heavymetalmullet Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 Ok hosptial tank is now set up! I've put water from the main tank in there for now and i've added a heater, a thermometer and i've added a little filter in there but removed it's filter material other than the foam. I've added some Marine safestart to hopefully give the tank some bacteria to break down the fish waste. I've put a little piece of live rock in there from the display tank, I know this will likely die from the cuprazin but at least it gives the filter a chance to get some bacteria going. I've placed some small cleaned out plant pots on there to give them a place to hide. Does this all sound right so far?? Should I start treatment immediately or give them a chance to get used to their temporary accomodation and then start treatment tomorrow? Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Think i'm going to have to set the quarantine/hospital tank up today to treat the fish with cuprazin. Only thing is I don't have a sponge filter just yet to place in there for filtration. What should I do, just keep testing and doing water changes on the QT? If I put some live rock in there the cuprazin is just gonna kill it. I have a small Elite Stingray filter that I bought ages ago for a tropical tank and never used. Would this work? You really need a filter. is there anyway to pick up a hang on the back filter? I would not add live rock to a quarantine tank. you don't want any substrate or anything with living organisms in it as some medicines will kill them off and make your water parameters foul. ich hides in the substrate after leaving as fish. You don't want to provide it any cover. Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 You really need a filter. is there anyway to pick up a hang on the back filter? I would not add live rock to a quarantine tank. you don't want any substrate or anything with living organisms in it as some medicines will kill them off and make your water parameters foul. ich hides in the substrate after leaving as fish. You don't want to provide it any cover. OK cool, i've taken the live rock out now and have a filter going. Any advice on how to get the fish out of my display tank without stressing them too much chasing them around the tank? I've got a lot of live rock in there and shifting about or out of the tank is going to be a nightmare. Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 You really need a filter. is there anyway to pick up a hang on the back filter? I would not add live rock to a quarantine tank. you don't want any substrate or anything with living organisms in it as some medicines will kill them off and make your water parameters foul. ich hides in the substrate after leaving as fish. You don't want to provide it any cover. Ok I have all the fish now in the quarantine tank, how soon should I begin treatment? Straight away or leave it till tomorrow for them to settle down a bit? Link to comment
wrasseWrangler Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ok I have all the fish now in the quarantine tank, how soon should I begin treatment? Straight away or leave it till tomorrow for them to settle down a bit? I would start the treatment right away, limit the amount of time you have them in there. Good luck man, hope all works out well. Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 I would start the treatment right away, limit the amount of time you have them in there. Good luck man, hope all works out well. Cheers matey, i've stated the treatment. I'll let you know how it goes! Link to comment
matt frizz Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Fingers crossed for you man! Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Good show. best of luck. Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Update guys, the little blue tang didn't make it through the night, I found her on the bottom of the QT this morning. The clowns are still alive but they don't look too happy to be honest. I've done a water change this morning as I did an ammonia test and it was showing quite high but then I suddenly realised that cuprazin in the water is going to give me a false reading anyway. Really not sure what to do for the best now , should I carry on with the copper treatment or stop? Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 One of the clowns has died now too, was breathing really rapidly and swimming upside down and sideways then died. The other one is sitting inside one of the ceramic pots not swimming anywhere, but swimming really slowly. Really not sure what to do for the remaining fish now and feel quite upset about it really. Link to comment
Roz Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 One of the clowns has died now too, was breathing really rapidly and swimming upside down and sideways then died. The other one is sitting inside one of the ceramic pots not swimming anywhere, but swimming really slowly. Really not sure what to do for the remaining fish now and feel quite upset about it really. Really sorry to hear hun. I get so upset if I lose a fish, expecially after your hard work it must be gutting. But despite what was said about tank size issues i'm sure she was very happy as a littl'un. keep up the testing and keep us updated on the remaining clown x Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Did you overdose on the copper? Was this tank cycled at all? This is quite sad. if your last clown goes... leave your display tank without fish for 6-8 weeks. When you get new fish, but them in the quarantine tank without any medication. Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Did you overdose on the copper? Was this tank cycled at all? This is quite sad. if your last clown goes... leave your display tank without fish for 6-8 weeks. When you get new fish, but them in the quarantine tank without any medication. I don't think I overdosed on the copper as I only put in what was recommended on the bottle for the size of the tank. Just awful seeing the poor little bugger die. If the last one does go, I will go by your recommendations and leave the main tank fallow for a while with just the hermits and snails in there. While i'm waiting i'll re-arrange some of the rock display and have a general clean up I guess. Have to see this as a costly mistake to learn from I guess! Link to comment
Zer0 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I don't think I overdosed on the copper as I only put in what was recommended on the bottle for the size of the tank. Just awful seeing the poor little bugger die. If the last one does go, I will go by your recommendations and leave the main tank fallow for a while with just the hermits and snails in there. While i'm waiting i'll re-arrange some of the rock display and have a general clean up I guess. Have to see this as a costly mistake to learn from I guess! I guess i'll be the dick that tells you we told you so. This is what happens when people decide not to take advice from people who have experience on the matter. I realize this may not have been the exact situation where someone goes on not caring and just lets the fish die, but this is generally how it all goes down. Impulse buys and lack of information lead to death and heartbreak. Seen this story one to many times. Take not the misery and the heartbreak from this event, but the new-found knowledge and experience and use it to your advantage. Sorry for your losses. Link to comment
Formula462 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I guess i'll be the dick that tells you we told you so. This is what happens when people decide not to take advice from people who have experience on the matter. I realize this may not have been the exact situation where someone goes on not caring and just lets the fish die, but this is generally how it all goes down. Impulse buys and lack of information lead to death and heartbreak. Seen this story one to many times. Take not the misery and the heartbreak from this event, but the new-found knowledge and experience and use it to your advantage. Sorry for your losses. what a dick...lol Link to comment
ciedre Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I guess i'll be the dick that tells you we told you so. This is what happens when people decide not to take advice from people who have experience on the matter. I realize this may not have been the exact situation where someone goes on not caring and just lets the fish die, but this is generally how it all goes down. Impulse buys and lack of information lead to death and heartbreak. Seen this story one to many times. Take not the misery and the heartbreak from this event, but the new-found knowledge and experience and use it to your advantage. Sorry for your losses. +1 I'll be the dick that backs you up. Link to comment
ericchris Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 sorry to here of your loss, really there was more bashing then helping, but here is my question, how big does a quarantine tank have to be most all of you said that a 47 gallon tank is to small, so i take it as he would have to put them in a tank at least 55 gal. or bigger? Link to comment
heavymetalmullet Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 sorry to here of your loss, really there was more bashing then helping, but here is my question,how big does a quarantine tank have to be most all of you said that a 47 gallon tank is to small, so i take it as he would have to put them in a tank at least 55 gal. or bigger? I did get get the strong arm of the law from the tang police! In all fairness, a lot of the things they said were right just a bit harshly put in my opinion. I went by the advice I got at the time from the LFS that I spoke to. I'm sure all of us have made mistakes when we started out. I think with regards to tank size they were talking about my main display tank size rather than my QT, afterall I can't imagine most people have a 45 gallon QT. I will take the lessons i've learnt and while my fish tank is fallow over the next few weeks i'll buy a few more necessary pieces of equipment and take the opportunity to resculpture the live rock and remove some of the phosphates to kill of some of the algae I have. Link to comment
ericchris Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I think with regards to tank size they were talking about my main display tank size rather than my QT, afterall I can't imagine most people have a 45 gallon QT. this is why i ask that,,, if a 45gal. is to small an it stresses out the fish or is not good for the fish to be in a tank that small. then how can a QT tank even smaller be good, or not as sressfull, i know its just to treat the fish. To me 6 weeks is a long time, i dont remember how long you had the fish in your tank before it got sick. To me it just seams strange, if a tank that is 45 gals is to small, an the stress from it, being that small cause a sickness, then placeing it in a smaller tank to treat it , seams like it would stress the fish even more, IDK? Link to comment
matt frizz Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Wow sorry to hear of your losses man. I may be wrong but aren't QT supposed to be cycled? That may have led to your problem. Link to comment
ciedre Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I think with regards to tank size they were talking about my main display tank size rather than my QT, afterall I can't imagine most people have a 45 gallon QT. this is why i ask that,,, if a 45gal. is to small an it stresses out the fish or is not good for the fish to be in a tank that small. then how can a QT tank even smaller be good, or not as sressfull, i know its just to treat the fish. To me 6 weeks is a long time, i dont remember how long you had the fish in your tank before it got sick. To me it just seams strange, if a tank that is 45 gals is to small, an the stress from it, being that small cause a sickness, then placeing it in a smaller tank to treat it , seams like it would stress the fish even more, IDK? Thats the problem with sick fish, you choose one of the lesser evils in order to heal them. Everything you do to get them back to good health is going to stress them out. Wow sorry to hear of your losses man. I may be wrong but aren't QT supposed to be cycled? That may have led to your problem. A QT shouldn't have to be cycled if managed correctly; most medications will kill the nitrifying bacteria any how. Link to comment
Zer0 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Also, you forget, fish that are in QT tanks, are only in there for a short amount of time, a few weeks at most. Most people with smaller aquariums keep their fish in there for the duration of the fishes lives. THIS is what stresses out the fish, leading to bad health and stress-induced diseases. Mainly ich. Which tangs are notorious for acquiring. Especially blue tangs. God i can't even tell you how many threads i see about blue tangs and ich on a different fish forum i'm a member of. It's sad. Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thats the problem with sick fish, you choose one of the lesser evils in order to heal them. Everything you do to get them back to good health is going to stress them out. A QT shouldn't have to be cycled if managed correctly; most medications will kill the nitrifying bacteria any how. not true. Most of the ailments we treat are parasites. Copper can affect nitrifying bacteria, but won't wipe it out at the levels we use for treatment. Some antibiotics can wipe out your bacteria, but not all of them. plopping all of your fish into an uncycled tank means there's all of a sudden a huge bioload and nothing to take care of the ammonia and nitrites. As long as you don't have anything that can die off in the tank (no LR or sand to trap food/debris) you can get away with lots of water changes and some sort of adsorbent. Life will be far easier for your fish and you if your quarantine is cycled and ready to go. I started my quarantine tank over a month before I expected to have any fish in it. There's no way I would have thrown my Jawfish, neon gobies, tail spot blenny, and tanaka's wrasse into an uncycled tank and tried to have "managed it correctly." Link to comment
OClownsandNanos Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Really sorry to hear about your losses. Keeping the tank fish-fallow for two months is the best plan, however. Most people do not keep cycled QT tanks running unless they're constantly buying new stuff they're moving in and out of the tank. Oftentimes what people will do is keep an extra sponge in their sump/mech filter in their main tank, then put that in the QT when they need it up and running, so they have a small colony of bacteria with which to start their biological filter for the QT. When you decide to have fish again, I'd suggest that as a backup in case you ever need to QT (or if you QT before adding fish to the main tank, which is recommended). Link to comment
ciedre Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Really sorry to hear about your losses. Keeping the tank fish-fallow for two months is the best plan, however. Most people do not keep cycled QT tanks running unless they're constantly buying new stuff they're moving in and out of the tank. Oftentimes what people will do is keep an extra sponge in their sump/mech filter in their main tank, then put that in the QT when they need it up and running, so they have a small colony of bacteria with which to start their biological filter for the QT. When you decide to have fish again, I'd suggest that as a backup in case you ever need to QT (or if you QT before adding fish to the main tank, which is recommended). This is what I meant by managed correctly MedRed, next time I will go into more detail for you. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.