Well I have killed my first two fish since getting into the hobby, both new from Reef Splash. My pretty little Starki Damsel and a Neon Goby are no longer with us. I didn't do the best job with them in QT this time and they paid the price. Kind of bummed. I really liked the Starki Damsel and will probably ask Paradise to get another one in for me once the two remaining fish are out of QT. Hope everyone else is having better luck with their new buddies. James
They all got ich and the Starki also got some body slime and cloudy eye. I tried treating with the Instant Ocean Lifeguard product and copper. I will test for ammonia tonight to see how guilty I should feel. I didn't give my filter long enough to get ready with a bacteria bed to break down their waste. I was doing small water changes and not often enough. Just had a busy couple of weeks and I did not do my best with QT. I am assuming that is what got the problems rolling.
This post will definitly lead to contraversy! I have not quarteened any of my fish for the last four years. In the begining I would quaranteen livestock but 75% of the fish would die! So I said the heck with a q tank. Knock on wood none of my fish ever developed ick! My theory is that the fish do better in a stable enviroment ala reef tank as oposed to a Q tank, better habitat and water quality. Just don't purchase sickly fish is the key. Just my personal observations.
Everyone has their own opinion on that one for sure. I am a fan of QT, I just executed poorly this time.
James, what kind of filter do you have on the QT? How many gallons is the tank? I was lucky and had my 46g empty of fish and put my clowns right in. They were a little stressed for a few hours but now the tank is theirs. I'm not sure the anemone is going to make it. It's mostly bleached out and keeps 95% of itself in the shade not appreciating the $400 light system at all. It's eaten only once (a small silverside) that I've observed but maybe the clowns are giving it something. It was advertised as being brown (which is healthy) but was more of a light cream color (which isn't healthy).
It is a 10 gallon with a hang on filter. Like I said I will test my water for ammonia when I get home to see if the water was toxic. It might be fine but I still didn't do QT right this time around. My light was really dim on the QT too so I couldn't see the ich and slime right away. I was just kind of running on auto pilot since I had done so well up till now. Normally I let the hang on run on my real system for at least a week to let the bacteria get going, two weeks is even better. Then move it to the QT. I let it run for about a day this time. Hope your anemone pulls through.
I read that we should keep a biowheel or sponge filter in the main tank sump to use in QT or hospital tanks on short notice. Does anyone actually do this?
I have bio wheels in my sump, but that is because I am just that lazy. They were originally put there when the hang on filter was removed and the sump installed. Yeah over a year Anyhow, I guess I could use them on a QT, but here is how my QT runs. I have a hang on filter that runs continuously. I have some snails and live rock in there. I normally have a cleaner shrimp in there to tackle any parasites, but otherwise they just keep the bacteria crankin' If you keep extra live rock in your sump you could always toss in some of that to keep the ammonia down. When you are done just rinse well with the water hose outside and let it bake in the sun for a few weeks and toss it back in the sump for next time. Another idea (possibly better idea when dealing with dragonets) would be to run your QT as part of the same system with rock or lots of PVC pipe sections (this is good because you can bleach them when done and they can be surface area for bacteria and hidey holes) and when you get your new fish home just cut the QT off from the main system and let it run on it's own. When you are almost finished with quarantine start doing water changes not from fresh SW but with water from your main system. By the time you finish your quarantine the water in that tank matches your main system and all you do is net the fish and let them go in the main system. Piece O Cake! 8)
I was like suba dob for a long time, but I just do not think that not quarantining your fish is a good idea. Like James said, it was not that he used a QT but that it was his lack of attention that caused the problem. It took me about several months to get the hang of how to use the QT and what to expect in the way of water changes. I too, lost several fish in my QT because of my lack of understanding, but with the help of Blake and Norman I am on the right track. All of my fish from Reef Splash were QT'ed for two weeks with dailiy 40% water changes. The second week I began changing the water with the main tank water which had the added benefit of a partial water change of the main tank every time I changed QT tank water. After two weeks, I put them in the main tank only to have the Harlequin develop ich from the stress and back in the QT he went. If I didn't have the tank I would not have had a place to seperate him for treatment. I gave him a fresh water dip and he is much happier not having to compete in the main tank. I posted a thread on my observation on the Harlequin on the Fish Forum. The Harlequin will be staying in the QT for some time now, if not indefinitly. There are way to meany reason to have a QT that benefit your success and understanding of the hobby to chuck that out the window based on the fact that you feel you fish have been two stessed in shipping. I think that you are adding to there stress by making them compete for food and territory with other tank mates, not to mention the new water conditions. This perhaps is the contraversy that Scuba Dog is refereing to - who is a good friend by the way.
