dshel1217 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Im finally getting smart and going to setup a QT before I put any more livestock in my tank. And yes I did bring ick into my tank via a naso tank. So what are the basic requirments for a QT. I have done some research and I know not to put in any sand or live rock. Any experence with this would be great including size of tank. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 You will probably get all kinds of advice on this one. Personally I do put LR and sand in my QT tank, along with some 3" pvc fittings and pipe for them to hide. I use a cheap hang on skimmer, a filter sponge (the kind that works with air), 2 airstones, and a heater. Lots of air is very important!!! If you QT a wrasse you really need to have some sand for it to bury itself. I use a 55 gallon that is setup and running constantly and I will always have some dither fish in it. Dither fish are fish that are calm, stay out in the open, and eat well. These will coax out the new fish and they will show the new fish when its time to eat. I very seldom ever have to treat fish in the QT tank but if I did need to treat a fish instead of treating the tank I would usually take the fish out and put in a 10 gallon tank for a bath, whether it be freshwater dip or antibiotics. I don't bother with lights and a lot of the time with new fish I keep the tank partially covered with towels. I also have a 40 gallon tank that I use for QT too but its not setup with sand or LR usually. This tank I temporarily setup when I don't want to mix certian livestock in close quarters. This tank the water must be changed out every 3-4 days since it doesn't have any biological filtration besides the filter sponge. You can setup a QT to use temporarily instead. Keep a filter sponge in your sump until the new fish arrive, it will be seeded with bacteria. Do a water change on your DT and use the water to fill your QT. Drop in your "seeded" sponge filter, plenty of air stones, a heater, and a hang on skimmer if you got it. Check the nitrates at least every other day and change the water when it gets up around 20-30 ppm, I always use DT water and put the new saltwater in my DT. Cover the tank for at least 24 hrs and then only remove part of it. I always like to keep a towel over the top of the tank, IMO the fish feel safer with it on there even if the sides aren't covered. I usually don't try to feed for 1-2 days and then only small amounts at first....unless they gobble it down. To much uneaten food will foul up your water quick. One more trick is to put either shrimp, hermit crabs, snails, or some emerald crabs in there with them to help with the uneaten food. Here is the best scenario....if you are buying fish from divers den I wouldn't even worry about QT. http://www.liveaquar...ral_pagesid=425 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaarrrggg Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Thanks so much of the info! I've read a lot of threads on QT tanks, but never anything this in depth and useful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Hydro's right you'll definitely get different opinions on this one. I like using live rock and sand also and do 20 to 50% water changes with water from a display tank and don't bother with a skimmer. If you do have to medicate you'll want to remove the live rock but I prefer to use a properly sized UV. The reason I use live rock even though it's technically not needed is to help provide a more complete and natural ecosystem. Since I keep my QT going all the time I like to keep a couple of small Yellow Tail Damsels in them as dither fish along with some hermits and definitely do a full month isolation no matter how good a fish looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I typically use PVC and a sponge filter, heater and no sand, rock, lighting, or skimmer. Sponge is pre-seeded in the main tank. QT can be setup in as long as it takes to fill it from the main tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 I was thinking about using a 20 gal tank for my QT.what do you think about using that size tank and effects it would have on larger fish ie tangs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I was thinking about using a 20 gal tank for my QT.what do you think about using that size tank and effects it would have on larger fish ie tangs. Depends a lot on the disposition of the fish. I've found Regal Tangs are so scittish when small even in a 60 or 100 gal. they need dither fish that are used to the QT to feel comfortable and eat. For the four to six weeks to QT a fish I wouldn't typically have a problem using a 20 gal for most 4" - 6" fish just make sure there are several hiding places not just one or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 What would be considered a good "dither" fish. What charactists are you looking for when picking out a dither fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 In a 20 or 30 gal I use either Yellow Tail Damsels, Chrysiptera parasema or generic Ocellarus/Percula Clowns. I want fish that are out actively swimming around looking for food which tells shy or stressed fish that there are not any predators around and it's safe for them to come out. I also want fish that are not going to get very territorial. The Ocellarus/Percula Clowns usually aren't very aggressive until the female starts laying eggs so they could be used for a long time. The Yellow Tail Damsels are smaller than most other damsels and (usually) don't get very aggressive until they grow and even then if you have 3 or 4 typically keep it among themselves so they may work for quite a while before you may have to move them to a display tank and get some new ones. I think Chromis are bad choices, I really feel they are a fish that should only be kept in schools in large tanks. Most other damsels get big enough fast enough they only work for a few months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 +1 for Timfish post. I especially like the Blue Yellowtail Damsel for its brilliant colors and low price tag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaarrrggg Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hydro's right you'll definitely get different opinions on this one. I like using live rock and sand also and do 20 to 50% water changes with water from a display tank and don't bother with a skimmer. If you do have to medicate you'll want to remove the live rock but I prefer to use a properly sized UV. The reason I use live rock even though it's technically not needed is to help provide a more complete and natural ecosystem. This thread is awesome! Some questions... How often are your 20-50% WCs? Oh also... if the fish do need treatment is it ok to leave the sand in? Do you put the LR back in afterwards or is it discarded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I do 80% water changes around once a week, depends on the size of the tank and the size of the fish in the QT though. Basically the right answer is to watch your parameters, don't get lazy about checking the levels. 80% is a lot but I'm changing it with conditioned DT water, I wouldn't do that with fresh saltwater. Here is a pic of my QT, nice cave on the end for them to hide in. I keep a piece of glass on top for any jumpers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Reiterating what Hydro said what's important is to keep a close eye on parameters and fish (and corals, whatever is being quarantined). There's no magic number for the water changes but bigger and more frequent is better (I would consider 20% a week a bare minimum) and I would definitely use conditioned water from a display tank. If I medicate I'll put the live rock in a bucket with an airline for the week or two medication is in the tank and put it back in after the medication is removed. I personally won't put it back in the display tank but if you wanted to do so I error on the side of caution and leave it in the QT without fish for several of weeks. (You could argue if the fish is ready for the display tank the rock should be fine too but the rock is so cheap compared the the value [and value added in terms of labor and growth] of the animals in your display tank it's cheap insurance to leave it for a while or toss it.) As far as the live sand if you have a filter that has plenty of biological filtration you can take it out but I would leave it in. I can't really quantify this opinion so you can mark it off as the ramblings of someone with OCD but I feel tanks do better with sand and would leave it in and would use setting up a QT as an excuse to buy more live sand for my display tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Just so I get this right and so others learn from this topic, the items needed for a QT are. Items in red are optional depending on what the QT tank is going to be used for and personal preference. Tank ~20+ gal. Some fish much larger fish would reqiure a larger tank but since the time in the QT is limited a 20 gal and up should be fine. Cover Heater Sponge filter ~ seed sponge in main tank Light ~ Not actually needed if natural light can be used. Dither fish ~ Helps reduce stress of QT'ed fish Hiding Places\ Air pump with airstones attached Protein Skimmer Sand ~ some QT'ed fish reqire sand Live Rock PVC hiding places Small clean up crew *** let me know if anyone has some thing to add, change, or delete**** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 In a 20 or 30 gal I use either Yellow Tail Damsels, Chrysiptera parasema or generic Ocellarus/Percula Clowns. I want fish that are out actively swimming around looking for food which tells shy or stressed fish that there are not any predators around and it's safe for them to come out. I also want fish that are not going to get very territorial. The Ocellarus/Percula Clowns usually aren't very aggressive until the female starts laying eggs so they could be used for a long time. The Yellow Tail Damsels are smaller than most other damsels and (usually) don't get very aggressive until they grow and even then if you have 3 or 4 typically keep it among themselves so they may work for quite a while before you may have to move them to a display tank and get some new ones. I think Chromis are bad choices, I really feel they are a fish that should only be kept in schools in large tanks. Most other damsels get big enough fast enough they only work for a few months. I want to qualify a couple of my comments here. Refering to putting the live rock back in the display tank if it's been treated with copper or a formalin medication I would definitely toss it after quarantine. Any benefecial sponges and stuff would have been killed off and I don't know how much medication would have been absorbed by the rock but it's something I'm going to toss or soak in fresh water and leave in the sun a long time before I reuse it. The same with any sand treated the same way. This is why some people don't advocate it's use since you're throwing away something beneficial that costs money. I see it as a worthwhile investment establishing a more favorable environment for the fish and also for inverts and corals. Regarding the dither fish it depends on what's being quarantined also. If you're doing a bunch of damsels it's superfluous or if you're doing a group of different fish it would not be as much an issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 One other thing that I would suggest is to have medications ready to go, don't wait for there to be a problem. I try and follow Liveaquarias procedure which is..... Disease Prevention Fish, such as clownfish, prone to common parasitic ailments like Brooklynella hostilis, are given repeated freshwater baths that contain anti-parasite medication. Clownfish are quarantined for a minimum of four weeks at our facility before we offer them for sale. Other fish such as Angelfish, tangs, certain genus of wrasse, and several other specific species are given therapeutic saltwater baths. These baths contain praziquantel or other medications that eliminate flukes, protozoan, and parasites commonly found on wild fish. To combat common bacterial infections such as Vibrio, therapeutic baths containing antibiotics such as kanamycin, nitrofurazone, Neomycin and other commercial antibiotics are given. Open wounds on fish are treated and healed with a special topical treatment. In addition to the baths, all quarantined fish are treated with copper sulfate and a 37% formaldehyde solution to combat Amyloodinium ocellatum and Cryptocaryon irritans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Here is some more info that I found....... For all of us who keep marine fish as pets, we should be prepared to be able to treat for any diseases and parasites that may be encountered. Finding out that your pet has a problem and having to wait for a store to open or a shipment to arrive can frequently cause the death of the fish. Many pathogens are very quick acting and do not allow us to wait. As such, here is a basic first aid kit that we should all keep on hand and of course, stored safely just as you would any medication or hazardous chemical. - A quarantine tank and all associated equipment standing by for immediate set up and use. - Assorted measuring devices such as old unused, marked test kit vials, plastic syringes. - A refractometer to accurately test the salinity since the use of hypo salinity is of great use to us. - Dipping containers / bowls. - Copper test kits. An assortment of medications to include but not limited to : - Formalin 3 - Treats and cures a wide variety of bacterial, fungal and parasitic problems, for some parasites, such as brooklynella, this is the only effective treatment. - Cupramine - a copper based product useful against marine ich and marine velvet. - Maracyn 2 - an anti-bacterial product. - Malachite green - effective anti fungal product. - Methylene blue - useful with freshwater dips. - Neomycin - anti bacterial. - Pipezine - dewormer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaarrrggg Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Can anyone recommend a good QT filter? I bought a cheap HOB one, but the pouring water noise is really annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I don't use them, I use a seeded sponge filter instead. Just needs to be cleaned out using saltwater, not freshwater, every few days to a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Just so I get this right and so others learn from this topic, the items needed for a QT are. Items in red are optional depending on what the QT tank is going to be used for and personal preference. Tank ~20+ gal. Some fish much larger fish would reqiure a larger tank but since the time in the QT is limited a 20 gal and up should be fine. Cover Heater Sponge filter ~ seed sponge in main tank Light ~ Not actually needed if natural light can be used. Dither fish ~ Helps reduce stress of QT'ed fish Hiding Places Protein Skimmer Sand ~ some QT'ed fish reqire sand Live Rock PVC hiding places Small clean up crew *** let me know if anyone has some thing to add, change, or delete**** You forgot air pump with airstones, this is critical to keep the stress level down and the ph up. Especially if the fish have ich since the parasite makes it harder for their gills to absorb oxygen. Also some medications will do the same thing. For this reason I keep the water level a 4-5 inches lower since the bubbles from the airstones make a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaarrrggg Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Question... would chaeto be a good addition to a QT? I was thinking maybe adding some to one end with a little fuge light. I figure it could help with nutrients and provide some cover. Or is that a silly idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 That's funny that you mentioned that because I had put some culerpa in mine a week ago that I had just pulled out of my fuge. I did it for 2 reasons, one to seed the tank with pods since I have a pipefish in there and to absorb nutrients. I never put a light on it so I decided to pull it out after a few days, problem is that many small pieces broke off and are now stuck in the rocks...a real PITA because I can't get it all. They get stuck in the powerhead and skimmer pump. Ayways to answer to your question I think cheato and a light would be great, stay away from the culerpa though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zilkerfish Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Great info! thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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