QT Procedure
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SynDen
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I am not a big fan of medicating the fish unless needed, especially with copper, as this breaks down he fish's immune system and has to be rebuilt before they can be moved again. However I do mix in some Dr. G's medicated foods, which contains prazi, to fight any possible internal parasites the fish might be carrying. Other then that I keep them well fed while I observe them for a min of 3 weeks, looking for any other signs of sickness, and only medicate when needed from there.
I do soak all foods for QT fish in Selcon and garlic though to ensure they keep an appetite, as I find this to be one of the most effective ways to make sure the fish is and stays healthy during this process.
I do soak all foods for QT fish in Selcon and garlic though to ensure they keep an appetite, as I find this to be one of the most effective ways to make sure the fish is and stays healthy during this process.
Chloroquine is actually an anti malaria drug. But its anti parasite in design.
Here is a web page on reef 2 reef, tons of reading on different treatments, how they work, what they are, etc.
Lots of great reading there. Most wrasse if not all, and hippo tangs do not do well with Chloroquine phosphate. Hence the need for copper. Copper is toxic to fish, so basically you are killing the parasite and you are slowly killing the fish. However, the fish can last longer than the parasite, so copper works. I dont really like using copper, as you have to really watch the copper levels, test at least twice a day to make sure the levels dont go toxic. Chloroquine is dose once and done. You just would need to add chloroquine back to any water when you do a water change. Ive noticed when dosing copper, you fight appetite suppression initially, and can be hard on the fish. Make sure the fish is eating really good before dosing copper. Using chloroquine, I havent noticed any appetite problems at all.
As SynDen said, copper is hard on the fish. But there are different types of copper treatments. Coppersafe is probably the easiest on the fish, followed by Cupramine.
Using the medicated foods is hit and miss imo. I think you'd need to feed quite a bit of it, for a long time to see permanent and complete results. Ive used Dr. G's, and some fish will not eat it. Soak it in whatever you can, but still some fish wont touch it. Plus you dont want it getting on any corals.
Here is a web page on reef 2 reef, tons of reading on different treatments, how they work, what they are, etc.
Lots of great reading there. Most wrasse if not all, and hippo tangs do not do well with Chloroquine phosphate. Hence the need for copper. Copper is toxic to fish, so basically you are killing the parasite and you are slowly killing the fish. However, the fish can last longer than the parasite, so copper works. I dont really like using copper, as you have to really watch the copper levels, test at least twice a day to make sure the levels dont go toxic. Chloroquine is dose once and done. You just would need to add chloroquine back to any water when you do a water change. Ive noticed when dosing copper, you fight appetite suppression initially, and can be hard on the fish. Make sure the fish is eating really good before dosing copper. Using chloroquine, I havent noticed any appetite problems at all.
As SynDen said, copper is hard on the fish. But there are different types of copper treatments. Coppersafe is probably the easiest on the fish, followed by Cupramine.
Using the medicated foods is hit and miss imo. I think you'd need to feed quite a bit of it, for a long time to see permanent and complete results. Ive used Dr. G's, and some fish will not eat it. Soak it in whatever you can, but still some fish wont touch it. Plus you dont want it getting on any corals.
Cupramine and coppersafe are copper products. Chloroquine is totally different. Ones liquid and one is powder.
Best to use a bare bottom tank. No live rock. No inverts. No corals. Both types of meds are not reef safe. Will kill all that stuff. As far as controlling ammonia a hang on the back filter with a seeded sponge or the like works good. Live bacteria added before treatment helps. If not be prepared to do water changes pretty often to control ammonia. I usually don't worry about nitrate and nitrite. You can use prime to detox ammonia but not with copper, and I don't think with cp either. I know prime will make any copper product super toxic to fish immediately.
Both meds won't kill an established bio filter. I keep a sponge in my sump on my dt and when the qt hob filter needs changed I grab the sponge out of my sump and instant bio filter on the qt.
So far since qt every fish, new and existing, not one issue with ich, velvet, flukes, etc.
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Best to use a bare bottom tank. No live rock. No inverts. No corals. Both types of meds are not reef safe. Will kill all that stuff. As far as controlling ammonia a hang on the back filter with a seeded sponge or the like works good. Live bacteria added before treatment helps. If not be prepared to do water changes pretty often to control ammonia. I usually don't worry about nitrate and nitrite. You can use prime to detox ammonia but not with copper, and I don't think with cp either. I know prime will make any copper product super toxic to fish immediately.
Both meds won't kill an established bio filter. I keep a sponge in my sump on my dt and when the qt hob filter needs changed I grab the sponge out of my sump and instant bio filter on the qt.
So far since qt every fish, new and existing, not one issue with ich, velvet, flukes, etc.
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I observe in a separate tank and treat if necessary. There is no tank anywhere that does not have disease in it in some qualtity unless they run full-time copper - especially a reef where nobody that I know of quarantines corals correctly and ich, velvet, etc can come in on shells, rocks, etc.. The fish need to be calm, eating and able to fight disease on their own. Once the fish get to eating a high quality pellet with ferver, they will be OK.
Also, there are a lot of really cool reef fish that don't QT well, if at all. ...so they go straight to the tank. ...and too many people use a tiny tank to QT which can do more harm than good for some fish.
All large angles get a prazi treatment for flukes since nearly all of them seem to have it - they can fight it off, but the prazi really helps.
The most important thing is that your display be safe, calm, stable and a good home. If you cram in fish of have your hands in there all the time, it will stress them and they can get sick. Go slow and be cool and you should mostly be OK.
BTW - I will totally buy fish from a LFS with visible signs of disease. As long as they are still breathing OK, they will usually come out of it with good food and isolation and maybe a quick treatment if necessary. You need to be prepared that ANY fish from ANY source will need help.
Also, there are a lot of really cool reef fish that don't QT well, if at all. ...so they go straight to the tank. ...and too many people use a tiny tank to QT which can do more harm than good for some fish.
All large angles get a prazi treatment for flukes since nearly all of them seem to have it - they can fight it off, but the prazi really helps.
The most important thing is that your display be safe, calm, stable and a good home. If you cram in fish of have your hands in there all the time, it will stress them and they can get sick. Go slow and be cool and you should mostly be OK.
BTW - I will totally buy fish from a LFS with visible signs of disease. As long as they are still breathing OK, they will usually come out of it with good food and isolation and maybe a quick treatment if necessary. You need to be prepared that ANY fish from ANY source will need help.
All the information everyone providing is very insightful. I'm just trying to make conversation on what people do for QT really.
For my self I've done TTM and Prazi. Starting copper and I know a little bit about it because my wife did it on her fresh water but I know salt is different. That's why I was plugging at it a little bit more.
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For my self I've done TTM and Prazi. Starting copper and I know a little bit about it because my wife did it on her fresh water but I know salt is different. That's why I was plugging at it a little bit more.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk