Sick fish....QT tanks and the headaches... how do you cope?

[Myka]

I think a quarantine tank is a MUST for all large tanks simply because of the number of lives invested (and often the number of dollars) in the tank. One new fish can wipe out the whole tank. Marine Velvet is probably the scariest SW disease.

Copper is the devil imo. I won't buy it. Copper doesn't treat anything that a different (safer and better) medication could treat. For Velvet and Brookynella I use Formalin (dips) which is easier to use and is safer for the fish.

Personally, I dip all incoming fish in FW (RO/DI) with some methylene blue after they are done drop acclimating (to the quarantine tank). You NEED a digital pH meter for this as you have to match the pH of the freshwater with the pH of the quarantine tank. It takes a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of baking soda to raise the pH of RO water. Here's a great reference: http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine...ne-fishes.html. This same author also has a great reference for Formalin dips, although I don't think that all incoming Clowns should be dipped as most are captive bred these days and tougher...if they are wild caught, then yes they should be dipped. http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine...ne-fishes.html

Here's something I typed out for someone else (I'm feeling lazy):

Originally Posted by Myka

A quarantine tank shouldn't have live rock in it. Just a heater, small powerhead pointed at the surface for good gas exchange, and some pieces of PVC for them to hide in. You can use black or white PVC, just the fittings or some pieces of pipe. Use at least 50% water from an established tank to fill the QT, and add a seasoned filter pad from the established tank as well. I like to use a SeaChem Ammonia Alert which works very well and lasts a year. I use AmQuel to detoxify ammonia when needed. Most ammonia test kits are not compatible with ammonia detoxifiers, but the Ammonia Alert is. You don't need a light on it, but you should have a lid of some sort because new and sick fish startle easily and are prone to jumping out.

For hyposalinity you HAVE TO use a refractometer to measure salinity as you need to be very accurate. Here is an ok link the hypo...wish I could find a better one: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...o-Hyposalinity