Questions Re: Going Fallow  6/27/08
Crew,
I will be taking advantage of very low stocking levels in my 200-gallon FOWLR to allow the display tank to go fallow for the duration of a newly purchased lionfish's quarantine period. To facilitate this, I'll be moving the only fish (a percula clown and a marine beta) into a divided section of the 55-gallon quarantine tank with the lion for 8 weeks.
I have a question with regard to going fallow. Upon removing the fish from the 200-gallon display system, would I essentially also be removing the source of nutrients for the biological filter?
<To an extent, yes...>
If there are no fish in the tank to feed or produce organic wastes for 8 weeks, will this thin the ranks of my colonies such that the system will be ill-equipped to support the waste factory that is the 11" lion when he is finally introduced?
<Likely will be okay... this is a large enough volume... If concerned...>
If this is the case, how should I maintain it?
<You could add a source of ammonia... likely proteinaceous food of some sort... in the duration...>
There are three stars and a few dozen hermit crabs remaining in the display tank that will need to be fed during this period.
<Oh! Then I would not be further concerned>
Will these feedings be enough to sustain the filter?
<Yes, assuredly>
Also, I have a stubborn film of brown algae on the sand that I would like to address during this fallow period, if possible. My idea is to "blackout" the tank for 8 weeks by leaving the lights completely off, hopefully starving the algae into some form of retreat. First, in terms of the algae, does this approach make sense?
<Mmm, not really... as the chemical, physical conditions that "allow" it will be retained... it will come back until these are addressed. See WWM re nutrient limitation, competition, predation...>
Secondly, in terms of the remaining residents, will this have any adverse affects on the stars, crabs, or filter?
<Likely so>
Thanks very much.
Fred Warren
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Ich Treatment Options  6/4/08
The Fallow Aquarium Approach To Fighting Ich!
Hi,
<Hey there! Scott F. in today!>
I have a question for you. I have a standard 90g tank (48"x18"x24") with the following livestock:
Purple Tang (3.5")
Kole Tang (4")
Foxface (4")
Percula Clownfish (2")
3 Chromis (1")
Anyway, for various unmentionable reasons (read: rushed quarantine) my Purple Tang is exhibiting the early stages of ich.
<Uh-ohh..>
I noticed maybe 3-4 white specs on his body and two on a fin. Because of this, I fired up the old quarantine tank (20L with hang on power filter) to isolate the tang. Unfortunately, I had to go out and pick up another 20L and a 10G to house the rest of my livestock, as I did not want to put them in with the sick tang for several reasons (space, no other fish has shown signs of disease).
<I respect your logical approach.>
I freshwater dipped the Purple Tang for 3 minutes and placed him in the 20L quarantine tank. He made it through like a trooper and after ~3 hours of recovery is swimming around in his tank. I managed to catch the Clownfish and the Chromis, and they are set up in an uncycled 10G for the time being. I am going to have to do a lot of water changes to keep the parameters in check on my 2 new quarantine tanks.
<Yes, you will. For the future, I always keep a sponge filter or two in the sump at all times, colonizing beneficial bacteria, so that you've got one ready in a pinch whenever you need to set up a quarantine or hospital aquarium.>
Anyway, I didn't have time before work to catch the Foxface or Kole. They are both skittish/nimble. I fear I may have to dismantle all the rock work to nab them.
<Unfortunately, you might.>
The Foxface is particularly skittish. He changes color when someone walks in view of the tank. I'm afraid that tearing apart the tank and fishing (ha) out these last two residents will leave me with painful puncture wounds and traumatized fish.
<This is a definite possibility. It is truly important to get these fishes out of the display aquarium if you are going to attempt to affect a cure. Fallowing the aquarium is a successful technique, as it does create an interruption of the life cycle of the causative protozoa.>
I have read about the hardiness/disease resistance of the Foxface, and I am trying to convince myself that it may be better to leave these last 2 in for the time being. Instead of tearing the rest of the tank apart, I could carefully monitor the remaining fish for signs of ich while monitoring the rest of the non-sick fish in quarantine (and treating the Purple Tang with hyposalinity). If either remaining fish were to exhibit symptoms, I would pull them out and dip/quarantine them. I have been checking up on the Purple Tang several times a day since he was introduced (fearing this scenario), and he was not showing any ich symptoms before this afternoon. The gist of my question is whether the benefit of immediate quarantine would offset the trauma the Foxface/Kole Eye tang would go through if I have to net them out. I'm also concerned with leaving any fish in the tank due to the lifecycle of ich (leaving the tank fallow to kill of any remaining bugs). Any recommendations?
<Although your thoughts are certainly well taken, I am of the firm belief that you need to remove ALL of the inhabitants of the infected aquarium to assure yourself of the best possible chance of success. It's not fun, and it's certainly not easy- but it is the best (and ONLY) way to go if your intention is to successfully break the life cycle of this nasty protozoa. The bottom line is that if Ich is in your system, it's IN your system, and fallowing the tank is the best way to address the problem, IMO. Best of luck! Regards, Scott F.>

Rock Leaching Phosphate, Is It Harmful To Fish?...And...After 8-Weeks Fallow, Will My Ich Return? – 01/12/08
Hey Eric!
<<Hey Don!>>
Hope all is well with you.
<<Not so bad… Currently devoting most all my free-time to a very large renovation/remodeling project…can’t say I won’t be happy when it’s done>>
I have a question about live rock and phosphates.
<<Okay>>
I bought some base rock cheap, covered in coralline algae, and I know it's been in the tank for over a month being kept with fish and other animals but they told me that I wouldn't want it cause it leeches phosphates.
<<And yet you bought it anyway [grin]>>
They told me it was cured so I took it and put it in quarantine and I haven't gotten any readings of phosphates.
<<Very good>>
Would the rock after being cured be o.k. to put in the main tank or does certain rock always leech phosphate?
<<Most any rock can be a source of soluble Phosphate…but your tests seem to bear out that this rock will be fine>>
Also do phosphates kill fish?
<<Hmm, I suppose there’s a limit where it could. But in my experience with systems with very high Phosphate levels the fish did not deem bothered directly>>
I never had a problem with it and tried to read as much as possible but there were no FAQs that I could find about it.
<<Mmm…a “quick” search turns up nothing specific to this for me either. If I am off track/if more need be stated, I trust Bob will interject>>
I finally put the fish back in the 210 after 8 week quarantine.
<<In regards to your Ich issue, yes…excellent>>
What are the chances of the main tank and fish being 100% cured because after this live rock is done I was thinking of Hippo Tang to put in the quarantine but if it's not likely 100% then I'll probably not bother with tangs.
<<The eight-week quarantine/fallow period will go far towards achieving an “Ich-free” environment…for a time. But as I think I have mentioned before… This protozoan pest is so “easily” introduced, even from non-organic and non-fish sources (e.g.- live rock, inverts/corals…even from using a net from another tank) that it is not realistic to expect to “never” see it crop up again. Thus the importance to continue with proper quarantine, proper stocking levels/environmental conditions, biological controls (e.g. - cleaner shrimp/gobies), et al. With these considerations, I see no reason to “stay away” from tangs…though I might consider a different specimen from the large and very “twitchy/nervous” species you have selected…perhaps Acanthurus japonicus…or one of the commonly available Ctenochaetus species>>
I really don't want to break down a 210 tank again!
<<I’ll bet!>>
Thanks again.
<<Always welcome>>
Any chance of you going to MACNA?
<<Indeed…have already made reservations and payment to attend>>
I was thinking of going to Atlanta in September to go.
<<Perhaps I will see you there>>
Talk to you soon.
Don V.
<<Cheers mate. EricR>>

Crypt…How Long Fallow? – 12/22/07
HELLO CREW!
<<Greetings Don>>
Eric, with my new 75 gallon Q- Tank /Hospital tank that I cycled because I only use Kordon's Ich Attack (I know we can debate this for hours and I do believe to never treat main tank.) but it works really well for me and I don't have to keep changing massive amounts of water.
<<Okay…I won’t dispute that you are certainly in the best position to know what works for you>>
BTW wife gave the ok on a RO/DI unit!
<<Excellent>>
Any Way I love Tangs, Powder Blue, Brown, Hippo's etc.
<<Indeed these are fascinating and beautiful creatures>>
Now my 210 tank had Crypt 6 weeks ago and I'm letting it remain fallow for another 3 months.
<<Mmm, not necessary to go that long for the Crypt alone…another two weeks should be fine. Though it won’t hurt for the tank to sit fallow if you have other reasons for doing so>>
I have under crowded 75 gallon and fully cycled which consist of Tomato clown, 5 Chromis, a Fox Face and a Coral Beauty. Will Crypt be gone in the 210 so that I can choose 1 of those tangs plus the hippo or wait 6 months fallow time (God I love this 75) or what do you think I should do? There have been no signs of ich for 2 weeks on the fish.
<<A couple more weeks quarantine, without incident, and these fishes should be ready for introduction/reintroduction to the display. As for any newly acquired tangs, I recommend a prophylactic freshwater dip (do read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm) before quarantine and then close observation…medicating “only” if the situation arises. Then after quarantine, another freshwater dip before placing in the display>>
Also in the 210, is it really a case of Crypt is always in the system??
<<On occasion a system might be deemed truly “crypt free” for a short while, but this protozoan pest is so easily introduced in so many ways that the hobbyist should always be on guard and prepared to deal re, in my opinion>>
Thanks again you guys/girls are the best!
<<We’re happy to assist. EricR>>

Fallow Period For Multiple Diseases/Parasites?
Bob & Crew,
<Rick>
I hope this email finds you well.
<Thank you my friend, yes>
I recently had an outbreak of ick, velvet and Brooklynella in my saltwater reef tank.
<Yikes!>
In the process, I lost three fish. The symptoms were white spots, dashing/darting, black spots, several light splotches clumped together and rapid breathing. Also, one fish began to breathe rapidly for several hours without any other visual signs and then died unexpectedly, with its gills expanded (could this have been caused by flukes?). All of these fish were carefully quarantined, save the translucent goby, which remained in QT for a mere week (do to concerns re survivability in a bare bottom QT).
<Likely the Velvet here>
The surviving fish (Blonde Naso, Hippo Tang and Tomato Clown) are in a 55 gallon, bare-bottom quarantine tank, with PVC for shelter/hiding. I am currently treating the QT with copper and administering 25 minute formalin (Quick Cure) baths in a separate bucket, using QT salt water. I have administered the bath once upon entry to the QT and intend to do so again after two weeks of copper treatment.
<Okay>
My question concerns the fallow period for the display. Given that the tank has ick, velvet, Brooklynella and maybe flukes, how long of a fallow period do you recommend.
<Have you elevated temperature, lowered SPG? These can help, speed the process along... if so... perhaps four weeks... if not, maybe six, eight...>
Will six weeks suffice to rid the tank of the parasites? I understand that there are no guarantees, but I would like to eliminate the presence of the parasites.
As always, thank you for your insight
Rick
<Should... eliminate most all. Bob Fenner>

Algae change in fallow tank  10/14/07
Hi Crew,
It has been a few weeks since I put my fish back in my 10 gallon from their hospital after recovering from ick and all is well. I have a clown goby and a spotted cardinal
<Needs more room...>
and they have been with me for 3 years. I also had a pair of neons but they did not make it through the ick. I added a new neon goby. Then last week my LFS had a rainfordi which I never see around here so I bought it.
<Ditto>
I know I will not be able to keep it too long but I really love to watch it. I think I will be able to tell when it has depleted my sand of the organisms that it feeds on at which time I will give it to someone who has a much larger setup. All the other fish go crazy when I put in newly hatched brine shrimp but this guy totally ignores it. It is really a very peaceful group that I have and all are very small except for the cardinal. So I have convinced myself that it is not too crowded. The only interaction between the fish is when the neon goby tries to clean the cardinal. Sometimes he stays still for the cleaning but most of the time he does not seem to like it.
The fallow period during the ick problem really helped my tank. The pods were all over the place, hair algae really dropped with only a few small areas that still have it. So it is true that if you deny algae nutrients it can not grow ( I did not feed the tank when the fish were out).
The glass on 3 sides is almost all covered with purple coralline algae. But my rock has almost none. Why?
Thanks for being here.
Sam
<Different predatory pressures, a shift in chemical make-up with the fishes absent. BobF>

Fallow tank feeding, and second Ich treatment 10/3/07
Hi everyone,
<Hello>
My display tank has been sitting fallow for about 2 month's (Ich). I believe somewhere along the line I didn't keep up the proper level of copper in my hospital tank's, and now I'm paying the price. The day that was marked on my calendar, to put the fish back into the display tank, I noticed a few white spot's on Clown triggers fin. Although he hasn't been showing any other symptom's, I just don't want too take any chances, and plan to put my poor babies back through another dose.
<Probably best>
Do I need to put any food in my display tank for the pod's while my tank sits fallow?
<Not a bad idea to add some food every few days, just a little to keep the biofilter going strong.>
I can still see those little guys running around, but I don't see as many of them as I've seen in the past. Would another dose of Copper Safe be too dangerous?
<Obviously not ideal, but best bet here. Safe than a long running Ich infection.>
I've kept the fish in the hospital tanks long enough for the tank's to cycle. Is this enough time between doses?
<Should be ok.>
Thanks, Pat
<Welcome>
<Chris>

Marine Ich Treatment 6/25/07
Hi There,
<Hello>
I just got the itch outbreak in my tank. I have few questions:
1) Do I need to move all corals, snails, hermit crab to quarantine tank? <No>
2) If no, with corals, snail, crab in the infected tank, how long should I run "no fish" tank to ensure all the crypto parasite would be gone? <6 to 8 weeks.>
Thanks in advance
Hanson
<Welcome>
<Chris>
Hanson Vu-Hien Nguyen, Pharm.D

Battling Parasites With An Extended Fallow Period  - 04/12/2007
I have had a problem with a 200 gal well established marine tank for  two years, but has had serious problems repeatedly with disease for the last  year.
<Not fun at all, but it can be a learning experience if you look at it optimistically!>
Ich and what now I think are parasites of some kind.  I have  attempted to run the tank fallow and have waited 4 to 6 weeks.  The  tank is a fish only tank, now without fish at the moment.  It is  beautifully decorated with live rock and deep sand bed of about 5 inch.   The tank is covered with copepods much
more than I've ever seen in any tank and  is the reason why I'm thinking there may also be some type of parasite causing  problems.
<Well, I don't think that the increased population of copepods is indicative of parasites causing problems. Rather, I think that it's a sort of positive side-effect of not having any predators (your fishes!) in the tank! I see this as a good thing! One of the reasons it's a great idea to avoid stocking newly-set-up reef systems with fishes for a while is that it gives natural food sources, such as copepods and amphipods, a chance to establish themselves. Yes, there are parasitic 'pods out there, but they are not all that common, in my experience. I'll bet that your seeing an explosion of a benign population of these creatures. Nonetheless, your fallow period is a good idea.>  
In each attempt to add fish, many small nodules appear on the skin followed by Ick.  In-tank treatment with Rid-Ich helps the Ich, but not enough to overcome the primary nodules I'm seeing on the fish  body.  This occurs with any type of fish I've tried.  
<I'm very skeptical about the effectiveness of so-called "reef safe" remedies. Treating in the display tank is problematic at best, IMO, for a variety of reasons. The better approach is to remove the fishes (as you have done), treat them with an appropriate medication (I like copper, but it's not for everyone), and a protracted fallow period in the display. Parasitic organisms tend to do poorly when deprived of their hosts!>
Question is, if I leave this tank run fallow for 90 days will this starve out all possible parasites as well as the Ich?
<It's impossible to ascertain if this is 100% effective, but a very long fallow period will definitely reduce the populations of protozoa and parasites in the display, perhaps giving an otherwise healthy fish a chance to resist infection. In my opinion, such a "two front" approach (fallow tank and treatment of the affected fishes elsewhere) is the best way to combat such diseases.>
Or, will I need to tear  down and start again?
<In some particularly serious cases, this may be the only way. In my experience, very protracted fallow periods generally do the trick...Patience!>
Or, is there anything I can put in the tank that will eradicate all possible parasites?
<Not without the potential for collateral damage, as far as I'm concerned...not worth it.>
Thanks so much for your help.
<My pleasure...Best of luck with your battle! Regards, Scott F.>

Ich and More 3/27/07
Thanks for your time. <Sure> I have a saltwater 75 FOWLR 60lbs live rock. I was looking closely at some of my live rock and noticed some very small bugs. They are almost clear and look mostly like very small centipedes. Any idea what this could be? <Copepods most likely.> Also, I just purchased a cleaner shrimp, do I need to supplement it with any food or simply let it do its thing on the rock. <Will most likely need to be fed a small amount of fish food.> I have had a fallow tank for just over a month because of an ich problem. Should I go ahead and wait out another couple weeks? <Yep, 1 more month ideally.> I have had a blue devil damsel as a fish to help cycle my quarantine tank, can I put him in there with the shrimp or is that bad news? <Not yet, but will be fine in the future, although I would worry about it being aggressive to other fish.> How should I go about making sure my tank has low enough levels of ich to re-introduce a fish I have quarantined for 3-4 weeks? <Give it time.>  Thanks for all the help and giving us a great site.
<Welcome>
-Jared Hawkins
<Chris>

Fallow 1/30/07
Hi....
<Hello>
I have to let 2 tanks go fallow.  Ich/crypt...Arrgg!!!.  I have some questions.
1. I have removed all livestock (fish) from the tanks and into quarantine. I can't get a snowflake eel out of the one tank though. Will this be ok? <No, defeats the purpose.>  It's not showing any signs of ich. Do they even get ich? <Yes> What about inverts such as snails, crabs etc.  Ok  to leave or remove also?  <Invertebrates can stay.>
2.During the fallow period would it be ok to add some ammonia (household 100%) periodically to keep beneficial bacteria thriving? If yes how much and how often? Maybe a drop per 20 gallons weekly??? If no...what would you recommend to do/add?
Thanks for your time.. appreciated....Pete
<Just add some food every few days, the ammonia is too complicated and prone to mistakes.>
<Chris>

When/If to Reintroduce Fish to Fallow Tank 1/23/07
Hello.
<Hi>
Thanks in advance for all the great advice and information. It's always a pleasure to go grazing throughout the site.
<Thanks>
About 10 weeks ago I had an ich breakout which killed all my fish (75 gallon reef, 80 lbs live rock, 390 watts, good water quality, deep sand bed). I let it go fallow at 86 degrees for five weeks. <Ok> Bought a pygmy (cherub) angel and achilles tang from an absolutely top notch LFS where they'd been isolated for 12 days. <Not the same as QTing them yourself.> Put them in fallow tank, three days later achilles had half a dozen white spots (I'm sure it was ich, after all, I'm experienced in the matter). <That’s why we QT before adding to the tank.> Took two days  before he'd enter the trap, during which time the spots disappeared. <Will return.> Put him in a hyposalinity QT. Its been 10 days. Can't catch the pygmy, but no signs of ich on him either.
<Is infected.>
Question: Since the consensus seems to be that its impossible to eradicate ich from a display tank, and since achilles are ich magnets anyway and the pygmy seems 100% clean, <is not> is it likely the fallow period did all it could and I might as well re-introduce the achilles? <Did until the introduction of most likely infected fish.>  I'm thinking that the achilles picked up the residual ich, the first batch of which it seems to
have shaken. <Or brought in new Ich, and did not shake, part of the normal lifecycle of Ich.> Would have I more to gain by 1) tearing down the tank to get the pygmy and letting it go fallow another 5-6 weeks, or 2) keeping the tang out for a few more weeks, or 3) betting that the ich has been beaten down to the point where a healthy fish shouldn't have much of a problem?
<I'd go with #1 and QT all future additions before adding to the tank.>
Thanks very much, I greatly appreciate the advice.
Mark
<Please see here for more http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm >
<Chris>

Quarantine and Fallow Regimen - 1/22/07
Hello again, and thanks for all of the great information.  
<Hey Vincent, JustinN with you today. Thank you for the kind words.>
I have two risk based questions I would like to get your opinion on regarding two QT tanks
I have been running to treat ich.  
<Ok>
A little background, I have a flame angel and a kole tang being treated for ich with CopperSafe.  I monitor the copper levels daily with the appropriate test kit.  After 10 days all is well in terms of fish health and the visual absence of ich.  I plan to
continue for 4 more days before reducing the copper level and continuing
QT for 14 additional days.  
<Should finish the copper treatment as planned and then maintain in a copper-free quarantine for a minimum 28 days beyond the treatment timeframe. The reason for this being, this will allow your display tank to become fallow. With no fish to host the parasite, within 6 to 8 weeks, you can be confident in the absence of the parasite in your display.>
The questions are (1) should I extend the copper treatment beyond 14 days to increase the probability of eliminating the parasite and (2) should I do another freshwater/methylene blue dip at the end of the QT period just before the fish are returned to the main tank (which has been fallow for 30 days)??  
<Yes to both, my friend. See above for rationale. I would aim for closer to 2 months, for piece of mind, and comfort in knowing you have rid yourself of the parasite.>
I know that both fish are very sensitive to copper, so I wanted to get a better assessment of the risk/need for extending the treatment period.  Thanks again for all of
your help.
<No problem, Vincent. You're definitely on the right track, just maintain the fallow period for a bit longer than currently planned. Always keep in mind the very accurate adage: "Nothing good in marine aquaria occurs quickly, only bad." Patience is the key, my friend. -JustinN>

Running Fallow  12/11/06
I have a 75 gallon reef tank.  All the inhabitants have been doing fine for the most part.  However, I added a pygmy angel about 5 days ago and it is now showing signs of ich (never saw any twitching or anything, but I'm pretty sure it's developing some white spots as of this morning).  <Twitching does not always accompany ich.>  I have read on your site that once there are spots showing, a simple freshwater dip will not do; I need to run the tank fallow for about six weeks. <Yep> I have a
couple questions regarding how I should go about doing this.
First, I am not sure what size tank(s) I should use for the extended quarantine.  The vertebrate inhabitants are: gold-stripe maroon clown (about 3"), green Chromis (2"), pygmy angel (2"), lawnmower blenny (4"), royal Gramma (3").  I have two 10-gallon tanks that I use for quarantining.  Will that be enough space for them?  <Tight but should work with lots of water changes.>
Second, I have a 20-gallon tank that has recently finished cycling and contains only 2 small percula clowns at the moment.  Might I be able to move some of the potentially infected fish (I was thinking the Chromis and/or the Gramma) into there after about a week in quarantine?  Or would that be a little too risky?  (The idea in doing so was to reduce the load on the quarantine tanks.)
<Would most likely infect the new tank.>
Third, if I put the QT SG at 1.10, does that negate the need for
medication?  When I get new fish, I typically keep them in the hyposaline environment for about a week, and give them a dose of formalin and malachite green; but I have been wondering for a while whether or not the medication was overkill.
<I would not treat prophylactically.  Best to only treat when the disease is know.>
Thanks.
<Chris>

Running Fallow Part II 12/12/06
Thanks. <Sure> You said not to treat prophylactically; does that mean no hyposalinity for new fish--or just no meds? <I would do neither without cause.> I was under the impression that hyposalinity won't do any damage (and I think I've heard that a sg of about 1.010 is actually easier on fish than 1.022 because 1.01 is isosmotic to their body fluids).  <The best environment for fish is closest to their natural as possible.>  Also, I don't believe you addressed my question about whether or not meds are necessary for treating ich if I am also doing hyposalinity.  <Hypo can work on its own, just make sure to be accurate with you salinity, in other words use a refractometer, not a hydrometer.>  I guess I shifted the focus away from that when I appended it with a question about preventative meds.  Thanks again.
<One of my favorite Ich articles http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php , worth a read.>
<Chris>

Going Fallow...with Fish?    11/28/06
Hello,
     <Greetings, Mich here.>  I recently lost four fish from my FOWLR/invert setup to an aggressive outbreak of ich <Very sorry for you loss.>  spawned by a tripped circuit breaker that reduce the tank's temperature to 70-degrees for several hours.  The three remaining fish, a Niger Trigger, a Percula Clown, and a Betta Grouper, have never shown any sign of infestation during the entire ordeal.  My question is:  If these fish continue to show no signs of disease over the next three months, can I consider the tank to have gone fallow <No.> and have reasonable confidence that the concentration of parasites has been eliminated <No.> or at least dramatically reduced <Questionable>?  While I'm aware that QT coupled with a truly fallow tank is the more definitive solution, <Yes.>  I'd prefer to avoid that stressor if the fishes' own resistance is enough to essentially make them "invisible" to the dreaded foe.  <I understand your thinking, but realize that the "dreaded foe" will continue to live in your tank until the tank is allowed to go fallow for 6 weeks.> Thank you.  <You're welcome.>
Fred Warren