Brand new to hobby, how long do i let tank sit fishless to quarantine?

Nemosmom1 · 02/19/2018, 03:58 PM

Hi,
Brand new to this website and the hobby. Unfortunately, I didn't catch that my clownfish had ich in time to diagnose and treat. .and he passed.

I would like to get another clownfish, but from reading articles online, I know that you have to let it sit fishless for the duration of the ich cycle to make sure it dies off. I've been reading differing reports of how long I should let the tank sit fishless, some say 6 weeks, and people at the local fish store say 16 weeks? Just would like to get some opinions. Also, how often do I do water changes? When I had my clownfish, I was doing weekly water changes. Thanks . . .

Tripod1404 · 02/19/2018, 04:02 PM

7-9 weeks. If you have nothing else in the tank except snails and crabs, you can do water changes once a month. If you have any other invert, I would still do it at least every other week.

Also, when you get a new clone, dont forget to qt it, if not you might run into the same issue again.

Brieninsac · 02/19/2018, 04:06 PM

There are all sorts of opinions on quarantining techniques and length of time. I suspect most of those opinions come from personal trial and error... and failure. I've done everything from 2-months to 2-weeks depending on the situation. Then the other question is do you treat the fish even if they show no signs of disease.

Personally, I like to give the fish a couple days to adjust to the QT. I then treat with Prazipro and do a water change 5-days later. After that it's observation time to make sure they look good and are eating before going into my DT.

Tripod1404 · 02/19/2018, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brieninsac

There are all sorts of opinions on quarantining techniques and length of time. I suspect most of those opinions come from personal trial and error... and failure. I've done everything from 2-months to 2-weeks depending on the situation. Then the other question is do you treat the fish even if they show no signs of disease.

Personally, I like to give the fish a couple days to adjust to the QT. I then treat with Prazipro and do a water change 5-days later. After that it's observation time to make sure they look good and are eating before going into my DT.

Op is not asking this. He is asking how long should his tank stay fish-less.

Nemosmom1 · 02/19/2018, 07:31 PM

Thanks for the replies. . I guess it can't hurt to another week to the quarantine and make it 10 weeks. Putting the new fish in quarantine. . that's one thing I wish I'd knew beforehand, and one thing I will make sure to do from now on. When you quarantine new fish, how do you guys usually go about it? Hyposalinity or copper treatment or other?

top shelf · 02/19/2018, 07:41 PM

Welcome!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1031074

If you are new to the hobby ^^^^ that is a great place to start. Lots of information and can answer many questions you may have.

Bent · 02/19/2018, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brieninsac

There are all sorts of opinions on quarantining techniques and length of time. I suspect most of those opinions come from personal trial and error... and failure. I've done everything from 2-months to 2-weeks depending on the situation. Then the other question is do you treat the fish even if they show no signs of disease.

Personally, I like to give the fish a couple days to adjust to the QT. I then treat with Prazipro and do a water change 5-days later. After that it's observation time to make sure they look good and are eating before going into my DT.

Umm no, sorry i disagree with this.

Saying QT recommendations are arbitrary is like saying having a heart cath is just a suggestion. It’s simply not accurate.

It can take up to 8 weeks for an otherwise asymptomatic fish to become symptomatic with ich or velvet, which is why the suggestion of 9 weeks even after treatment is recommended.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=FA164

If your QT involves less than 9 weeks you are playing an expensive game of Russian roulette.

Cancun · 02/19/2018, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemosmom1

Hi,
Brand new to this website and the hobby. Unfortunately, I didn't catch that my clownfish had ich in time to diagnose and treat. .and he passed.

I would like to get another clownfish, but from reading articles online, I know that you have to let it sit fishless for the duration of the ich cycle to make sure it dies off. I've been reading differing reports of how long I should let the tank sit fishless, some say 6 weeks, and people at the local fish store say 16 weeks? Just would like to get some opinions. Also, how often do I do water changes? When I had my clownfish, I was doing weekly water changes. Thanks . . .

Hi there! Sorry for the loss if your clown....to answer your water chg question...I do a 10% water change once a week....I make my own salt water using RODI and Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I have been on this water chg schedule for several years....and it works well for my tank.

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

Nemosmom1 · 02/20/2018, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cancun

Hi there! Sorry for the loss if your clown....to answer your water chg question...I do a 10% water change once a week....I make my own salt water using RODI and Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I have been on this water chg schedule for several years....and it works well for my tank.

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

Thank you. . it's my first clownfish, and I got attached to him. Don't really have a backyard to bury him in now, so I ended up burying him in one of my houseplants' pots. Hurts looking at his empty tank, but I've been reading up on ich, and will treat him at the first signs. I have a couple of questions. . for those of you that have had fishless tanks for a period of time (due to quarantine), how often did you do a water change? Also, when I do get my clownfish, what amount of time do you recommend I quarantine him for? What medications/methods for the quarantine did you find worked for you, if any? Don't want to go through this again. .

nereefpat · 02/20/2018, 10:54 AM

Good links above. I know they are a bit wordy, but you do have a few weeks to get through them.

Ich is easier to deal with than you might think. The fallow (fishless, in this case) period is somewhat hard to predict, because the part of the life cycle where ich sits around in cyst form is so varied. The longest we've seen this part of the life cycle take in a lab is about 72 days. It takes another couple days for the rest of the life cycle. This is why folks who want to be 99% sure the ich has starved during a fallow period will recommend 72-76 days.

As for treating fish with ich, or prophylactically treating for ich in qt:

tank transfer method works excellently.

Water changes in a fishless tank:

I don't think it probably matters a whole lot.

Brieninsac · 02/20/2018, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bent

Umm no, sorry i disagree with this.

Saying QT recommendations are arbitrary is like saying having a heart cath is just a suggestion. It’s simply not accurate.

It can take up to 8 weeks for an otherwise asymptomatic fish to become symptomatic with ich or velvet, which is why the suggestion of 9 weeks even after treatment is recommended.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=FA164

If your QT involves less than 9 weeks you are playing an expensive game of Russian roulette.

Thank you for your opinion.

monkeysee1 · 02/20/2018, 07:36 PM

Yep - let your main DT run FALLOW for 8 weeks!
Do weekly water changes in your DT, 10-15%. You'll be taking some of the parasite out in addition to its natural die off from starving.
Likewise do 10% weekly water changes in your QT as well!
Quarantine ALL new arrivals (that goes for corals and inverts as well as fish) for AT least 4-6 weeks.
Me personally? I DON'T treat any quarantined livestock prophylactically. When I see symptoms, I treat with medicines I have on standby or use hypo for ich.

monkeysee1 · 02/20/2018, 08:59 PM

Also -
actually, I have found THIS article to be the best concerning the topic of ich, and what to do if your fish show symptoms of it and how to prevent it. I came across it when I had a tank crash due to it about 5 or 6 years ago. Followed this advice from that point on and to this day I haven't had ANY problem with it since:

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/threads...yths-and-Facts

Best of luck with your future fish purchases!

02/19/2018, 03:58 PM	#1
Nemosmom1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 33	Brand new to hobby, how long do i let tank sit fishless to quarantine? Hi, Brand new to this website and the hobby. Unfortunately, I didn't catch that my clownfish had ich in time to diagnose and treat. .and he passed. I would like to get another clownfish, but from reading articles online, I know that you have to let it sit fishless for the duration of the ich cycle to make sure it dies off. I've been reading differing reports of how long I should let the tank sit fishless, some say 6 weeks, and people at the local fish store say 16 weeks? Just would like to get some opinions. Also, how often do I do water changes? When I had my clownfish, I was doing weekly water changes. Thanks . . .

02/19/2018, 04:06 PM	#3
Brieninsac Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 782	There are all sorts of opinions on quarantining techniques and length of time. I suspect most of those opinions come from personal trial and error... and failure. I've done everything from 2-months to 2-weeks depending on the situation. Then the other question is do you treat the fish even if they show no signs of disease. Personally, I like to give the fish a couple days to adjust to the QT. I then treat with Prazipro and do a water change 5-days later. After that it's observation time to make sure they look good and are eating before going into my DT. __________________ Red Sea Reefer 350 (73gal/18gal sump) / Kessil a360WE Lights

02/19/2018, 07:41 PM	#6
top shelf Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,022	Welcome! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1031074 If you are new to the hobby ^^^^ that is a great place to start. Lots of information and can answer many questions you may have. __________________ Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it into a fruit salad. Philosophy is wondering if that means ketchup is a smoothie. Current tank info: 45g SCA Cube

02/20/2018, 10:54 AM	#10
nereefpat Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Central Nebraska Posts: 3,190	Good links above. I know they are a bit wordy, but you do have a few weeks to get through them. Ich is easier to deal with than you might think. The fallow (fishless, in this case) period is somewhat hard to predict, because the part of the life cycle where ich sits around in cyst form is so varied. The longest we've seen this part of the life cycle take in a lab is about 72 days. It takes another couple days for the rest of the life cycle. This is why folks who want to be 99% sure the ich has starved during a fallow period will recommend 72-76 days. As for treating fish with ich, or prophylactically treating for ich in qt: tank transfer method works excellently. Water changes in a fishless tank: I don't think it probably matters a whole lot. __________________ Pat Current Tank Info: 125 in-wall , 40b sump. 6 bulb T5. ASM G2 skimmer. LPS and leathers

02/20/2018, 07:36 PM	#12
monkeysee1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: MERRIMACK NH Posts: 423	Yep - let your main DT run FALLOW for 8 weeks! Do weekly water changes in your DT, 10-15%. You'll be taking some of the parasite out in addition to its natural die off from starving. Likewise do 10% weekly water changes in your QT as well! Quarantine ALL new arrivals (that goes for corals and inverts as well as fish) for AT least 4-6 weeks. Me personally? I DON'T treat any quarantined livestock prophylactically. When I see symptoms, I treat with medicines I have on standby or use hypo for ich. __________________ Your "fair share" is not in my wallet; it's in my fish tank!! Current tank info: 90 Gallon saltwater 10 fish with a few inverts; NO CORALS! Tried to go reef; didn't work out so hot; FOWLR's for me! Last edited by monkeysee1; 02/20/2018 at 08:37 PM.

02/19/2018, 04:02 PM	#2
Tripod1404 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 1,821	7-9 weeks. If you have nothing else in the tank except snails and crabs, you can do water changes once a month. If you have any other invert, I would still do it at least every other week. Also, when you get a new clone, dont forget to qt it, if not you might run into the same issue again.

02/19/2018, 07:31 PM	#5
Nemosmom1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 33	Thanks for the replies. . I guess it can't hurt to another week to the quarantine and make it 10 weeks. Putting the new fish in quarantine. . that's one thing I wish I'd knew beforehand, and one thing I will make sure to do from now on. When you quarantine new fish, how do you guys usually go about it? Hyposalinity or copper treatment or other?

02/20/2018, 08:59 PM	#13
monkeysee1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: MERRIMACK NH Posts: 423	Also - actually, I have found THIS article to be the best concerning the topic of ich, and what to do if your fish show symptoms of it and how to prevent it. I came across it when I had a tank crash due to it about 5 or 6 years ago. Followed this advice from that point on and to this day I haven't had ANY problem with it since: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/threads...yths-and-Facts Best of luck with your future fish purchases! __________________ Your "fair share" is not in my wallet; it's in my fish tank!! Current tank info: 90 Gallon saltwater 10 fish with a few inverts; NO CORALS! Tried to go reef; didn't work out so hot; FOWLR's for me! Last edited by monkeysee1; 02/20/2018 at 09:04 PM.