QT tank ideas

ok so now im starting a qt tank after i have learned to have one. i had a tang with ich but now it died but my four other fish have it. I have 2 clowns cleaner wrasse and another nano fish. iwas thinking a 10 gall or 15? or MAYBE a 20gal. i was planning on holding them in there 4 6 weeks as recommended is there any thing else i need and could i put some live rock in there from my tank that has ich? if there is anything else please comment.
​

 

I fully sympathize with you, because I had a very similar experience. My 6 fish are currently in quarantine for the same reason. Here are a few suggestions for you.

1) Quarantine your fish for 8 weeks (not 4-6) and let your main tank be free of all fish for that time. Corals and inverts are ok. It takes 8 weeks for the parasite to die out from your tank so the fish will not be re-infected when they go back in.

2) Treat your fish in quarantine with copper for 3 weeks and then remove all copper (water changes, carbon, or cuprisorb) and leave them in for a further 5 weeks. During that time, feed them well so they build up their strength. Consider soaking the food in Selcon or another vitamin supplement.

3) for 4 fish, you will need a minimum of 20 gallons for your quarantine tank. I think you will find that with a smaller tank you will build up ammonia/nitrite/nitrate faster, and you risk harming your fish more from those chemicals than from the ich.

4) Try to get very good filtration for your QT for when you are done with the copper. Personally I use an emperor filter with a biowheel, as well as a bag of Seachem purigen.

5) Do not put any live rock in there, unless you never want to use it again. The copper from the meds you will use will stick to that rock, and then leach back out when you put the rock back into your main tank. This will kill any corals and inverts you have. If you want to increase your capacity for biological filtration in your tank, get some Seachem Matrix. It will provide lots of surface area for nitrifying bacteria.

Best of luck, and I hope things work out well for you.

 

Thank you so much!! this was a big help!! ill prob set up my tank with in the next week and should i put sand in there?

 

No sand. Leave it bare-bottomed so that it is easier to identify wastes to siphon during your water changes. As I said, a little Matrix in a filter bag will provide lots of room for colonizing bacteria, as will your filter.

Oh, and one further bit of advice - test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate daily. You may find you need to do water changes every 2 days or so, at least until you build up biological filtration.

 

As said..no live rock...but PVC pipes can provide great hiding places for your fish while they battle the crypto.

 

eh...you can have rock if you want, will help keep down nitrates. i would rather treat a fish in a tank without copper and no nitrates than copper with nitrates. Both copper and nitrates stress fish...Just dont ever let the rock leave the QT. just don't use LR, as the value in LR will be wasted. Just my opinion, the others are right too, would be easier to clean etc... Biowheel HOB filters are a good idea I think for QT tanks because the bacteria grows faster with air exposure, and often the bioload in a QT tank can go from nothing to pretty heavilly stocked for its size, and having that kind of filtration helps. (Plus it is cheap) - Just my thoughts...

 

Copper kills off the bulk of beneficial bacteria, so putting live rock into a HOSPITAL tank, not a quarantine tank is wastefull. The best thing is 3" or 4" fittings (Y's or elbows), and pick up some prime or amquel to have on hand if your readings are rising too fast.

~Will.