Adriana’s 25-gallon Saltwater Build

How is everything looking at this point? I finally figured out why my app wasn't working so I'm playing catch up

Well, I finished two weeks of Prazipro. None of my corals were negatively affected. I did a large water change and added my activated carbon back to the filtration. Now I’m feeding General Cure and Focus mixed in their mysis. I’ll probably do this for the same amount of time.

 

I'm done with the treatments. I'm back down to where I started: one clown, a goby/shrimp pair, snails, and coral. I'm thinking of setting up a quarantine tank for some new fish soon. Maybe by the end of the week. I'll be using some media from this tank and maybe a few small rocks if I find it necessary. I'd be worried that they'd absorb medication, though. Overall, everyone's been doing okay, excluding my two mushrooms. They're very small and I don't know why. Maybe they're getting too much light? Phosphates and nitrates are both very close to zero.

 

QT is always a good idea I’d forgo the rocks for the same reason you mentioned. Pvc pipes make for good, easy to clean hides in QTs. Sorry the mushrooms are mad though. Have they always been where they are now?

 

QT is always a good idea I’d forgo the rocks for the same reason you mentioned. Pvc pipes make for good, easy to clean hides in QTs. Sorry the mushrooms are mad though. Have they always been where they are now?

One of them has been in the same spot for the entire time I've had him. This one started off big and slowly became smaller. The other got moved around after I accidentally blasted it with a turkey baster. That was several months ago, though. It's been wedged between two rocks since then. It was big until I moved it on accident. Ever since then, it's been small.

 

One of them has been in the same spot for the entire time I've had him. This one started off big and slowly became smaller. The other got moved around after I accidentally blasted it with a turkey baster. That was several months ago, though. It's been wedged between two rocks since then. It was big until I moved it on accident. Ever since then, it's been small.

Any swings in any of your parameters? My shrooms do get mad when there’s been too drastic of a change, even if its a good change. Sorry for all the questions, just want to troubleshoot properly. If everything is stable and has been, they could just be moody, especially if the other coral are fine.

 

Any swings in any of your parameters? My shrooms do get mad when there’s been too drastic of a change, even if its a good change. Sorry for all the questions, just want to troubleshoot properly. If everything is stable and has been, they could just be moody, especially if the other coral are fine.

I haven't noticed any swings. I've been thinking recently about moving them to a different spot, but I don't want to stress them more.

 

The shrooms will be irritated by the medicines. As soon as you get them all out you shoould be good. I'd do a 50% water change if you can, and put some fresh activated carbon.

 

The shrooms will be irritated by the medicines. As soon as you get them all out you shoould be good. I'd do a 50% water change if you can, and put some fresh activated carbon.

Thank you! I added carbon about three weeks ago. Should I replace it?

 

Thank you! I added carbon about three weeks ago. Should I replace it?

I would to make sure everything is out.

 

I’m gonna go to my LFS to get some saltwater fish tomorrow and maybe a couple of frags. I’ll be using old saltwater from my water change tomorrow as well as extra seeded filter media. Anyone have some fish suggestions? Looking for something colorful that swims out in the open. I’ll probably get two fish. Also looking for coral suggestions. I have to double check my phosphates/nitrates beforehand, though.

 

Errr, well, lol, this thread is pretty long, and I can't really remember your current stock.

With that said, how about a firefish, goby, and or a royal gramma? Do you have a Duncan yet? Euphyllia is always nice, as are acans and favias/favites/anything from the family faviidae. All are pretty hardy too. If you haven't stepped into SPS yet, but are looking too, I'd suggest Stylophora and or Seriatopora (birdsnest... though I believe that name applies to Seriatopora only, either is a fairly hardy branching coral.) Encrusting and plating montis have been hardy for me too. Oooh, how about a Blasto? Love those guys too.

 

Errr, well, lol, this thread is pretty long, and I can't really remember your current stock.

With that said, how about a firefish, goby, and or a royal gramma? Do you have a Duncan yet? Euphyllia is always nice, as are acans and favias/favites/anything from the family faviidae. All are pretty hardy too. If you haven't stepped into SPS yet, but are looking too, I'd suggest Stylophora and or Seriatopora (birdsnest... though I believe that name applies to Seriatopora only, either is a fairly hardy branching coral.) Encrusting and plating montis have been hardy for me too. Oooh, how about a Blasto? Love those guys too.

I currently have a clownfish, two snails, and a goby/pistol shrimp pair. I also have a Kenya tree, leptastrea, bird’s nest, and two mushrooms.

People on another forum suggested a pink streaked wrasse and a royal gramma. I really like that idea and was thinking of getting one more. Would a firefish work with those two?

I honestly have no idea what any of those look like, as I’m not super familiar with coral quite yet. I’ll narrow it down to this: something other than pink/orange/purple. I’m trying to make the tank more colorful. Also something that moves with the current really well and grows fast.

 

You MUST get a Duncan then!! Flowy, fast grower, hardy, and fun to feed! Not the brightest coral, but definitely one of my very favorites and definitely my favorite to recommend to new reefers. You'll love it!

For reference, well, here ya go.
Birdsnest Coral
Montipora Capricornis Coral (Plating Monti, or more correctly, the montI cap)
Brain Coral (The family faviidae is absolutely HUGE, encompassing many types of brain coral, among others. Check out the video near the bottom of this page for more info.)


Following, just a couple examples of encrusting montipora. There is more than one species and definitely several color variants that fall under this common name. I have and love JedI Mind Trick and Rainbow Montis. Hrmm, my JedI montI looks a lot more like the one listed as Purple RI'm on Live Aquaria and has very red polyps.




Fishlore has some really great species profiles. Live Aquaria is an excellent place to do light research and see the variety that is available to you. However, even with pretty good info, the information there is kind of limited, so further research is always best. I think I see an evening of sitting in front of a screen in your near future.

Hmmm, I also like the pink-streaked wrasse but have had neither that nor the gramma before. They're both on my list of possibles though, so I have done a little research. My concern is that they will occupy the same space and have a similar temperament. Both are rock-dwellers, so will want a cave, be less than brave at first and possibly forever, but will also defend their territory. So, the problem is if they will both comfortably live in the tank AND that neither may be as visible as you may want it to be. So, I'd have a look at them both, (the wrasse is gorgeous, but so is the gramma, and he'll be easier to find and have a lower price tag), then decide on one or the other. And yes, a firefish should work out pretty well with either of them... though these too can be timid fish. Do you want something that'll be highly visible and totally unafraid of your clown? If so, have a look at the Coris Wrasse. If the bioload can handle it, he should do quite well with both the fire and the gramma, though I absolutely would not have more than one wrasse species in a nano tank.

 

You MUST get a Duncan then!! Flowy, fast grower, hardy, and fun to feed! Not the brightest coral, but definitely one of my very favorites and definitely my favorite to recommend to new reefers. You'll love it!

For reference, well, here ya go.
Birdsnest Coral
Montipora Capricornis Coral (Plating Monti, or more correctly, the montI cap)
Brain Coral (The family faviidae is absolutely HUGE, encompassing many types of brain coral, among others. Check out the video near the bottom of this page for more info.)


Following, just a couple examples of encrusting montipora. There is more than one species and definitely several color variants that fall under this common name. I have and love JedI Mind Trick and Rainbow Montis. Hrmm, my JedI montI looks a lot more like the one listed as Purple RI'm on Live Aquaria and has very red polyps.




Fishlore has some really great species profiles. Live Aquaria is an excellent place to do light research and see the variety that is available to you. However, even with pretty good info, the information there is kind of limited, so further research is always best. I think I see an evening of sitting in front of a screen in your near future.

Hmmm, I also like the pink-streaked wrasse but have had neither that nor the gramma before. They're both on my list of possibles though, so I have done a little research. My concern is that they will occupy the same space and have a similar temperament. Both are rock-dwellers, so will want a cave, be less than brave at first and possibly forever, but will also defend their territory. So, the problem is if they will both comfortably live in the tank AND that neither may be as visible as you may want it to be. So, I'd have a look at them both, (the wrasse is gorgeous, but so is the gramma, and he'll be easier to find and have a lower price tag), then decide on one or the other. And yes, a firefish should work out pretty well with either of them... though these too can be timid fish. Do you want something that'll be highly visible and totally unafraid of your clown? If so, have a look at the Coris Wrasse. If the bioload can handle it, he should do quite well with both the fire and the gramma, though I absolutely would not have more than one wrasse species in a nano tank.

Thank you so much for all the info! I know my response is short compared to yours, but I definitely found it all useful. I’d definitely rather have the royal gramma instead of the wrasse. I just find it prettier. That plus the firefish will be enough for now. Later on, I’ll look into that coris wrasse.

I have absolutely no idea what corals my LFS has, but I’ll check if they have any of the ones you listed

 

I purchased the royal gramma today. It's in quarantine and seems to be doing well so far. Hopefully he'll be okay by tomorrow.

 

Yay! I can't wait to see him. Quarantine can be stressful, so please take that into consideration when studying the behavior of your new guy. I have a goby who was the biggest scaredy cat while he was in qt, even though I'd provided hides and as much comfort as possible. He even lost color, turned grey, and got stress stripes making my yellow watchman look kinda like a barbershop goby. Poor little guy was stressed the whole time he was in qt... but after coming to the reef tank, he turned a lovely yellow and became the tank's biggest aggressor. He's a funny little guy now, that is still afraid of me, but not of anything else in his little world.

So, though qt is stressful for the fish AND you, it is absolutely the right thing to do. I wish you both luck!

 

Yay! I can't wait to see him. Quarantine can be stressful, so please take that into consideration when studying the behavior of your new guy. I have a goby who was the biggest scaredy cat while he was in qt, even though I'd provided hides and as much comfort as possible. He even lost color, turned grey, and got stress stripes making my yellow watchman look kinda like a barbershop goby. Poor little guy was stressed the whole time he was in qt... but after coming to the reef tank, he turned a lovely yellow and became the tank's biggest aggressor. He's a funny little guy now, that is still afraid of me, but not of anything else in his little world.

So, though qt is stressful for the fish AND you, it is absolutely the right thing to do. I wish you both luck!

Thank you! I was actually about to come ask about this. I can’t find him anywhere right now. I’m assuming he’s hiding in the stupid decorations I put in the tank and I don’t want to stress him out more by moving it around. Checked outside of the tank as well to see if he jumped. Hopefully he’ll come out at some point. I’ll take a pic of the set-up. I’m worried that the media from the tank may not be enough to get rid of ammonia and nitrites, but it was in the tank for several months. I don’t know. I rarely ever did quarantine in the past, so I’m scared that I’m doing this all wrong. I’m glad I’m doing it now, though. It’s much more efficient than having to treat a disease in the display.

 

Yay!!! He’s alive. I just saw him a minute ago while I was putting Vitachem in the water. Edit: he seems active, but he darts away every time I walk by, so I kind of have to sneak up on him if I want to observe him.

 

Yay!!

During my last qt, I'd sit across the room and sometimes use the camera zoom to try to get a closer look.

The qt looks great, and I'd imagine your cycled media will do just fine with the bioload of one small fish. You may see him more if you added some... gasp... plastic plants. It's a great way to offer hiding places at different levels in the qt. Also, I prefer to always have a minI pump or and/or an air pump and air stone on standby. If you want to dose any meds as a precaution, or should the fish shows symptoms and you need to dose, it is best to increase surface agitation. Many meds will decrease oxygen saturation in the water, so we must add it back via increasing surface agitation.

 

Yay!!

During my last qt, I'd sit across the room and sometimes use the camera zoom to try to get a closer look.

The qt looks great, and I'd imagine your cycled media will do just fine with the bioload of one small fish. You may see him more if you added some... gasp... plastic plants. It's a great way to offer hiding places at different levels in the qt. Also, I prefer to always have a minI pump or and/or an air pump and air stone on standby. If you want to dose any meds as a precaution, or should the fish shows symptoms and you need to dose, it is best to increase surface agitation. Many meds will decrease oxygen saturation in the water, so we must add it back via increasing surface agitation.

Thanks! I was actually considering putting in plants, so I’ll go ahead and grab some from the garage when I get home. I used them in a freshwater quarantine tank before and they worked really well. I have an electronic air pump that I can use if necessary. It’s made for a thirty-gallon tank, so it’ll perform well. Would you suggest dosing the tank with medication or should I wait and see what I can observe? I currently have Prazipro, General Cure, and Metro+ for parasites. I got a close look at him when he was in the bag. Never saw anything external that seemed worrying.

 

Hmm, well, medicating is not something to be taken lightly, so I try to never seem pushy about the matter. However, via my own tough experience with new fish over the past couple of years, I have learned the hard way that we can expect new fish to have been exposed to common illnesses. My personal quarantine protocol does call for prophylactic treatment... I treat all new fish with 2 rounds of PraziPro and feed them Metro/Focus laced food for a minimum of ten days. Btw and fyi, the active ingredients in GenCure are Praziquantel and Metronidazole... PrazI & Metro.

This plan does not account for external parasites like ich, velvet, and brook, and I don't treat for them with no indication... but I am prepared to treat if any indication arises. Copper is good for most external parasites, but formalin (a strong treatment indeed) is recommended in the case of brook. Formalin seems hard to find but is included in Kordon's Rid Ich Plus. Sooooo, my med chest contains Prazi, Metro, Focus, Copper, a copper test kit, and Rid Ich Plus... but the copper and Rid Ich are on standby and not automatically used. I should point out here that this is my own choice... some will say that it is wrong to expose the fish to meds without symptoms, while others might think I'm crazy for not taking prophylactic treatment far enough because I don't auto-treat for external parasites... which, of course, are right up there with the common issues like flukes (treated with Prazi) and gut parasites (treated with Metro.) My thinking on the matter is that PrazI and Metro are old, trusted, and gentle as far as meds are concerned, while copper and formalin are pretty harsh, so to me, are scarier to use without a darn good reason. However, (sorry!!!), recall that copper is also widely trusted and is often used by the LFS.

Yeah... so, it's up to you.

 

Hmm, well, medicating is not something to be taken lightly, so I try to never seem pushy about the matter. However, via my own tough experience with new fish over the past couple of years, I have learned the hard way that we can expect new fish to have been exposed to common illnesses. My personal quarantine protocol does call for prophylactic treatment... I treat all new fish with 2 rounds of PraziPro and feed them Metro/Focus laced food for a minimum of ten days. Btw and fyi, the active ingredients in GenCure are Praziquantel and Metronidazole... PrazI & Metro.

This plan does not account for external parasites like ich, velvet, and brook, and I don't treat for them with no indication... but I am prepared to treat if any indication arises. Copper is good for most external parasites, but formalin (a strong treatment indeed) is recommended in the case of brook. Formalin seems hard to find but is included in Kordon's Rid Ich Plus. Sooooo, my med chest contains Prazi, Metro, Focus, Copper, a copper test kit, and Rid Ich Plus... but the copper and Rid Ich are on standby and not automatically used. I should point out here that this is my own choice... some will say that it is wrong to expose the fish to meds without symptoms, while others might think I'm crazy for not taking prophylactic treatment far enough because I don't auto-treat for external parasites... which, of course, are right up there with the common issues like flukes (treated with Prazi) and gut parasites (treated with Metro.) My thinking on the matter is that PrazI and Metro are old, trusted, and gentle as far as meds are concerned, while copper and formalin are pretty harsh, so to me, are scarier to use without a darn good reason. However, (sorry!!!), recall that copper is also widely trusted and is often used by the LFS.

Yeah... so, it's up to you.

All right, thanks! I think I’m going to want to keep an eye on him for a while before medicating. I’ll most likely use General Cure if I decide to medicate, though.

 

Here’s an awful picture. I’m eating lunch in front of him, still far away enough for him not to freak out. I think I’m gonna gradually get closer.

I’m pretty close now. Wondering whether I should attempt to feed him today.

He’s scratching against the floor of the aquarium. He did it three times so far...

EDIT: No signs of white spot. Gill flukes? He’s doing it a lot, especially around that area.

 

Looks like a very comfy qt for your new little guy.

Whelp, I know you we're hoping to hold of on meds but this it's the time to take care of business. I usually start PrazI on day 3 or 4, so I'd recommend going ahead with that after what you've observed.

 

Looks like a very comfy qt for your new little guy.

Whelp, I know you we're hoping to hold of on meds but this it's the time to take care of business. I usually start PrazI on day 3 or 4, so I'd recommend going ahead with that after what you've observed.

People on another forum said a five minute freshwater dip would help determine whether its flukes. Do you think I should do this or PraziPro?

 

That's up to you my friend. The freshwater dip is a good way to identify flukes. I have not used this method myself, nor have I researched it much. We all have our own experiences and demons, lol. For me, a fw dip is scary... especially for as long as 5 minutes. I know the fw dip is trusted by others, so I can't/won't say it's inherently dangerous. However, I can say that someone I 100% trust on the subject of meds once advised me that PrazI is very gentle, yet very effective. That advice was for a fw fish and it helped, but what really sealed the deal on my trust of PrazI is from my very favorite and the very first fish in my current reef tank.

Scorch the firefish had been with us for about a month. 3 weeks after getting him we got the first corals for this tank... then a week or so later, Scorch started flashing. Something was bothering him right in his little face and head. Careful observation revealed something squiggling just beneath the surface near his eyes. We hated to dose the tank with our new corals, but Scorch came first, so we dosed Prazi. The corals immediately retracted but did survive this. Also immediately, 3-4 worms/flukes came right out of Scorch's head, spasmed and died right in front of us. It was one of the craziest things I've seen in a tank! The corals looked a little better after a few days, but we did a second dose to make sure, and they got mad as heck again when we did. Ultimately, the corals survived and more importantly, Scorch thrived afterward, with no sign of flukes ever again. So, you see, it is my experiences and my fears that determine what I would do in a given situation. That doesn't mean that my advice is better than another's though.

Lastly, though the initial advice I got on PrazI was given here for a freshwater fish, (by an extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and trustworthy member who I consider an authority on fw disease and medications, yet sadly, isn't around anymore)... I think you may know that my most trusted resource on saltwater fish disease is Humblefish. If you look at his advice regarding flukes and freshwater dips, you will find info stating that while a fw dip is effective against skin flukes, it is not effective against flukes in the gills... while PrazI is effective for both.

 

That's up to you my friend. The freshwater dip is a good way to identify flukes. I have not used this method myself, nor have I researched it much. We all have our own experiences and demons, lol. For me, a fw dip is scary... especially for as long as 5 minutes. I know the fw dip is trusted by others, so I can't/won't say it's inherently dangerous. However, I can say that someone I 100% trust on the subject of meds once advised me that PrazI is very gentle, yet very effective. That advice was for a fw fish and it helped, but what really sealed the deal on my trust of PrazI is from my very favorite and the very first fish in my current reef tank.

Scorch the firefish had been with us for about a month. 3 weeks after getting him we got the first corals for this tank... then a week or so later, Scorch started flashing. Something was bothering him right in his little face and head. Careful observation revealed something squiggling just beneath the surface near his eyes. We hated to dose the tank with our new corals, but Scorch came first, so we dosed Prazi. The corals immediately retracted but did survive this. Also immediately, 3-4 worms/flukes came right out of Scorch's head, spasmed and died right in front of us. It was one of the craziest things I've seen in a tank! The corals looked a little better after a few days, but we did a second dose to make sure, and they got mad as heck again when we did. Ultimately, the corals survived and more importantly, Scorch thrived afterward, with no sign of flukes ever again. So, you see, it is my experiences and my fears that determine what I would do in a given situation. That doesn't mean that my advice is better than another's though.

Lastly, though the initial advice I got on PrazI was given here for a freshwater fish, (by an extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and trustworthy member who I consider an authority on fw disease and medications, yet sadly, isn't around anymore)... I think you may know that my most trusted resource on saltwater fish disease is Humblefish. If you look at his advice regarding flukes and freshwater dips, you will find info stating that while a fw dip is effective against skin flukes, it is not effective against flukes in the gills... while PrazI is effective for both.

I absolutely feel more comfortable with medication than a freshwater dip, so I’ll go ahead and dose right away. I think I’m going to do two to three rounds of PraziPro.

 

I dosed PraziPro last night. He ate a lot of mysis this afternoon, which made me really happy.

 

Hurray!! A new fish with a ravenous appetite is a very good sign and hearing this makes me happy too.

 

All right, here's a minI update! I noticed my RODI system leaking and realized that one of the cases lost a rubber ring, so I'll head over to my LFS to see if they have any extras. I also need some more color changing DI resin. The leak has been wasting a lot of good water, so the resin has been going out quickly.

The royal gramma has been doing wonderful! I wasn't able to observe yesterday, but I'm doing it right now to make up for that. I fed him before doing so and he ate just as much as last time. I made sure to put some extra vitamins in the water for him. I finally added a light to the quarantine. I waited to do that because I didn't want the sudden lighting to stress him out. Now I can actually see his body much better and it looks free of anything external. He's much more active than he was before the Prazipro, so I'm assuming it helped. As of now, I'm not noticing any scratching. However, I can assure you that he'll be in quarantine for a while until I'm positive he's free of flukes.

I'm very grateful for this community. I would never have come this far with my saltwater tank if it wasn't for you guys. This quarantine has made me realize how much more comforting the quarantine process can be compared to just throwing the fish in the tank with the risk of unwanted parasites and bacteria. I'm never going to do that again. Special thanks to stella1979 for staying with me throughout the learning process. I still have so much more to discover and I can't wait to do it with all of you.

Pictures!

 

That... fish... is... GORGEOUS!!! You are doing great! Agreed, it is so much less stress knowing your display is safe from what a new fish may bring AND being able to observe new fish in a simpler environment. I'm so very happy for you.

 

I observed yesterday for about ten minutes and today for the same amount of time. I have yet to see any scratching now. I performed a 40% water change beforehand and added another dose of Prazipro and Vitachem. He's very active and isn't hiding nearly as much as he used to. I haven't seen him poop yet, so I'm still on the lookout for anything intestinal. However, his belly doesn't ever seem sunken in, so I have high hopes. His tail fin is a bit torn down the middle. I'm assuming the fish in his tank may have nipped him a bit. It's healing very well, though. Overall, I feel as though he'll be able to get out of quarantine by the end of this week or next week. What do you guys think?

 

For me, quarantine has to be at least 30 days, and if treatment has taken that long or longer, fish must prove healthy without meds for at least 10 days. My last additions were on their 2nd prophylactic dose of Prazi, so with me for 6 days or more, when I saw white poo. Classic signs of internal parasites. I couldn't observe as much as I wanted to either but didn't worry too much about it because they would be fed Metro for at least 10 days. Around day 8, I started paying better attention and saw more stringy whitish poo again on day 9. Those guys ended up eating Metro for 18 days, and at that point were in qt for probably 25. They then stayed there for 10 days unmedicated, with carbon in the filter. I observed and saw normal poop a few times during those days, so around day 35, they were finally added to the display. They have shown no signs of disease since.

Worth noting, my yellow watchman goby acted like a huge scaredy cat in qt, and appeared severely stressed because he turned grey. I read stories of folks whose ywgs did that and never turned back! I hated leaving him there but was unwilling to risk bringing illness to my firefish or the reef tank. I worried about that goby the whole time but he always ate well enough, as long as I broadcasted food through the tank and stepped back. Well, he finally made it to the reef, and slowly started to regain his color. He's now pretty brave, a little aggressive, and very yellow.

Oh yeah! He had paired with a candy cane pistol shrimp in the early days in qt, but the shrimp was removed before using Metro. I kept him in a makeshift 'cage' in the display and worried about him endlessly too, because he was so tiny, had burrowed into the sand in the cage, and didn't ever appear, not even when food was dropped in there. Anyhow, this time was no fun and I worried so much over all of them, but in the end, it was worth it. The goby and shrimp paired again when they were introduced, both have grown, the clown with the white poop never showed that symptom again, and all has been well for some time now.

 

For me, quarantine has to be at least 30 days, and if treatment has taken that long or longer, fish must prove healthy without meds for at least 10 days. My last additions were on their 2nd prophylactic dose of Prazi, so with me for 6 days or more, when I saw white poo. Classic signs of internal parasites. I couldn't observe as much as I wanted to either but didn't worry too much about it because they would be fed Metro for at least 10 days. Around day 8, I started paying better attention and saw more stringy whitish poo again on day 9. Those guys ended up eating Metro for 18 days, and at that point were in qt for probably 25. They then stayed there for 10 days unmedicated, with carbon in the filter. I observed and saw normal poop a few times during those days, so around day 35, they were finally added to the display. They have shown no signs of disease since.

Worth noting, my yellow watchman goby acted like a huge scaredy cat in qt, and appeared severely stressed because he turned grey. I read stories of folks whose ywgs did that and never turned back! I hated leaving him there but was unwilling to risk bringing illness to my firefish or the reef tank. I worried about that goby the whole time but he always ate well enough, as long as I broadcasted food through the tank and stepped back. Well, he finally made it to the reef, and slowly started to regain his color. He's now pretty brave, a little aggressive, and very yellow.

Oh yeah! He had paired with a candy cane pistol shrimp in the early days in qt, but the shrimp was removed before using Metro. I kept him in a makeshift 'cage' in the display and worried about him endlessly too, because he was so tiny, had burrowed into the sand in the cage, and didn't ever appear, not even when food was dropped in there. Anyhow, this time was no fun and I worried so much over all of them, but in the end, it was worth it. The goby and shrimp paired again when they were introduced, both have grown, the clown with the white poop never showed that symptom again, and all has been well for some time now.

Thank you! I’ll make sure to wait that long I’m going to New York for a week during Christmas break, but will get a friend to let me know how he does.

 

FYI, this is my QT appproach. I believe in prophylactic treatment. This is someone else, but I follow it. ONly thing I don't have is an antiI infection med like Kanaplex.

On arrival day, I match salinity in QT to arriving fish or make sure it's a touch lower (Usually 1.018).

Acclimate (float for 30-45min in bag and release) fish directly into a QT that is pre-dosed to 0.25 ppm copper (cupramine) upon arrival. This is much safer than drip acclimation and removes the possibility of ammonia exposure during acclimation.

I start fish off on food soaked general cure + Focus day one (continue for 14 days).
I do also keep live food on hand and feed live foods as well for the first few days until the picky eaters and others are eating frozen well.

Dosage for food soaked meds:
Add 1 scoop of GC (scoop that comes with focus) + 1 scoop focus per 1 tablsespoon of prepared frozen food. I add selcon + a touch of garlic to help dissolve the meds.
*You can also use Metroplex in place of general cure, it does however only treat for intestinal parasites instead of intestinal parasites + worms*. This food can be refrigerated once medicated. Is for 3-5 days, toss and make new.

Then I spend the next three days raising cu level to 0.5ppm. increasing the level about 0.1 per day. I do this by dosing half of the daily increase in the am and half in the PM.

At this point I am watching very closely for external symptoms of bacterial infections. If one arises or a fish prone to infection stops eating then I dose Spectogram (Kanamycin+Nitrofurazone) and continue throughout copper. You can also use Kanaplex+furan-2. The WCs are fun maintaining the therapeutic Cu level. But once you have the hang of it, it's not bad. Copper has to be pre-dosed into new Saltwater prior to adding to tank to keep Cu level from dropping below therapeutic.

You need lots of surface agitation with copper.

I do also keep Sulfaplex and Neoplex handy for certain types of infections. They are safe to use with copper.

After 14 days of therapeutic copper I transfer to a 2nd sterile QT. Temp/salinity matching.

After the transfer if I have a fish that is still showing signs of infection I would run a 14 day course of NFG. If no signs of infection is present I would skip NFG.

Last step is two rounds of Praziquantel using either GC or Prazipro. I prefer GC as it contains metronidazole as well and covers a few other diseases like Brook and uronema. This treatment is dosed into the water column to treat externally, as I have covered internal issues during copper with the food soaked meds.

Then a few days of observation free of any meds, and acclimate to DT.

 

FYI, this is my QT appproach. I believe in prophylactic treatment. This is someone else, but I follow it. ONly thing I don't have is an antiI infection med like Kanaplex.

I have plenty of time to observe the fish for signs of illness, so I’d rather treat them if I see something wrong

 

I have plenty of time to observe the fish for signs of illness, so I’d rather treat them if I see something wrong

That's just fine. That works. Stella uses it. I am just very cautious, and I know that diseases that some fish are not very prone to can hide in gills, and then when a stressor happens, or the fish is added to fish that may be susceptible to that disease, you have an outbreak. I still do a 30 day QT. But, that routine (feed General Cure while doing 14 day copper treatment, transfer to new QT and do 10 day treatment of General Cure dosed to the water) will knock out every single disease and I don't have to worry about anything. That means, I don't have to be afraid anything is hiding anywhere, and I know the fish are completely healthy no matter what stressor happens. I'm not trying to persuade you, just offering my take.

 

I am totally not opposed to Culprit's quarantine protocol either. I am also a fan of prophylactic treatment, (even though I hate treating because it's stressful), and think a complete approach really is best when we've got other healthy fish in the display, not to mention the coral, inverts, and the total cost that goes into a reef tank. The lesser approach I've taken has worked... so far. The day may come when I'll change my mind, but currently, new fish aren't in my immediate future, so I will assess at that time. Thing is, I am completely prepared to follow the more complete method that he's shared here... meaning, I have all the meds on hand when a new fish comes home, (my war chest contains Malachite Green, Methylene Blue, Formalin, Praziquantel, Kanaplex, Nitrofurazone, and Sulfaplex.) I am also Stella the slow, lol, so don't really mind if it just takes me longer to get through a complete approach. I think I would just prefer a longer qt so as to avoid giving fish an antibiotic treatment at the same time as anything else. This too comes from personal experience and assumptions I've made, which in the end, could be wrong. I am just the most frightened of antibiotics because I hit a goldfish pretty hard with them in the past. He survived though! He never appeared in distress or anything at all, but after learning a little more about meds, (namely, how Kanaplex can affect the liver), I wonder if the goldie's treatment caused damage I couldn't see. He lived for two years afterward, but I'll never know if hitting him with two different antibiotics as well as parasite meds over the course of many weeks might have shortened his lifespan. That fish came home with us when my son was 4, and he's nearly 12 now. We had old George for a long time, and losing him several weeks ago still hurts, and probably always will... so yep, that influences my guardedness with meds.

Anyhow, as I've said before, the question of pre-treating fish during quarantine is one each aquarist has to answer for themselves because there is time, money, comfort, knowledge, and morality involved. Do I think it's best to protect my display in the best way possible? Yes. Am I somewhat uncomfortable treating fish? Yes. Do the fish in my display have my heart already? Yes. Do new fish? Not entirely, because I actively try not to love them early, and yes, I am willing to hit them hard with meds before offering them entry to the reef tank. It sounds harsh and I hate saying it, but yes, new fish must run the gauntlet first.

Culprit - What is NFG?

 

I totally agree with Stella. Fish in DT have my heart, and I will put the fish through the gauntlet. At the point that they're in QT, I really like them and would hate to lose them, but I would far rather lose them then cause my DT fish which I have had for far longer die. This 14 day copper treatment changes things a lot too. 30 days of copper is very harsh. 14 days is not too bad at all.

Antibiotics I try to avoid if at all possible. Only time I use it is for an infection. No prophylactic treatment with those.

NFG is Nitrfuracin Green. It's expensive but fantastic for bacterial infections or so I've heard. Combination of Nitrofurazone, Sulfathiazole Sodium, Methylene Blue and sodium chloride. I don't have it, just what the resource I follow uses.

 

Hello! I haven’t updated in a bit. I haven’t seen him poop, but I do see the feces on the bottom of the tank and it looks completely normal. I haven’t seen anymore scratching either.
EDIT: Now that I’m observing, there are some weird worms on the sides of the tank. They just look like little white pieces of string, but I can see that they’re moving. I don’t see any on the fish at all. I tried touching one and it just squirmed up and unattached itself from the glass.
Now, the new water in this quarantine comes from old water in the display tank. That means that the worms could have come from the display or the new fish itself. I’m hoping they’re just harmless hitchhikers. I’ll try to get a picture. They kind of have horizontal lines down their bodies, similar to that of a bristleworm. Hard to get that on focus, though. All you guys will see is a long, white blur.