Fallow Period over. Fish out of QT?

[cedzaquaddiction]

<span style="color: #000000;">Alright everyone. My tank has officially been fallow for 10 weeks, so I'm fairly confident that it is ich free as nothing has been added for months (inverts included).</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">My fish have been in a 55g QT tank for a while now. For the last 30 days, all fish have been under a Coppersafe treatment. </span>
<span style="color: #000000;"></span>
<span style="color: #000000;">Now for the nitty-gritty. About 3 weeks ago, I added a kole tang that I watched at the LFS for 2-3 weeks before purchasing. Of course it broke out with ich the next day (dang beautiful, dirty fish!!!). I immediately removed the tang, and placed it in my mantis tank so it wouldn't infect the others. Two days after removal, one of my BT triggers started showing signs. The signs of ich disappeared after 4 days in the QT that is still running coppersafe. Re-dosed after 3, 14g waterchanges to clear the water column.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">My question is, how long should I keep the fish in the coppersafe after all signs of ich are gone? I am getting conflicting answers from the web, and don't want to keep the fish in copper for too long as I hear it can cause long term damage.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">Thanks all!!! </span>

 

[enderg60]

fish : 4-5 weeks of no fish showing signs of ich before they are good to go.

Tank :Nothing new for 10 weeks since last sign of ich period.

I got 7 more weeks of no fish and Im starting hypo in the QT as soon as I find my last 3 tangs.

 

[wakelust81]

Just wandering, but did you have an ich problem to begin with in your display tank? I had ich in my 55g after never doing a QT (stupid). I ended up switching everything over to a 100g and once you have ich you will always have it from my understanding. It lives and has a cycle in the tank. Well, anyways, I was stirring some crap around and a couple of fish ended upwith the salty spots. Well, two days later they were still swimming and most importantly eating. Bottom line if you have had ich in your primary tank in the past chances are youstill have it. Also, fish won't die from ich, it will be something else that cashes them in. Hope it all works out.

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

"fish : 4-5 weeks of no fish showing signs of ich before they are good to go."

Ouch. That's what I feared. They've been in copper for 1 month so far. With 4 weeks additional to go, will 2 months of coppersafe harm the fish?

Thanks so much!!!

 

[silver surfer]

My advice is after your copper treatment start doing water changes using your display tank system water.

Also I would look into a great (not good) uv sterilizer for both your display tank and qt tank.

 

[rdnelson]

Keep in mind that the bennificial bacteria in the display tank may have depleted over that time frame as well. Might be good to slowly add the fish back over time to allow the bacteria to catch up.

 

[wakelust81]

UV sterilizer will ONLY get ich if it is free floating. Say for example, you move some aquascape and some of the parasite that is dormant shakes loose it could potentially host on fish and the cycle begins. Usually fish (if healthy) will go through cycle of ich just fine. If over stressed they could fall victim to something as simple as their version of the common cold. Anyways, just feed them immune system boosters. I don't like dosing anything because you can't dose the ocean. Sometimes they die and you get new ones. That's how the LFS stays in business. But QT first, dry rock, dry sand, coral dip will be the best a safest answer to most problems.

 

[silver surfer]

In a qt tank you should not have sand. I am a firm believer in uv. the more uv the better.

 

[reeffrenzy]

Silver Surfer;824255 wrote: In a qt tank you should not have sand. I am a firm believer in uv. the more uv the better.

I run a 57watt U/V on my FOWLR and believe they have merits, although they do not replace proper QT, as others have stated.

Silver Surfer I recall reading that UV should not be run on a QT tank that is running copper as it alters the copper in some way. I'm not a chemist but I'll see if I can find the scientific reason I stumbled on in the past.

If the QT is simply a holding/observation tank, then by all means the UV can't hurt.

I too had to run fallow for a 9 week period and treat all fish due to a bad Ich outbreak last February. To date there has not been a single sign of Ich or any further fish loses. (Knock on wood....)

Larry

Edit: I found this on a forum from someone who got a reply back from Seachem on the subject:
"Cupramine is a ionic copper bond to an amine. Being bonded like this makes the ionic copper safe at higher levels. UV light breaks this bond. This releases ionic copper at a dangerous level. This is why we recommend to turn off your UV sterilizers.</em>"

Hope it helps...

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

Thanks for all of the replies. Allot to consider here... I'm not running a UV sterilizer at the moment on either tank, but may need to strongly consider doing so. What are your views on it killing beneficial material in the water column?

How about this for a plan:
<ul>
<li>Continue to run copper for the next 2 weeks</li>
<li>After 2 weeks, start 20% water changes per week from DT to QT until all QT water has been changed out</li>
<li>(Possibly consider adding a UV to the DT at this time)</li>
<li>Let the QT keep running with the DT water for 2 weeks and monitor for ich or other illnesses</li>
<li>If all looks well after 2 weeks, begin transferring fish from QT to DT 2 at a time every week...</li>
</ul>Have I left anything out?

 

[silver surfer]

I don't use copper in my qt tank. But thanks for the heads up Larry.

 

[wakelust81]

I think that rdnelson may have been saying the benificial bacteria was depleted in your display tank because you have been running it dormant. Shouldn't matter too much, especially if you have LR. Is your tank a reef or FOWLR? I'm guessing FOWLR. If you have nothing in your tank except for rock then you can increase the heat to 82 and run hyposalinity. You run it hot so it speeds up the ich cycle and it may disappear from the tank and run low salt to kill it. Do one before the other.

 

[rdnelson]

Yes my statement was expressing concern that with little or no bio load for an extend time the bacteria may have started to die off.

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

It's a FOWLR for now. Trying to learn to keep fish before I invest in expensive lighting to keep coral. This SW venture is much more challenging than the FW side of things. I guess that's why I love it...

I thought about upping the heat, and lowering the salinity, but, I have a buttload of a CUC in the DT still. Won't this harm them?

As for the bio load in the DT, if I introduce 2 fish at at time, one week at a time, will that allow for the bioload to readjust so it is safe for the fish?

Thanks...

 

[wakelust81]

Hyposalinity will kill your inverts! Higher heat won't. You have a FOWLR tank so just dose your DT. I have never treated a tank but from what I have read, if you don't have corals, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I do know that moving your fish only stresses them even more.

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

I can consider the heat suggestion, but, can't dose my DT. It'll kill my CUC, starfish, urchins, and shrimp, won't it???

 

[wakelust81]

Yup. Rescue what you can then go online and restock the rest. It's always easier to look back in this hobby and say, "I should have done it that way". As painful as it is, it is so much fun to learn the hard way.