QT tank help questions!

[serico858]

Hello everyone!

 SO my 20 gallon nuvo tank is just about to be finished cycling! very excited! ammonia and nitrites at zero and nitrates low after a water chance. doing one more dose of ammonia to see if my tank can process it over night then ill be adding fish! I plan on getting a clown fish for my first fish and I have some qt questions. Since the clown would be my first fish would it be ok to just add him to my newly cycled tank? I don't plan on getting any fish after him for awhile as I will become very busy in the next couple months and won't have much time for anything else and the one clown fish will satisfy me. My question is if some bacteria or disease or ich was to show itself on the fish and I had to move him to an  qt tank would my dt be ruined like can the disease live in the water and rock and sand and such. I don't mind having a qt tank but running two tanks right now would just be rough for me or could I even treat him in the dt and somehow remove the treatments from the dt? 

[vegasgundog]

Your dt would not necessarily be ruined..... if ich was introduced you would have to go fishless for 90 days. You would not be able to treat with any copper based treatments as your lr would be contaminated. 

[Clown79]

If a fish brings in a parasite in order for the tank to be cleared of the disease, it would need an 8 week fallow period...no fish.

 

Unfortunately, the fish would need to be treated in a qt tank as most meds are not reef safe.

[Oldsalt01]

With a clown I’d be more concerned with brooklynella or velvet although they can have ick but tend to have a fairly thick mucous coat so are relatively resistant to it. That being said, I personally would qt anyway.  A simple 5g bucket can be an adequate qt as long as ur prepared for lots of water changes and have adequate flow. Just my humble opinion. 

[serico858]

yea I stopped by the fish store at work and got a 5 gal tank and ordered everything else I need for it actually. quick setup and cheap. I am going to do a water change and use that water for the qt tank. Also anyone have a suggestions for good treatments or methods to use beginner friendly? 

[Oldsalt01]

I generally don’t medicate a new arrival fot the first week, just observe for potential issues. That lets them chill from transport stress, get on a feeding schedule, and not have to compete for food. Eating is a good sign. Bare bottom qt, with a couple of pieces of pvc for hiding, and a small piece of cycled rock (pull the rock once the cycle’s done) to kick start the cycle at least a week before introduction. Dr Tim’s or Biospira to get the cycle going and daily ammonia tests to ensure the cycle completes as ammonia is deadly. You can also go with a hypo salinity level of 1.021 but lower the level over a period of 24 hrs which helps with flukes.  Once that’s done a 4 week qt to the new fish. If something pops up you can medicate as needed. Make sure to raise the salinity back to your dt levels slowly over the week before intro into the dt. In 3 years I’ve never lost a fish to disease with these methods. A bit work intensive but worth it. $.02.

[richnyc]

for dt if you have ich 76 days is all you need

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

[Clown79]

I just observe my fish and then medicate if its needed.

[serico858]

Question? so now that my tank is cycled I'm assuming I have to add ammonia everyday to feed the bacteria because my fish will be in the qt tank. How much ammonia would you add per day? Because my tank is converting 2ppm ammonia to zero over night.

[Clown79]

6 hours ago, serico858 said:

Question? so now that my tank is cycled I'm assuming I have to add ammonia everyday to feed the bacteria because my fish will be in the qt tank. How much ammonia would you add per day? Because my tank is converting 2ppm ammonia to zero over night.

You do not need to. It takes a lot for bacteria to die off.

 

If you plan on starting with cuc, you can always add a bit of food for them which is enough to keep everything fine while fish are in qt.

[serico858]

6 hours ago, Clown79 said:

You do not need to. It takes a lot for bacteria to die off.

 

If you plan on starting with cuc, you can always add a bit of food for them which is enough to keep everything fine while fish are in qt.

but I was reading my entire clean up crew needs to be in qt for 72 days as well to avoid ick lol it's all so dramatic I thought I was just gunna get a clownfish and call it a day lol

[Clown79]

Ich needs a fish to live. Adding a cuc to a fishless tank, if there was a cyst on an invert or coral, or rock- it would die during the time of qt/treatment.

 

 

Not many hobbiests qt inverts and corals, especially with fish because if you are qt'ing fish, if they need treatment, you can treat them with the inverts or corals.