Cali Kid Corals

QT list and meds to get!

Vhuang168

Vhuang168

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So I've been reading up and what my 1st steps should be and have a fairly good idea. But all the horror stories about pests have made me a little paranoid about introducing coral/fish into a new tank.

So, on a QT, will a simple all in one setup work? Like something with a built in filter? I'm assuming it has to cycle like the DT before adding anything live to it?

The plan is to start cycling the QT, then a few weeks after that, start the DT and cycle that. Once the QT is done cycling, I can start QTing my 1st fish (a clown probably). So that would mean the clown should be in the QT for a few weeks before the DT gets done cycling and when the DT is ready, the clown should be ready for it. I'm assuming I don't have to QT the clean up crew I'll be introducing right before the clown?

Do I have to toss the QT water and totally clean the filter before QTing another fish/coral?
Or will the dips/meds kill off any parasites/pests that hitched a ride?
A reg 10%-20% WC twice a week should be enough for the QT?
Will the filters (I'm assuming I'd use something like chemipure or just carbon and bioballs?) absorb all the meds that the coral/fish will transfer after the dips?

Now on to meds. What is a good list for sps/lps/softies and fish to have on hand and is there an order to do dips in?

Revive, Coral RX and what else? Do I just pick one or do both!?!
For fish, Rid-ich? What else?

Any need for a UV treatment? I'm thinking that will kill off any beneficial bacteria in the water but I'll be do WC regularly so that may not be a problem?

Also, can I put in a new coral/fish right after I pull the clown out or should I rest the tank and let it cycle a little before introducing a new one?

Soooo many questions!!!
Vincent
 
I'm going to tackle fish diseases with my first post. So check back cuz I'll edit.

For me, my biggest concern when introducing new fish is Ich aka Cryptocaryon irritans. This is a common aquarium parasite that involves white spots appearing all over the fish, causing the fish to scrape its body against the sand/rock.

There are two schools of thoughts. Some people think ich is everywhere and you'll never get rid of it. And that it only shows up when the fish is unhealthy or water quality is bad.

There are also the people who think that ich can be prevented in an aquarium. This is what I believe. I'm trying to find you the Ich thread on Reefcentral but their website is down. I use the "tank transfer method" for de-iching a fish. Essentially you're exploiting the life cycle of ich to the point where ich is not allowed to reattach onto the fish.

Here are some good sources for Marine Ich.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992196
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2159738


I don't quarantine corals. I really really wish I had a quarantine tank for corals but I don't have the room or time to maintain a coral quarantine tank.

For dipping corals, the most common dips are

Revive (I use this, harsh on SPS corals but very cheap)
Coral RX
Lugol's Iodine
Not a dedicated coral dip but some people use Bayers.

These have different dipping times and concentrations. Reading bottle directions is advised.
 
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IMO, the best solution is to have a separate fish QT and a invert/coral QT. You usually only need to heave one running at a time. You can use microbacter7 or Dr. Tim's to reduce the need for cycling or you can keep clean filter sponges for your QT's in your main tank.

Every single fish that I've purchased from a LFS has gotten ich or brook, so I decided it was better to just treat all fish. I use chloroquine phosphate for a few weeks and then a tank transfer.

Many LFS's choose to keep inverts with fish in common tanks. This means that snails and frags can likely infect your tank with ich. These inverts should be quarantined in an invert tank for 6 weeks min. (without meds) to insure you don't tranfer ich to your tank.
 
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Definitely not the standard but I'll throw in my QT experience/practice on incoming fish only (different from treating a fish taken out of DT).

For 3 years this is my routine;
-10G QT w/ filtration, light, heater and water comes from my DT after water changes.
-fish in QT only get pellets as long as they eat them
-30 days minimum observation
-no meds of any kind
-acclimate then move to a clear container inside DT for a day or so
-set new fish free in DT

I don't keep my QT running all the time, if I have no incoming fish it sits dry on a shelf, I do keep a piece of floss in my sump and as mentioned earlier 100% of my QT water comes from DT. When I need to fire up the QT I do a water change on DT and use the water to fill QT, then I take the floss & shove it in my HOB filter and fish go in right away, I have never measured an ammonia spike.

If you treat a fish in QT w/ any type of med you certainly should clean & start over with the new fish, this is kind of why I have taken the no-med approach because if all goes well and there are no observable issues the floss goes back in my sump and QT gets a quick rinse after I empty it out.

No experience treating fish that get sick in DT because (knocking on wood) it hasn't happened which is why I've stuck to my minimalist QT routine.

I don't QT corals, just high dose of Bayer or Iodine and dip.
I don't QT inverts.
My mandarin went straight into DT after acclimation.
My Yellow Coris Wrasse only spent a week in QT.
 
This could get confusing. Seems like there are as many methods as fish keepers!

This is what I do...
For fish, I have a 10g QT/HT. Heater, any light or none, HOB filter. I use AquaClear just because they are cheap. When I'm ready to set up the QT I move one seeded sponge from a healthy tank to the QT, add water and heater. No carbon or sikmmer. I try to match the SG of the QT to the bag water. This way there is no need to drip acclimate the new fish.

Float fish for temp then in it goes with as little bag water as possible. As soon as it is eating well, I treat with chloroquine phosphate. It gets ich and velvet and maybe brook. My reasoning for treating - ich can live in the gills, velvet and brook kill fast. This way I'm on top of hidden or quick killers. There is some evidence CP is not good for wrasses. At this point I don't have any. I would do tank transfer for wrasses. You only need two 5g buckets and a couple of heaters for this.

After CP treatment I do a big WC. Then I treat with PraziPro to take care of internal parasites. Some folks treat twice w/ PP.

After PP treatment period, I usually observe in QT for 2-4 weeks. This depends a lot on the condition of the fish. I look at QT as not only a disease treatment/prevention method but a 'spa day' for the stressed newcomer. It gives them a competition free space to relax, eat and gain strength.

The meds I use do not kill the bio filter so the tank stays cycled. If I ever got larger fish, I'd bump up the tank size as needed. When QT is finished I do several WC with DT water, match temp and move the fish. The QT is then bleached. Nothing from the QT goes back to any healthy tank without bleaching. I usually just toss the filter sponge. They are only a buck or so and don't take well to bleach.

For inverts, I admit, I'm lazy. I let them acclimate quite a while. I make sure they have had a complete water change. I swish water around them hoping for a 'flush it off' removal of bad things. So far, so good!

Gotta go now, I'll post about corals later...
 
Vhuang168 said:
Anxiously waiting on coral qt procedures!
Click to expand...


:oops:

I'm a lot more confident with fish so the following is my guesses.

Dip, observe, dip, observe. Do this in a clean tank. How long to QT is a big unknown. If you are worried about bringing Ich in along with corals, they would have to be in a fishless QT for 8 weeks.

To kill coral parasite eggs, which dips miss, you'd have to repeat dips to get 'hatchlings'. Depending on what pest, there might be different intervals between dips.

Revive or CoralRx seem to work on most pests. The exception is red bugs (acros) and lots of people use Bayer insecticide for that.

It would be great if this thread could continue a discussion of QT practices our members use and the results from those practices.
 
As for Coral Quarantine,

Dip, inspect, remove nasty pests, re-think about whether or not you want to keep the coral. Is it worth it if the coral is covered in Bryopsis? The decision is up to you.

To keep a coral quarantine tank. It is essentially another reef tank. You need it to be cycled, with the appropriate water quality levels (calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, etc) with the right lights to keep it alive.

This is why I don't have a coral quarantine tank. This is why most people don't have a coral quarantine tank. It's essentially having another smaller version of your main tank. But it's really helpful if you want to prevent pest outbreaks.
 
Yup Dip, inspect, back in the QT, observe, dip every few days to zap the lifecycle out of any eggs that may have hatched, I think about a week and you should be in the clear... I'd have to check up on how long it takes eggs to hatch of various things though.

Yeah the light is a pain, but try to find an old power compact bulb or something, ideally you'd like it shallow, little circulation pump. I like a frag rack in mine simply so there's a separation between where the pump blowing directly and the corals, keep a sponge filter in the sump of your main tank, and periodically swapping out so it doesn't get encrusted in crap, but when you're ready to set up your coral QT, take some tank water to fill it up, toss in the sponge and you're good to go. Great thing abou the coral QT is if you want you can keep it empty, turn off heaters, lights, pretty much everything (pull out that sponge) put up dark sides so you don't get an algae growth, and perhaps cover it to keep evaporation down, and simply wait until you need it again. That said if you have limited space, then it becomes a bit more problematic,because a simple dip (even a strong one) usually won't affect any eggs of pests that are on your coral.
 
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