New QT Tank Questions

[ohsusieq]

Hello All!

I am a new poster here, but I have been lurking and learning a lot from you all and I thank you!

I have a few questions about buying fish, quarantine tanks and two types of fish Dwarf Angel and a Mandrain Dragnet.

1. Do most reputable suppliers quarantine fish for observation before sold and shipped ? if so how long?
2. Do they typically treat their fish for parasites with (copper, paragaurd, chelated copper etc?)
3. I would assume most reputable retailers purchase fish from suppliers that harvest fish without the the use of cyanide?

About me,
1. I have set up a bare bottom 10 gallon QT tank with filter floss, PVC pipe (for hiding) and currently have seeded the QT tank with an old filter from my current cycled display tank.

1. Should I keep the Mandarin in separate area in the QT tank from the Dwarf Angel to help feed the Mandarin? or let him roam free in the QT tank?
2. I plan on seeding the QT with 3000 - 6000+ Tisbe Copepods, do you think that will that be sufficient for the Mandarin for 15 days?

3. Should I just pour all the Tisbe Copepods and the baby brine shrimp into the QT tank with a small piece of rubble rock? or just add some each day? (I know to never use that same rubble rock in the Display Tank)
4. I plan on feeding the Dwarf Angels live black worms.
5. I plan on QT the fish without treatment for 5-7 days first, to make sure they are eating well before the addition of any medication.

Do you recommend using chelated copper like (Copper Power Blue (Endich)) at half the recommenced dose of 2.5ppm to QT the Mandarin Dragnet and Dwarf Angel fish for 15 days at the rate of .5ppm each day until I reach the 1.25ppm and keep it at 1.25ppm for 15 days?

Thank you so much for any advise you can offer and my fish will too

 

[bcavalli]

Welcome to our community.  One of members who is an expert can point you in the right direction and answer your well thought out questions.  Our fish doctor is @JennM she can respond to your questions much better than I can.  Great job starting out on the right foot with a QT tank.  It will save you a lot of heartache and money down the road.

 

[ohsusieq]

Thank you for your reply.

Yes I am trying to do all the right things. But need some guidance from some experts 😊

This site has helped me learn a lot and I thank you.

My past 6 months have been reading, watching videos, reading some more and watching more videos and at best I'm a novelist......it takes years and 1000's of experiences to master this...and even then you tend to learn something new. So I am open to people who have had personal experience and are willing to share information to help.



Thanks again!

 

[bcavalli]

Your welcome.  No ever knows it all and science and equipment is constantly evolving.   The past several years has been an amazing time to get into this hobby.   Keep asking questions and learning.  

 

[Adam]

Welcome to ARC!!!

I don't think you'll have a problem keeping the two fish together. With the LFS's some QT some treat but you should never count on it. With the volume of shipments they receive things can change rapidly. Best to take the necessary steps yourself. I'm a believer of observing before treating. No need to stress the fish anymore than they already are. But that also means having the meds on hand so there's no delay if you see something. Murphy's Law... you'll notice something when the stores are closed.

I haven't used copper yet but I have read that http://www.seachem.com/cupramine.php">Seachem's Cupramine</a> is pretty good and that's what I have on the shelf. There's a thread over at R2R that lists all the meds you should keep on hand. How far are you planning to go with the hobby and how many fish are you planning on having? If you're going to be QT'ing several fish over the next year it might be a good idea to give that thread a read and stock up on the meds. If not you can get by with Cupramine, Metro and Focus. I really like [IMG]http://www.rubyreef.net/rally/">Ruby Reef Rally</a> too. The only thing I'll treat prophylactically is [IMG]http://PraziPro - Hikari Sales USA">Prazipro</a> at the end of the observation period if nothing else shows up.

With the pods and the Mandrain. I don't know if I'd add the pods all at once. With no substrate and very few places to hide I think they'll get consumed pretty quickly.

Glad to see you doing your homework before jumping in. :)

 

[ohsusieq]

Thank you

I have the Mandrain in a 10 gallon nano for QT only there is sand and rock there... I was just going , observe him to see if he needs any sort of treatment. Since Mandrains are so delicate I really don't want to treat him with chemicals if I don't have to.

And try to get him to eat a variety of foods while he is in there.