Quarantine Tank thoughts

[hillegom]

The TT system is what I use. I only have a 50 gal DT at this time, so only keep small fish. The small fish I transfer between two pails. with one black pvc pipe in each. separate heaters and air hose. This method takes 15 days.
On the eve of a transfer I feed more than normal.
Before bed, I put a heavy black plastic bag over the pail. This prevents light entering in the morning. When I transfer the fish that morning, it usually is still asleep in the pvc after I take the bag off. So I put a net under one side of the pipe and raise it up. The fish usually ends up in the net, and wakes up when he's in the air. He's in the new pail before he knows it and quickly hides in the new pvc
I will use prazipro in the first two pails, 3 days each. And in the last transfer (3 days) before placing in the DT
Walter I really like the idea of the glass tank for observing the fish the last 3 days. I will incorporate this in my next TT

[Reef Pilot]

Dietmar, do you use any water conditioning, for ammonia or anything? I was thinking of just storing up a few pails from my DT water changes. That would already be well conditioned naturally. I would just make sure it is well aerated before putting in the fish. They are in there for such a short time, so would hope the water wouldn't go bad that fast.

[hillegom]

I have an ammonia badge. I feed them in the pail, but sparingly. On the last night before transfer, I feed a lot, usually mysis. If I see any still floating around later, I will net anything I see uneaten out.
I read somewhere that the ick will hatch from the cysts in early morning. Even though, it is not supposed to hatch at the three day interval, I don't take a chance. Thats the main reason why the heavy garbage bag is placed around the pail till morning transfer, as early as I can manage. Keeps the fish and ick (if any present) in nightime mode
I use DT water in the pails. The heater and aeration (with air pump) is started around supper time the night before transfer. This way by bedtime, I can make sure the temp is correct, checking a few times during the evening. I use one air pump split in two with two valves. Both are constantly open, but only one is in use till the night before transfer when one airline is in each pail. When one airline is out of the pail, then you have to adjust the other valve to keep air moving in the water.

[Reef Pilot]

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks, Dietmar.

[sdeschutter]

I have a 33 gallon qt tank that I've had running since my display tank got infected with ich about 10 months ago. What a pain! I will always quarantine fish from now on. I left my 90g DT fallow for three months ( had to set a trap to catch the fiish) and did the tank transfer method for all the fish for 2 weeks. Then set up a quarantine tank. The tank transfer was easy just a lot of hassle. It worked perfect my fish are now disease free and have been in the DT for 6 months with no issues. Never thought of doing tank transfer for new fish but I guess it makes sense.

I have a question? How long do you suggest leaving new fish in a QT tank?

[rsisvixen]

I run TT then Qt, I use Large rubbermaid storage containers for the TT and once I'm done they stack and store pretty easily.
I then have a 20G long QT system that I keep running with live sand, red macro algae and some pvc tubes, also have a cerith and astrea snail in there.

I've run all my fish through the system, Dartfish, Cardinals, Mandarin etc
My Atlantic blue tang just finished QT today ( I added him to the DT while the rest were getting breakfast ) he swam straight over and munched on the mysis.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

For all my tanks (unfortunately, don't usually have a QT tank always setup and only set up as needed), I now use Hydroton, clay ball media imported from Germany as my biological filter media. What I can do using Hydroton is keep some in my sump and throw it into a HOB filter or media reactor or even an old stocking to hang in my QT tank as needed. Then if you have to use copper or other medication, you can leave dead rock in the QT for your new fish to hide in and add the Hydroton for biological filtration. If you medicate, toss out the old Hydroton and add more in your sump for future QT purposes.

For those who've never heard of or used Hydroton, Paul at Oceanic Corals was the one who first started using it as a very effective, efficient biological media. I love the stuff and swear by it. I always try to keep some extra on hand and its much more effective than live rock IME, including eliminating my nitrates. Feeding 4+ times daily, my nitrates used to be high (think HOT PINK on the test kits), but now they are way low.

[Reef Pilot]

I actually haven't tried the TT method yet, as I have not bought any new fish for years. But since I lost a few during our summer outage, might just get a few replacements in the not too distant future.

I would do the TT first with buckets, and then transfer them to my QT tank. The length of the stay there would depend on the type of fish. Some (like butterfly fish) need longer acclimatization to get trained on new foods, etc. Also may want to give them a prazi treatment to get rid of any internal pests.

[sdeschutter]

What is a prazi treatment? I have a little cherub angel and goby in the qt tank right now. They have been in there for two weeks. I'm thinking a month would be a good length before I put them in the DT

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by sdeschutter

What is a prazi treatment? I have a little cherub angel and goby in the qt tank right now. They have been in there for two weeks. I'm thinking a month would be a good length before I put them in the DT

http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/