are forced to, then create compartments within the QT by using eggcrate or some other divider. Ideally it’s best to QT just a couple of fish at one time. Speaking of eggcrate, DO use that or some other material to build a secure top for your QT - especially if housing known jumpers. Be aware certain fish (Diamond Goby immediately comes to mind) are capable of jumping or even wiggling their way through eggcrate, so a screen on the bottom of the eggcrate must also be employed to prevent their escape. Crazy, I know.

• DON’T use rock or substrate in a fish QT. These absorb copper and other medications, making it difficult to maintain a stable level. There’s a reason so many go bare bottom and use PVC elbows for hiding places. And even without live rock, you can still have biological filtration in QT to help control ammonia (see below).

• DO utilize biological filtration in QT; DON’T rely solely upon water changes (WC) to keep ammonia under control. We all have busy lives these days, so it’s tempting to put off that WC until tomorrow. In our display tank (DT) this is acceptable, but in a QT it can be fatal. What you need is an insurance policy… Most hang on back (HOB) power filters utilize some sort of biomedia (ex: sponge, bio-balls, ceramic noodles, bio-wheel). All these need to become a working bio filter is to be seeded with some nitrifying bacteria. You can accomplish this one of two ways:

1. Seed your biomedia in a high flow area of your DT’s sump (or behind some rocks) for a minimum of 1 month before QT.
2. Pour one of those “bacteria in a bottle” products (ex: Bio-Spira, Seachem Stability, Dr Tim's Nitrifying Bacteria) over your biomedia just prior to use.

• DON’T use an ammonia reducer, such as Amquel or Prime, in conjunction with copper (ex: Cupramine, Coppersafe). The resulting chemical interaction turns copper toxic. There have also been some anecdotal accounts of fish wipeouts after mixing ammonia reducer with Prazipro, antibiotics, etc.

• DO test for ammonia often (and pH if doing hyposalinity); DON’T worry about nitrates, phosphates, even nitrites in a fish QT. Ammonia is toxic to ALL marine animals, even at low levels. However, most other parameters only affect fish at extremely high levels; unlike with corals/inverts.

• DON’T bother testing for ammonia if copper or certain other medications are present in the water. Copper renders most ammonia test kits useless; you will get nothing but false positives. The workaround is to use a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge, which works even in the presence of medications.

• DON’T raise copper too quickly, especially when treating known copper sensitive species such as angelfish. Take 3-5 days to reach therapeutic levels instead of the usual 24-48 hours recommended on the labels. The sole exception to this rule is when treating for velvet.

• DO provide plenty of gas exchange when using medications, as most will deplete the water of oxygen. This can be accomplished by pointing a powerhead towards the surface of the water or by using an air stone.

• DON’T overdose medications; if in doubt always underdose. With copper, you need to buy a test kit to ensure you are treating within the therapeutic range. The dosage instructions on the bottles are notoriously inaccurate. DON’T mix medications without first checking to see there are no known negative interactions.

• DON’T run UV, ozone, a protein skimmer or carbon while using copper/medications. Be sure any filter pad you are using doesn’t remove medication.

• DON’T cross contaminate! Nothing should ever go from your QT into the DT. Conversely, if you are going fallow in the DT to eradicate some disease… you must take care not to reinfect your QT with that same disease. The above also applies to water change vats.

• DO keep your QT clean even if ammonia is zero. You can use airline tubing to siphon debris off the bottom without wasting too much water. DO replace the appropriate amount of copper when doing water changes (but not for top off water).

• DO feed frequent small meals in QT; DON’T feed nori unless it’s very thin strips. The issue with nori is fish tear it apart, and tiny pieces get all in the water. Newly acquired fish and fish being treated with medications will typically have decreased appetites. Therefore, small feedings 2-3x daily are optimal to reduce uneaten food left on the bottom of the tank.

• DON’T move a fish from QT to DT unless he looks perfectly healthy and is eating well. Whatever doesn’t look right about the fish isn’t going to get any better once he’s in the DT. But DO synchronize the SG/temp of your QT & DT before the fish gets transferred, so you can avoid having to do any acclimation procedure.

While not really a “DO and DON’T”, it is my personal belief that a fish QT should be kept simple. I prefer small QTs that I can quickly break down, sanitize and then re-start as needed. In my experience, newly acquired fish seem to do better in QT if placed in an almost sterile environment using freshly mixed saltwater. And if you ever happen to experience some unknown “Typhoid Mary”-like disease which wipes out your entire QT; you’ll want to completely break down & sterilize that tank before ever using it again.

Humblefish,
I have a sand sifting goby. How will it survive in quarantine with sand to sift?

 

[melypr1985]

Humblefish,
I have a sand sifting goby. How will it survive in quarantine with sand to sift?

You can put a small glass bowl with sand in it into the QT for him. He will be fine with that.

 

[Humblefish]

You can put a small glass bowl with sand in it into the QT for him. He will be fine with that.

+1

 

[holly]

If you use the Tank Transfer Method, that sand needs to be completely replaced with every transfer, right?

 

[Humblefish]

If you use the Tank Transfer Method, that sand needs to be completely replaced with every transfer, right?

Yes, nothing can be reused from the previous tank without being disinfected first. That would require a lot of drying time for sand.

 

[rockstarta78]

I'm in the process of receiving a flame angel. I know dwarf angels don't do well with copper. I have both cupramine and coppersafe, but I'm not going to risk it. My question is, can I use prazipro on flame angel?

Ooh before I forget currently the qt has a pair of bangii cardinal. I haven't added any medication yet. Will it be ok to put prazipro with bangii cardinal and flame angel in the tank?

 

[Humblefish]

My question is, can I use prazipro on flame angel?

Yes, but take care not to overdose.

Ooh before I forget currently the qt has a pair of bangii cardinal. I haven't added any medication yet. Will it be ok to put prazipro with bangii cardinal and flame angel in the tank?

Yes

 

[rockstarta78]

Thank you @Humblefish . I think I will wait few days to make sure it is eating properly before doing Prazi. Some Flame Angels can be finicky eaters.

 

[DSmithZ28]

I think my brain is in overload right now. Lol this information is amazing. I am still fuzzy on couple things:

1) I have a Bristletooth tang and flame angel coming on Tuesday. I have since decided to not use the cupramine I bought and ordered coppersafe and the appropriate API test kit. It seems pretty unanimous that this is better for the more sensitive dwarf angel. I can next day air it for Tuesday or get it on Wednesday regular shipping from amazon. Should I start the medication same day or wait? I can't determine what is better.
2) I bought pazipro also. Should I start with pazipro for 5-7 days then carbon for a few days to then go with coppersafe? How long with carbon before doing the coppersafe? I read that it only is active for 72 hours? So by day 5 I could carbon for how long and then do a water change (20%?) and begin copper?
3) I lowered my SG to 1.024 because the fish should arrive at 1.021 to 1.023 according to the shipper. After I acclimate should I raise the SG or lower it? I do not have fish in my DT yet but thought to keep it at 1.026 which seems to be preferred.
4) what temperature for pazipro and copper? I have it steady at 77.5 to 77.8 right now.
5) how often should I do waterchanges and what percentage. I have an ammonia badge but want to stay in front of ammonia spikes. I have dual sponge filters in a 10 Gallon and have bio spiral added after seeding the sponges in my Dt for a month.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks for the awesome information!

 

[Humblefish]

1) I have a Bristletooth tang and flame angel coming on Tuesday. I have since decided to not use the cupramine I bought and ordered coppersafe and the appropriate API test kit. It seems pretty unanimous that this is better for the more sensitive dwarf angel. I can next day air it for Tuesday or get it on Wednesday regular shipping from amazon. Should I start the medication same day or wait? I can't determine what is better.

I would wait until you see both fish eat before slowly ramping the Cu level up (5-7 days to reach full therapeutic.)

2) I bought pazipro also. Should I start with pazipro for 5-7 days then carbon for a few days to then go with coppersafe? How long with carbon before doing the coppersafe? I read that it only is active for 72 hours? So by day 5 I could carbon for how long and then do a water change (20%?) and begin copper?

Where are the fish coming from? I can usually tell you from that whether to start Prazipro or copper first.

3) I lowered my SG to 1.024 because the fish should arrive at 1.021 to 1.023 according to the shipper. After I acclimate should I raise the SG or lower it? I do not have fish in my DT yet but thought to keep it at 1.026 which seems to be preferred.

Hold steady until you are a week or two away from putting them in the DT. Then slowly raise the SG by topping off with saltwater instead of RODI.

4) what temperature for pazipro and copper? I have it steady at 77.5 to 77.8 right now.

I would lower it to 75-76, so there is more dissolved O2 in the water.

5) how often should I do waterchanges and what percentage. I have an ammonia badge but want to stay in front of ammonia spikes. I have dual sponge filters in a 10 Gallon and have bio spiral added after seeding the sponges in my Dt for a month.

So long as ammonia remains nil, I only do WCs to suck poop/uneaten food off the bottom.

 

[DSmithZ28]

Getting both fish from saltwaterfish.com they had a really nice sale on a whitetail bristletooth I couldn't pass up and then I got the free flame angel deal.

 

[Humblefish]

Getting both fish from saltwaterfish.com they had a really nice sale on a whitetail bristletooth I couldn't pass up and then I got the free flame angel deal.

I think I would treat with copper first. In a pinch, you can mix Prazipro with copper but do provide additional gas exchange when combining the two.

 

[DSmithZ28]

W

I think I would treat with copper first. In a pinch, you can mix Prazipro with copper but do provide additional gas exchange when combining the two.

what does in a pinch mean? If I observe flukes or worms? If I dose copper for 4 weeks and I detect nothing should I skip the Prazipro?

 

[Humblefish]

what does in a pinch mean? If I observe flukes or worms? If I dose copper for 4 weeks and I detect nothing should I skip the Prazipro?

If you are already treating with copper and suspect the fish might also have flukes, then I would use Prazipro in conjunction with copper.

I (personally) always deworm using prazi whether I see symptoms of worms or not. Either before or after copper.

 

[Paul B]

Humble, what would happen if I put Prizapro on my blackworms?