QT procedure ?

[Chad W]

Hi Lee,

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question but I give it a shot.

i am planning on setting up a new 90 gal. system someday. Right now I have some corals and rock left over from a 300gal system to put into this new tank. I want to QT everything before it goes in to be on the safe side and start off right.

Right now I have a fathead anthias in a 15 Gal. Qt. I have had him for about a week and have just finished up w/ a prazi pro treatment (1week). Seems like the more I read the more I get confused on QT procedures. I have this fish in a 15gal system as stated above. I have a Ehiem Aquaball w/ sponge filters and Seachem filtration rocks for filtration. These were in the sump of the temp system for about 2 weeks before going into the QT tank. Other than the filter I have a heater and some pvc fittings for refuge for the fish.

He is doing well and becoming accustomed to me and the feeding ritual. I'm feeding a mixture of hikari pellet,brine + flake,ON II,frozen spirulina brine and frozen mysis. Just kind of everything hopint to get him onto some pellet to make it easier to feed via a auto feeder when we go away for the weekends.

So far everything is good. He is eating brine and mysis and I siphon all uneaten food w/i 1/2hr after feeding and replace w/ fresh salt mix and add appropriate volume of meds for water added.

Here is my questions...

I have read some who treat multiple times w/ prazi pro? I'm thinking they are saying 1 treatment = 1 week? Is this correct and do I need to do multiple treatments of prazi pro?

Second.... I was thinking of treating w/ paraguard now. If the fish shows no signs of parasites should I treat as preventative? Would it be better to use cupramine? I was thinking paraguard due to it saying it is safer w/ less chance of ph issues. Also paraguard looks to be a broader spectrum treatment?

Thanks for any help.

Chad

 

[leebca]

I like your approach Chad. Very good. My only complaint is the use of pellet and flake. I wish that they weren't even available to the hobbyist, sometimes!

To address your concerns and questions:

1. Treat as I have recommended. It is 2 treatments: De-Worming and Fishes with Intestinal Problems

2. The two things I recommend for every fish is a FW bath and the de-worming. Anemonefish should also be treated for Brook; certain Tangs should be copper treated for parasites. No need to treat this fish for anything else. Just hold in quarantine the full 6 weeks and observe for any other signs of problems. I am against preventative treatments (with the above exceptions). The fish is stressed enough. More stress just reduces their chance for acclimation to captive life; reduces their life span; and potentially can do more harm than good (like killing off their digestive track bacteria they need for proper digestion). The preventative treatment doesn't pay off against these down-side features. Any disease can be caught in time in the QT process. Best to just wait and see and then, if a treatment is needed, doing the right treatment (opposed to treating as a shotgun approach). One of the saddest things is doing a prophylactic treatment and then, during this treatment, the fish shows signs of another disease that requires a different treatment. Then what does the hobbyist do? The hobbyist that has no concern, just adds more treatment (more stress) onto the fish.