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FAQs on Marine Parasitic
Disease: Prevention
Related Articles: Marine
Parasitic Disease, Marine
Ich: Fighting The War On Two Fronts, Crustacean
Parasitic Disease, Quarantine,
Quarantine
of Marine Fishes,
Related FAQs: Marine
Parasitic Disease 1,
Parasitic
Disease 2, Parasitic Disease 3, Parasitic
Disease 4, Parasitic
Disease 5, Parasitic Disease 6,
Parasitic Disease 7,
Parasitic Disease 8, Parasitic Disease 9,
Parasitic Disease 10,
Parasitic Disease 11, & FAQs on: Parasite-infested Systems: Parasitic
Marine Tanks,
Parasitic
Marine Tanks 2, Parasitic Reef
Tanks, Parasitic Reef Tanks 2,
& FAQs on: Diagnosing Parasitic Diseases,
References on Parasitic
Diseases, Index Materia Medici for Parasitic Diseases
(medicines), Treating Marine Parasitic
Diseases, Using Hyposalinity to
Treat Marine Parasitic Diseases,
Hyposalinity Treatments 2,
Fallow Tanks, & Best Crypt FAQs, Cryptocaryoniasis,
Marine Ich, Marine
Velvet Disease
Biological Cleaners, Treating
Parasitic Disease, Using Hyposalinity
to Treat Parasitic Disease, Parasitic
Worms, Crustacean
Parasitic Disease, Isopods,
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Do you dip/bathe, quarantine incoming livestock? You should develop and stick to
an acclimation protocol... to avoid much of the world of infectious/parasitic
disease.
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Quarantine:
Quarantine by Bob Fenner,
Quarantine
Marine Fishes, To Quarantine or Not To Quarantine-That's a Good Question!
by Bob Goemans, Quarantine
of Corals and Invertebrates, by Scott Fellman & FAQs on: Quarantining
Invertebrates, & FAQs on:
Best
FAQs on Quarantine,
Quarantine 1, Quarantine
2, Quarantine 3,
Quarantine
4, Quarantine 5, Quarantine
6, Quarantine 7, Quarantine
8, Quarantine 9, Quarantine
10, Quarantine 11,
Quarantine 12,
Quarantine 13, & FAQs on: Rationale/Use,
Methods, Quarantine
Tanks
& FAQs on Quarantine Tanks,
Quarantine Filtration
& FAQs on: Quarantine
Filtration, Quarantine Maintenance & FAQs on:
Quarantine Maintenance/Operation,
Quarantine Feeding & FAQs on: Quarantine
Feeding,
Quarantine Protocol FAQs,
Dips/Baths:
Dips/Baths
by Bob Fenner
& FAQs on: Dips/Baths,
Dips/Baths 2, Dips/Baths
3, & FAQs on Dip/Bath: Rationale/Use,
Methods, Tools,
Adjusting pH, Additives, Iodine/ide/ate, Lugol's Use,
Methylene Blue, Formalin/Formaldehyde,
Dangers Will Robinson,
Products,
Methylene Blue &
FAQs on: Methylene Blue,
Formalin,
Formaldehyde Use & FAQs on: Formalin,
The More Common Protozoans: (Yes, there are several others):
Cryptocaryon/White Spot:
Prevention, "Causes",
Amyloodinium/Velvet:
Prevention,
Brooklynellosis/"Clownfish Disease":
Etiology/Prevention,
Larger Zoonoses:
Parasitic Marine Worm Diseases:
Etiology/Prevention,
Black Spot, "Black Ich", Paravortex... Turbellaria...
Etiology/Prevention,
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Can apparently uninfected fish be carriers?
Preventing The Spread of Parasitic Illness.. 5/6/08
Hi Crew,
<Hey there! Scott F. here today!>
On March 30 I had a sudden die off of 3 fish in my 90 gallon. I had quarantined
a little Tang I bought for about 3-4 weeks.
<Excellent practice!>
He was only about 1.5 inches so I thought he would be fine in my old nano which
was well cycled. I was pretty sure the Eunicid worm that used to reside in the
rock had met his demise since I hadn't seen it for a while. Well, one day I went
up and I couldn't find my little Blue Tang. I picked up the rock and turned it
over a few times and no fish. I went downstairs and when I came back up he was
back in his favorite hiding place behind the heater. I was rather worried that
the worm was still alive. Not thinking logically, I decided to move it to the
main tank.
<Uh oh...have a hunch where this is going.>
Within a day or 2 he started showing signs of ich or velvet but he was still
eating. The Coral beauty was little aggressive toward him which didn't help. Any
way about 2 days later I woke up and all 3 algae eaters were dead. They were
eating fine the night before. I think if it disease maybe it was velvet because
of the speed it took.
<A very good hypothesis. This illness attacks and kills with astounding
rapidity.>
We put Advantage on our cats that day also. May be possible some got on the
Nori?
<It is possible if you didn't wash your hands after administering this
medication. Although the symptoms that you are describing seem indicative of a
disease rather than a poisoning event of some sort.>
Anyway my 2 Perculas, my corals, snails and my cleaner shrimp are fine. I
immediately removed the Clowns and initially put the recommended dose of
Cupramine in the quarantine. I removed the live rock from the quarantine to an
un cycled tank in the garage. I dosed them for a couple days and had a hard time
keeping the level up without getting too much. Anyway I quit dosing them because
they are obviously not sick. My question is should I dose them for a period of
time in case they are carriers before I put them back in the main tank? I'm
looking at a 10 week fallow period which would be June 8.
<Good questions. However, I would not dose copper prophylactically in the
future, because of potential "collateral damage" issues/ In your situation, a
two month fallow period makes sense. You simply cannot be too careful with a
disease like Marine Velvet. By removing all fishes from the display, and by
allowing the Clowns a period of time for observation, you're sort of covering
all the bases. Best of luck! Regards, Scott F.>
What are the Ingredients for Disaster? Ich, Tang Minus Quarantine, &
Overcrowding - 29/11/05
Greetings Crew,
My 55 gal FOWLR was cruising along just fine until I added a small Blue Tang the other day. Then more trouble, he began scratching on the rocks, but he does not have any
noticeable parasites on him. I did see white specks near the bottom of the tank on the glass, just above the live sand. They are moving although my clown fish, trigger fish, and 2 yellow tail damsels seem fine.
<Unfortunately your tank is not large enough to support a trigger or this tang. Additionally, to save yourself from fish losses and the resultant heartache, it is important that you quarantine any new livestock in a separate tank or container for at least four weeks before adding them to your system.>
The water seems to have these white specks floating all over it too. The population of the white specks is growing fast. HELP.... Is copper my tanks
savior?
<To rectify the situation, I would remove the tang ASAP to a filtered hospital tank or container, and observe for any parasitic outbreak. Read through the disease and cure sections on WWM (starting here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm) and be prepared to take action. I would strongly urge you not to medicate your display tank with copper. It's unlikely that you are seeing a cloud of free-living parasites in your water. It would also be a good idea to return your trigger to the fish store as soon as possible (and indeed the tang, if they can isolate it from their other livestock), and read up on marine tank water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and livestock choices.>
Thanks, MIKE IN S.F.
<Good luck, and I hope you manage to get the situation under control. Best regards, John>
Parasite Theories (7/26/05)
Hi gang, it's me again Anthony with another question also related to QT for
new fish. <Hi. Steve Allen with you this evening.> I've read from your site and
from LFS folks that tanks and fish will always have parasites (just like the
ocean). <There are many who assert that you can have a parasite-free tank. Since
we aren't about to examine every square inch of fish skin and substrate surface
in a bunch of tanks under a microscope, there will not likely ever be definitive
proof one way or the other.> That It all depends on the hardiness and immune
system of the fish (also cleaner fish and shrimp). <Important factors indeed.>
The new fish could be fine after QT but when it gets stressed out in a "parasite
free??" display tank, the ich could come out. Is this true? Can a fish be a
carrier even if it never gets sick? <In medicine, we use the term "subclinical
infection" to describe infections that have little or no symptoms in a given
individual. Many of the symptoms you experience when ill are your body's
reactions to the infection, rather than actual physical damage being done. The
white spots of ich are the visible manifestation of infestation, not the actual
microscopic protozoans. Many people who "never had" Chicken Pox have antibodies.
So they really did "have" Chicken Pox, but did not develop itchy blisters,
fever, etc. They had a subclinical infection. Ich doesn't come from nowhere and
does not go "dormant" for months years. They are either in the tank at a low
level in conditions that allow the fishes' immunity (and biological cleaners, if
present) to keep them in check to the degree that the aquarist sees no apparent
symptoms or manifestations, or they are brought in with new fish or infested
tank water from the LFS. If a fish gets a spot or two, but no more, you may never
notice. Steven Pro wrote an excellent series on ich for Reefkeeping that starts
here:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/ >
It was also suggested that new fish after a 4-6 week QT without signs of ich
doesn't mean it's parasite free. <But very likely is if you have seen no spots
at all during that time, for the live cycle of the parasites in question means
that there should have been some. Of course, I haven't really touched on
internal parasites here, but am guessing you are primarily concerned with
Cryptocaryon and Amyloodinium.> So the suggestion was to mildly medicate during
QT as well. Is this true? <That's a matter of opinion and disagreement. I don't
like to give medicine prophylactically. There are too many potential side
effects from any of them that work. Also, where's the evidence that "mildly"
medicating works? If you take half of the recommended dose of an antibiotic, it
probably won't work. Same goes for anti-parasitic meds--you have to use enough
to get the job done. Medicating a QT for new fish would be done on the
presumption that parasites are present, thus requiring full-strength treatment.>
If yes what is the best medication to use (something that would not totally
destroy the good bacteria in the QT/holding tank which would have live rock and
obviously not stress the fish). Would those "reef safe" parasite meds work
(i.e. Ruby Reef Kick Ich)? <I do not consider this or any other "reef safe"
medication useful. There is no evidence that they are either safe or effective.
My general belief is that "reef safe" medications are not effective and
effective medicines are not reef safe. That is a WWM consensus.> Remember, this
is a question about new NOT sick fish. <Understood. Read Steve's articles. They
are excellent.>
One last theoretical question. If I have a tank with parasite infected fish (no
other fish in tank) that recovers and shows no signs of illness after 6 weeks,
does this mean that the tank and or fish are parasite free (same an infected
running a tank empty of fish for 4-6 weeks)? <No. It could be the fish merely
has the situation under control. Parasites may still be present. The only way to
rid a tank of the parasite is to leave it free of hosts long enough for all the
parasites to die off for lack of a host to allow them to go through their entire
life cycle. That's probably 6-8 weeks, perhaps even longer.> Thanks for
everything and regards to everybody. <You're welcome. Thanks for the
interesting
questions. I hope you find my musings on the subject helpful. Again, do read the
articles. He also recently wrote an excellent article about Amyloodinium for the
same webzine.>
More Theoretical Discussion of Parasites (7/27/05)
Hi gang, and Steve thanks for your insight full answers. <Happy to help.
Back with you again this evening, Steve Allen.> Your response and Steve Pro's
article on ich had endowed me with more knowledge than all the reading I've done
in the past month. I guess it put everything in proper perspective
There's something in Steve Pro's article about a fish getting better only to be
infested a month later by new parasite babies of the guys that infected him
originally where the fish sleeps - is this what is commonly referred to as a
secondary infection? (excuse my non-scientific terminology). <I suppose you
could use that term, but "secondary infection" is used in medicine to refer to
bacterial infections that occur on top of some other (often viral) infection
that weakens local or systemic defenses to allow the "secondary" infection to
occur when/where it normally would not. An example is developing "secondary"
bacterial pneumonia while ill with "primary" influenza. In the case of
Cryptocaryon, the fish shed the parasites which then go through their substrate
and free-swimming stages before searching for an new host which then ends up
being the original fish. As you read, these non-infesting stages last a couple
of weeks.> Furthermore, these parasites hatch in the dark. I have a 60g tank
where a 5" blue tang and 5" Auriga Butterflyfish were infected and recovered -
thanks to my hard working red fire cleaner shrimp. <A really beautiful,
interesting, and helpful creature indeed--love mine.> They were taking turns
with the shrimps' cleaning station for almost 2 weeks. <Yummy for the shrimp.
The striped ones <much bolder than the reds> will clean under your fingernails
too. It really creeps my daughter out.> It's been a week that I've hardly seen
the two fish with the shrimp. Now, the shrimp is starting to stroll beyond its
cave - I think for food. <No more delivery. It has to go out for dinner now.> So
now I have to drop sinking food for bottom dwellers and the shrimp grabs it in a
split second. <yes, very fast and aggressive at eating pellets, flakes, frozen
food, chopped sea food--pretty much anything remotely edible.>
Sorry for ranting. My new question is, what can I do to cope with the soon to
come parasite babies. <Keep your fingers crossed--perhaps the cleaner ate enough
of them off of the fish that you will see few if any offspring. How big is your
tank? Lysmata shrimp, which are hermaphrodites can be kept in pairs or groups if
there is enough space. I have two amboinensis and two debelius in my 80g.> And I
thought my 60g tank will be fine from now on since I have no plans in adding new
fish. <It may yet. Definitely consider adding a second Lysmata debelius. They
should pair up, mate and provide live food (eggs/larvae) for your tank.>
Another thing I wanted to verify - Are snails and shrimps (my only inverts)
immune to parasites. <To fish parasites. But not to whatever parasites naturally
can infest them. Most parasites host in/on only one type of organism. There are
certainly many exceptions to this "rule," but neither Cryptocaryon nor
Amyloodinium involve other aquarium inhabitants in their lifecycles--just fish.
You seem to find parasites interesting (the actually are fascinating), so you
might want to take a look at this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/074320011X/qid=1122528358/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-7727427-9304642
My other tank 55g, recently wiped out by disease is running with no fish but
still has my inverts. So is the guideline of not adding fish within 6-8 weeks
still hold true? <Yes. In my mind, the longer the better. If you are the patient
type, you might want to go to three or four months. I've heard from a lot of
people for whom 6-8 weeks did not suffice for some reason. Just imagine all the
cool things that will thrive in your tank without fish to eat them.> I already
have September to quarantine new pets and October to hopefully move them to the
55g display tank, marked on my calendar.
One last thing. What's your opinion about a quarantine and hospital tank being
the same setup bare). Steven Pro said that the holding/quarantine tank for new
fish should be bare (no rock nor sand). The logic is to make the fish not too
comfy (stress it a bit) - so it can be infected by dormant deceases it or it's
companions may have. <I like having just PVC fitting or two for the fish to hide
in when scared. the nice thing about a bare bottom is that you can vacuum it to
remove parasite cysts that fall to the bottom after dropping off of the fish.
They have no rock or sand to hide in. The most important reason to not have rock
or sand in a hospital tank is that they absorb the medications (most especially
copper) and make it difficult to maintain a safe and therapeutic level in the
water.>
Thanks Again, Anthony <You're welcome.>
Parasite Theories, Part 3 -- Mostly About Shrimp Today (7/28/05)
Hi Crew and Steve, <Back with you again, Steve Allen.>
Thanks again for your comprehensive answers to my never ending questions. The
tank which I'm concerned about a second ich infestation is 60g. I added a
Lysmata amboinensis a few days after the debelius because I thought the latter
was overworked with the 2 fish taking turns. As you said I like the amboinensis
because it's bolder and not as shy as the debelius. It was doing it's job but I
found it dead in 2 days. <Sorry to hear.> I still wonder why - could it be that
the stronger looking debelius killed it or is it one of those sudden death
syndromes for shrimps (if there's such a thing). My Auriga Butterflyfish loves
nipping on my snails and tube worms - so he's one of my suspects. <I'd say it is
unlikely that a debelius would kill an amboinensis, especially in a tank of that
size--plenty of room to avoid one another. As I mentioned, I've had two of each
thriving in 80 gallons for two years now. It could have been some sort of
illness, weakness, or failure to adjust to the new tank. There's really no way
of knowing. I do strongly recommend taking a couple of hours to acclimate as
shrimp can be delicate, L. Debelius in particular per my experience.>
The debelius is nicer looking <and more expensive> and I'm tempted to take on
your advice to get it a partner. Would they eventually show themselves,
otherwise what good are their good looks if you hardly see them. <Purely
utilitarian when not visible.> Reason why I added an amboinensis instead. Also I
read in LiveAquaria that the debelius is aggressive to it's own kind unless
mated. So should I pick the same size or smaller for the second debelius.
<Interesting, I have not seen this or heard of it from others. Stenopus shrimps
are notorious for this and are best put in mated ahead of time, but I am not
aware of this being so for L. debelius. I'd bet you can add one and they would
pair up--they are hermaphroditic. I'd go with about the same size. Consider
moving the rocks around a bit to confuse the one that's already in there. You
may even find that a pair are more likely to come out than a single one.
Although mine are not out and about all the time like my L. amboinensis are,
they come scurrying forth in a frenzy of eating activity the minute any food
hits the water.>
Getting back to my empty 55g I'm running "a fowl". It has a 4" DSB so more
places for left over parasites to hide. I have a small amboinensis in it. Will
this guy eat parasites in the substrate even when they're not attached to any
fish? <I doubt it. They are microscopic there, not part of a clump of
inflammatory tissue for the shrimp to dig out and put in its mouth.> If yes,
maybe I should add another one to facilitate ridding this tank of parasites????
<I'd say you best remedy is what we docs call "tincture of time." Let the tank
go fish free long enough for the parasites to die off for lack of a piscine
host.> Thanks again, Anthony <My pleasure.>
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Pestering Parasites!
Thanks Scott.
<You're quite welcome!>
Quick follow-up. I have read or have been told somewhere along the line that
parasites are often present on most fish even healthy fish - and are merely
latent.
<Many parasites are continuously present on fish, but Cryptocaryon (the
causative protozoan of Marine Ich) is not always present, based on much of the
research that I have done.>
I suppose in the case of Ich, they donıt get through
the slime coat on a healthy fish or are not present in sufficient numbers to
cause stress. Is this true?
<Yes to the first part, but the second part is controversial!>
If so, going back to my case, Iıd like to be assured that theyıre dead before
adding a fish to the main system.
If no meds, what would you think about 1) no substrate in the hospital thank
(there is none currently), 2) running a small UV sterilizer or Iıve also read
where people have used germicidal lamps instead of the regular light bulbs, and
3) with frequent (daily or every couple of days) water changes from the main
tank to try to capture the Ick while theyıre in their non-swimming phase?
<Well, that's very similar to a technique that has been proven to do the job
every time: A bare tank, with 100% daily water changes, will do the trick. This
way, you're destined to get any free-swimming parasites if you keep it up or 3
weeks...>
Thanks!
<Give the 100% changes a try...Good luck! Regards, Scott F>
J.D. Hill
Fresh water dipping stresses
Hi Bob,
This time I really am writing ONLY to say thanks for your response to my last
question :) I just re-read your article on Acclimating Livestock. I see your
point on adjusting the pH of the water that is added to the acclimation vessel
to match that of the shipping water. I feel kind of silly in not figuring that
out for myself, since I work as a chemist...
Anyway, thanks again for your help, I think I'm on top of this now.
Dan
<Outstanding. Clarity is pleasurable, and acid-base reactions are of course
very important in biological phenomena. Be chatting, Bob Fenner>
Re: Fresh water dipping stresses
Hello Again Bob,
Just wanted to say thanks for answering my question re: "fresh
water dipping stresses." Also, thanks a lot for pointing me to your
WetWebMedia site, it looks like a wealth of information is there to be had.
I actually have a follow-up question regarding fresh water dipping technique. I've read your articles on acclimation at the WetWebMedia
site, but I just want to be extra careful, since my next purchases will be
the first that I'll be dipping. I like to drip acclimate my new arrivals
by transferring them to 5 gallon bucket, then dripping my water into
the shipping water at a slow rate, over the course of about 45 minutes
(emptying the acclimation bucket half way several times). When this is complete,
I plan on doing the fresh water dip in water that is at the same
temperature, buffered to 8.2, and dechlorinated. To me, it seems that the
instantaneous transition from salt water to fresh would be quite shocking to the fish.
Is there any kind of acclimation to the fresh water that I should be
including here?
Thanks again. Sorry if I'm asking a simple question whose answer I
missed at the website. Hope you're enjoying Hawaii! Dan
<Thank you for your uplifting message. I think I understand where
you're coming from and to. The pertinent comments: I'm leery about not responding
to your statements re your current acclimation procedure. If the shipping
water has little metabolite content, such "drip" methodology should be
fine. If there is any detectable ammonia and a depressed pH, the addition of higher
pH water can have deadly effects... actually this is how most livestock
is probably killed, all the way from the collectors through to end users...
You will know the relationship between any ammonia and high pH (much more
deadly than low pH situations).
And the issue of rapid freshwater introductions? Not a problem with
fish livestock that is otherwise healthy. Sometimes I'd like you to dream
of diving in the tropics and drifting past a river inlet (to the sea) or
being a small tropical fish yourself, caught in a TidePool and a big
rainstorm...
This happens, and no problem with the fishes...
Bob Fenner who has just been in a similar situation (not as a tropical)
at Two-Step on the Big (Hawaiian) Island's dry side.> |
I recently had a few fish pass that showed the same initial symptoms
The
fish looked healthy and had been feeding quite nicely. They would aggressively
go to food but then hesitate. If they did eat it, they would often shutter after
eating the food. They became more lifeless; clamped fins, lack of color, hiding
in corners, sometimes a fungus in the mouth, until they passed. I removed one
sebae clown that was headed down this same road. I thought I had seen something
white in his mouth, so I opened his mouth and noticed what looked like a
parasite. I removed it with tweezers from what I will call the
"tongue" of the fish. This caused this fish to bleed and eventually
die. Also due to my rough handling.
The parasite was about 6 cm in length, white with small eye in the front, and
had a arched back that was fairly hard. My guess is that this guy and his
friends are what caused the demise of my fish. Any idea on what it might be, and
how to rid that tank of the creature? I am worried about buying new fish until
the parasite is removed from the tank and don't want to loose any other fish.
One other quick question, I have little white swirls on the back tank glass that
are about 1 to 2 cm in diameter. A friend said these are snail eggs. Is he
correct? Thanks for all the help. What did we do before the Internet and e-mail?
<And it was gray in color... Well, the animal you describe is probably a
parasitic isopod crustacean (sort of like a terrestrial Rollie-Pollie,
pill-bug... but not near as fun)... and I doubt if it was responsible for
infesting your other fishes... (they tend to be rather species, size specific).
I would definitely start with a search of your water quality as a prime cause of
the losses...
Don't know what the small swirls are in the back of your tank... more likely a
type of encrusting worm than snails... but I wouldn't be overly concerned with
them.
Do you dip/bathe, quarantine incoming livestock? You should develop and stick to
an acclimation protocol... to avoid much of the world of infectious/parasitic
disease.
Bob Fenner>
Re: lots of questions <Avoiding parasitic problems>
Hi Bob,
First, I would like to thank you for the help you have given me in the
past. Its greatly appreciated! Next I have a lot of questions many of
which are unrelated. I apologize in advance if its too much.
<Never too much my friend. Service to you>
I have two marine systems: a 30 gallon that I have had running on and offfor about 5 years with out a problem and a 75 gallon that I have had for
about 3 months. After a month the 75 got ich which also got transferred to the
30 gallon tank. I lost all but a single fish in the 75 but saved all
the fish in the 30 with copper treatment. I have been keeping both tanks
coppered for a little over three weeks now. Here's my dilemma! I want to
remove the copper and begin adding live rock to both systems, but I am now paranoid of getting ich again and with live rock in the system I can't
use copper if ich resurfaces. Right?
<Yes... this is so... the LR will readily accumulate the copper, and it will
kill much of the life that is the "live" rock>
I usually read the daily questions on
your web sight every other day or so and one thing I have noticed is that
every day there are several people who have ich. Am I doomed to get it
again or can it be easily prevented? If so, how?
<You are not doomed... Oh, I do wish the "trade" would adopt
better, consistent practices in preventing these simple to stop epizootics... I
can imagine (as well as you...) simple pH-adjusted dips to just exclude ich,
velvet (and a few other pests)... Well, back to reality... though I will post an
old "letter to the industry" that I drum up every decade or so
decrying the lack of such prophylaxis and what it could do for the entire
interest... Oh, found it: http://wetwebmedia.com/ltrquartrdbiz.htm
Along the same lines, I have purchased a 20 gallon tank to use as a
quarantine tank. I read info on your web site and elsewhere on how to set
it up, but I still have a few questions. First, do I have to cycle the
quarantine tank?
<Hmm, not really... if you can/do use "cycled water"... like from
one of your "clean" systems...>
Can I just add water from my main tanks and consider it
cycled or would that not work (I am going to run an AquaClear power filter
on it. is that enough?).
<Oh! Yes... do monitor aspects of cycling, be ready for water changes, feed
sparingly...>
Second, because I already have the living room
with two tanks there is really no where for me to put the quarantine tank
except in the basement. Do I need a light for the tank or will the 100w
bulb in the basement left on during the day be ok. Do I need light at
all?
<Some, but not much... on a timer... and/or some outside lighting so there
won't be too much light/dark transition>
Finally, should I keep the tank running even when I don't have fish
to quarantine or medicate?
<Mmm, probably not... unless you're quite regularly moving livestock... it's
probably better to store the gear in-between uses>
Next, the 30 gallon has an undergravel filtration system with a couple of
Percula clowns and a scooter blenny. I am considering changing to an Eheim
canister filter instead. Can I just hook up the Eheim and turn off the
undergravel and remove a lot of the crushed coral from the tank floor or
will this cause the system to recycle or crash??
<Should be fine as long as there is "not too much gunk" under the
plates, within the substrate... I would encourage you to "break the tank
down" rinse the gravel... and rebuild it (with the plates back in, minus
risers)... to remove chance of there being "too much gunk".>
I wanted to change
because there is so much waste that gets stuck in the gravel even after
regular gravel vacuums. I don't have this problem with the 75 which has an
Eheim and a protein skimmer. Should I just leave well enough alone??
<I would make the change, but do the clean out... we'll both feel better>
Also the 75, as I said has an Eheim and a protein skimmer. I was also
going to add an AquaClear power filter to this system as well. Is this a
good or bad idea, or does it even matter?
<Redundancy in life support systems is a good idea/thing/practice>
Finally, Could I put a flame angel and a juvenile (about 2 inches) emperor
angel in the 75 together or would they fight?
<They would likely get along...>
I realize that the emperor
would eventually get too large for this small system, but could it be kept
in there for a little while? How long would it take to outgrow the tank?
<A year or so>
Thanks so much for your help! I don't know how you find time to answer all
these emails, but I am glad that you do!
<A passion for me... to provide assistance, ideas, attitudes to aid people in
their quests for understanding, improving their captive systems, and by way of
these involvements, their lives. Bob Fenner>
Sincerely,
Jeff
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