The DOs and DON’Ts of Quarantine

[saltwater newby]

A 5 gal should be fine for two clowns and two clowns only. Keep a very close eye on the ammonia, however.

Makes sense. Thank you!!!

 

[rockstarta78]

It seems like I may need to do a dose of Coppersafe in my QT. The instructions says 1tsp or 5ml for 4g of water to have 1.5 to 2ppm copper level . I have a 10g QT. My question is, do I put 2.5tsp (or 12.5ml) at one go or do I bring it up slowly? Will this have any adverse effect if I put the recommended dose to start the treatment? I have 2 juvenile clownfish. I am thinking about doing a Prazi and coppersafe treatment together. Any help would be really appreciated.

 

[Humblefish]

It seems like I may need to do a dose of Coppersafe in my QT. The instructions says 1tsp or 5ml for 4g of water to have 1.5 to 2ppm copper level . I have a 10g QT. My question is, do I put 2.5tsp (or 12.5ml) at one go or do I bring it up slowly? Will this have any adverse effect if I put the recommended dose to start the treatment? I have 2 juvenile clownfish. I am thinking about doing a Prazi and coppersafe treatment together. Any help would be really appreciated.

When using Coppersafe, both myself and a LFS I advise have been able to ramp it up to full therapeutic all in one dosage without any noticeable ill effects on the fish. However, I do not understand why you can do this with chelated copper and yet with Cupramine its best to take 4-5 days to get up to therapeutic. Therefore, I advise caution, and to take 2-3 days to get up to therapeutic even with Coppersafe - just to play it safe. The sole exception to this rule is when faced with a fish disease emergency such as velvet.

You can mix Prazipro with Coppersafe; however I reserve that only for emergency situations when a fish has both external parasites and gill flukes. When mixing meds, what works most of the time can still kill some of the time.

 

[rockstarta78]

When using Coppersafe, both myself and a LFS I advise have been able to ramp it up to full therapeutic all in one dosage without any noticeable ill effects on the fish. However, I do not understand why you can do this with chelated copper and yet with Cupramine its best to take 4-5 days to get up to therapeutic. Therefore, I advise caution, and to take 2-3 days to get up to therapeutic even with Coppersafe - just to play it safe. The sole exception to this rule is when faced with a fish disease emergency such as velvet.

You can mix Prazipro with Coppersafe; however I reserve that only for emergency situations when a fish has both external parasites and gill flukes. When mixing meds, what works most of the time can still kill some of the time.

As always thank you @Humblefish. So since these are juvenile clownfish (less than 2 inches) you think they can handle the meds? And as for Prazi I was going to do just one dose only. Do a 10% water change every other day. It took me about 2 months to find a b&w juvenile Darwin. I'd rather not harm it. Men's scare me.

 

[Humblefish]

As always thank you @Humblefish. So since these are juvenile clownfish (less than 2 inches) you think they can handle the meds? And as for Prazi I was going to do just one dose only. Do a 10% water change every other day. It took me about 2 months to find a b&w juvenile Darwin. I'd rather not harm it. Men's scare me.

Being hardy, most clownfish handle copper and other meds just fine. However, unless you are seeing signs of velvet or brook on them, your best bet would be to use TTM to QT: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

You dose Prazipro at the onset of transfers 2 & 4 to deworm, and there is no risk of any chemical interaction with another medication. This protocol is by far the "safest" way to QT.

 

[rockstarta78]

Being hardy, most clownfish handle copper and other meds just fine. However, unless you are seeing signs of velvet or brook on them, your best bet would be to use TTM to QT: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

You dose Prazipro at the onset of transfers 2 & 4 to deworm, and there is no risk of any chemical interaction with another medication. This protocol is by far the "safest" way to QT.

I read your post on TTM. And I really liked it better than the other methods. But sadly I don't have the option to get a 2nd tank to do TTM. Even though that would be a beget option.

 

[Humblefish]

I read your post on TTM. And I really liked it better than the other methods. But sadly I don't have the option to get a 2nd tank to do TTM. Even though that would be a beget option.

If these clownfish are small enough, just use a 5 gal bucket as the 2nd tank. However, you will also need another heater, air stone, etc. Whenever you do TTM, everything must be new or sterile when transferring from tank to tank.

 

[Pagerone]

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.

Ok well I read all this and I don't k ow how long you have been in the hobby but one thing you did not talk about is how copper kills all beifical bacteria so ammonia will spike no matter what ,QT tanks are not easy you will have ammonia spikes so water changes MUST be done every 2 or 3 days depending on the size of the QT tank ,people act like I'll just buy a 10 gallon tank , add water from my display and a sponge filter and that's it no no no copper will kill the Bactria from that sponge you have been letting sit in your sump so sorry I do not agree with what your saying here ,Ammonia will spike even if you have a cycled hospital tank once you put copper gets dosed In the tank

 

[Bob Escher]

Great write up.
You mentioned a diamond goby. What do you do with fish like a sand sifter? Will a piece of PVC be ok for a yellow watchman that likes the rock also?

Have you heard of a product called Hydroplex from a company called http://www.rubyreef.net ?
I've heard good things about it but they do recommending dipping and putting in a QT as well

Why not corals in the same QT?
Thanks a lot and following

 

[Congaken]

Great write up.
You mentioned a diamond goby. What do you do with fish like a sand sifter? Will a piece of PVC be ok for a yellow watchman that likes the rock also?

Have you heard of a product called Hydroplex from a company called http://www.rubyreef.net ?
I've heard good things about it but they do recommending dipping and putting in a QT as well

Why not corals in the same QT?
Thanks a lot and following

I have had 2 ywg's in QT with cupramine...use the little white plumbing tubes...they are not that fussy...as far as corals go...copper will kill corals and all inverts...and as you no doubt read above...you must QT and not a short one either...I just ended up with velvet in my DT...all fish now in copper for (I guess) 6 weeks...the DT needs to lie fallow (no fish) for all of that time to be sure no velvet, ich or other disease organisms are alive...good luck with salt...in reef and salt, you do it right or you see a lot of death and wasted $...also, sounds like your tank is new...take your time, don't over buy fish or corals or anything...takes a while for a new tank to settle in...and do you know about dipping corals?...important...a good book or 2 would help you...(I can recommend)...

 

[Humblefish]

Ok well I read all this and I don't k ow how long you have been in the hobby but one thing you did not talk about is how copper kills all beifical bacteria so ammonia will spike no matter what ,QT tanks are not easy you will have ammonia spikes so water changes MUST be done every 2 or 3 days depending on the size of the QT tank ,people act like I'll just buy a 10 gallon tank , add water from my display and a sponge filter and that's it no no no copper will kill the Bactria from that sponge you have been letting sit in your sump so sorry I do not agree with what your saying here ,Ammonia will spike even if you have a cycled hospital tank once you put copper gets dosed In the tank

First off, almost nothing kills bacteria 100%. Not even chlorine. And while it is true that copper will zap most free floating bacteria; bacteria embedded in QT bio-media suffer only moderate casualties. The surviving bacteria quickly adapt and repropagate their numbers. I know this because I've used copper a few times and never encountered an ammonia spike when using well seeded bio-media in a HOB.

Great write up.
You mentioned a diamond goby. What do you do with fish like a sand sifter? Will a piece of PVC be ok for a yellow watchman that likes the rock also?

Have you heard of a product called Hydroplex from a company called http://www.rubyreef.net ?
I've heard good things about it but they do recommending dipping and putting in a QT as well

Why not corals in the same QT?
Thanks a lot and following

You can use a little sand (in a pyrex bowl) in QT, for gobies and sand burrowing wrasses. Just be sure to test your copper level and add more if absorption occurs.

I've never used Hydroplex, but Ruby Reef Rally contains acriflavine and I've successfully used that chemical (in a bath treatment) to provide temporary relief for brook & velvet.

You don't want to QT corals with fish because they can actually infect one another with external parasites. We'll use ich as an example. When a fish has ich he is carrying the trophont stage of the parasite, which drops off after 3-7 days and encysts as a tomont on any hard surface. The stony parts of an SPS/LPS or a coral plug would qualify as a hard surface. Conversely, a coral carrying tomonts releases theronts (free swimmers) into the water column which seek out fish to infect. Once these latch onto a fish, they become trophonts and the parasite's life cycle begins anew.

 

[Howieumd]

I'm making the switch to CP from Cupramine, but have a few questions on QT process. I have a 240 gallon FOWLR that I've kept for over 10 years and just recently setup a 390 gallon that's starting to get stocked, which will also be heavy on SPS.

I have 2 QT tanks, one is a 50 gallon and the other is 20 gallon. The 50 gallon already has fish in QT and the 20 is setup for a few others showing up before the ones in the 50's QT process completes. They are kept over 10 feet apart. I'd like to keep the 50 gallon always setup for QT, as I plan to make another order soon after the current fish in it go to the 390. If I want to keep the 50 always going, I plan to put a chromis in there that stays to help keep ammonia away. During the QT process, if I run carbon after the CP and Prazi (obviously not during the first 3 weeeks) does it remove the medication over the 2 additional weeks of observation that the carbon is running? I also have Aquatop HOBs that have small UV sterilizer built in (though not sure how effective they are). I also plan to run the UV over the final 2 weeks of observation in conjunction with carbon.

In the past, my QT was setup on demand as I got new fish. However, now that I want to keep a QT tank always going, I'm just wondering how those of you that do so eliminate the CP/copper and Prazi before the next group shows up for QT without having the breakdown and sterilize and refill every time.

Lastly, what's the coral QT process? I didn't realize coral had to be, as I didn't have coral in my 240. Is it just a separate non medicated tank and X amount of weeks for observation? I might have to make the 20 gallon the tank for that, or buy a smaller frag tank setup. Is it as long as a fallow process, to allow any potential ich/velvet to die off that may have come from whoever I bought the coral from?

 

[4FordFamily]

DONT - build a stand that doesn't allow for you to see your sump very well. DONT buy tiny fish that can get sucked in to the sump. DONT leave the tank "fallow" and unwittingly have tiny gobies or fish you can't see in the sump or the rock so that the parasite is not actually starved.

 

[LDH]

Great thank you so much for putting this together! Is there a reason it's not good to drip acclimate into a qt? I've just never heard that before. Thanks again!

 

[Humblefish]

During the QT process, if I run carbon after the CP and Prazi (obviously not during the first 3 weeeks) does it remove the medication over the 2 additional weeks of observation that the carbon is running? I also have Aquatop HOBs that have small UV sterilizer built in (though not sure how effective they are). I also plan to run the UV over the final 2 weeks of observation in conjunction with carbon.

A UV will remove CP in roughly 24 hrs. Carbon (in a reactor) will do the same and also removes Prazipro.

Lastly, what's the coral QT process? I didn't realize coral had to be, as I didn't have coral in my 240. Is it just a separate non medicated tank and X amount of weeks for observation? I might have to make the 20 gallon the tank for that, or buy a smaller frag tank setup. Is it as long as a fallow process, to allow any potential ich/velvet to die off that may have come from whoever I bought the coral from?

Corals/inverts should be isolated for 76 days in a fishless enviroment, in order to "starve out" any encysted parasites they may be carrying. Below is a photo of my 29 gal "fishless" frag tank. I just use cheap T5 lighting, Koralia powerhead, HOB powerfilter/skimmer, heater, rock/sand and a frag rack to get the job done.

 

[DracoKat]

I have a temporary QT, meaning I set it up when I am ready to use it.

I had asked my LFS to order me a fish, and since I don't know how long it'll be before I get it.. a week, two weeks, a month or more.. can i run the QT empty for more than a week? I have seeded sponge ready to use too from my main sump.

 

[Humblefish]

Great thank you so much for putting this together! Is there a reason it's not good to drip acclimate into a qt? I've just never heard that before. Thanks again!

If a fish has been in transit for too long (ordered online for example), then ammonia will begin to buildup in the water 30 mins after opening the bag. So, you must use an ammonia reducer to neutralize this threat. Matching your QT to the bag water's SG allows you to just float & release for temperate acclimation. The bag doesn't get opened until the fish is ready to go in, so ammonia is not a concern.

 

[Humblefish]

I had asked my LFS to order me a fish, and since I don't know how long it'll be before I get it.. a week, two weeks, a month or more.. can i run the QT empty for more than a week? I have seeded sponge ready to use too from my main sump.

Yes, just add the sponge from your DT sump after the new fish go into QT. This ensures the nitrifying bacteria found in the sponge are healthy & ready to do their job.

 

[Howieumd]

A UV will remove CP in roughly 24 hrs. Carbon (in a reactor) will do the same and also removes Prazipro.



Corals/inverts should be isolated for 76 days in a fishless enviroment, in order to "starve out" any encysted parasites they may be carrying. Below is a photo of my 29 gal "fishless" frag tank. I just use cheap T5 lighting, Koralia powerhead, HOB powerfilter/skimmer, heater, rock/sand and a frag rack to get the job done.

Thanks. 76 days is a lot, just the same as a fallow period on main. It makes sense though. One question, it makes sense if it's from say somebody on here that's selling coral frags they just harvested from main tank. What if it's from just an online shop that sells just corals? In that case, there isn't any fish who may have had parasites in their tanks (if they are as they advertise, of course you never know). Would there still be a reason to QT corals in that case?

 

[Humblefish]

Thanks. 76 days is a lot, just the same as a fallow period on main. It makes sense though. One question, it makes sense if it's from say somebody on here that's selling coral frags they just harvested from main tank. What if it's from just an online shop that sells just corals? In that case, there isn't any fish who may have had parasites in their tanks (if they are as they advertise, of course you never know). Would there still be a reason to QT corals in that case?

Most online sources that sell corals still keep a few fish in their grow-out systems for the nutrients. Or their coral tanks are tied into a sump which also services tanks with fish. Or there's also aerosol transmission to be wary of: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/