Medicated quarantine procedure for fish

[LobsterOfJustice]

FWIW, I crossposted this in the disease treatment forum, but I figured it would also get more traffic here.

Hello all,

I am in the process of changing around my fish selection in my tank. I have never quarantined a fish before because I always add 1 or 2 at a time, but in the next few weeks I will be adding many small fish. Just because of the numbers... I want to play it safe and quarantine. I would like to treat for anything possible so I know they are healthy going into my tank.

The quarantine tank is a 37g column with a sump. The fish I will be quarantining/treating (not all at once) will be a group of blue/green chromis, some zebra barred dartfish, some anthias,pair of banggai cardinals, and some miscellaneous small gobies.

I purchased some coppersafe, melafix, and pimafix. The coppersafe would be for parasites, the melafix for bacterial infections, and the pimafix for fungal infections. The Pima and Mela can be run at the same time, it is a 7 day treatment, then I would do a water change and run the coppersafe. After that, move them to the display.

Does this sound like a good plan? What would everyone recommend?

[Hal]

In theory you should be ok. I'm personally reluctant to medicate fish unless I see signs of a problem. Given how many fish you plan to QT at the same time, though, it might make sense.

Why not wait until you observe a problem before adding all those meds? Copper in particular can be tricky to dose and monitor. If you must treat for ich, have you looked at hyposalinity?

Better yet, why not add fewer fish at once? Is there a reason why you need to add so many so fast? Few things in this hobby that are done quickly are good. Usually it's just the opposite.

[Hal]

Forgot to ask, will your QT handle that huge jump in bio-load without starting a new cycle? That would be pretty bad.

[LobsterOfJustice]

The fish will be broken up into probably 3 or 4 different batches at least. I'm taking it slow - they will all be added over the next few months.

I want to medicate incase there are things I can not see, such as gill flukes or intestinal worms. I was under the impression copper would be easier than hypo.

[LobsterOfJustice]

Alrght, well can anyone at least tell me if Melafix and Pimafix are good (safe) medications to use?

[LobsterOfJustice]

Bump - the first "batch" of fish will be here thursday - the chromis and dart gobies.

Wondering if I should just return this Melafix and Pimafix if no one uses it...

[downhillbiker]

yeah i dont use it. i use formalin for both bacterial and fungal infections. i would HIGHLY recommend doing a 5 min fresh water dip for each fish when putting it in the tank. I'm sure you already know how to do it, but heres my tips:

1. Get PH exact. This is very important.

2. Have temp 1 degree warmer than tank, to reduce stress.

3. Use methylene blue (made by Aquatrol, Inc). It is a Infection treatment, Kills Eggs, and Parasites, But most importantly Reduces Stress. Bottle says 2 drops/gal, use 10/gal, until water is royal blue. This will greatly reduce stress.

4. Leave fish in dip for 5 min. Fish will most likely lay on bottom, but this is normal. Coax fish into swimming once every minute or so, to knock of any dead stuff.

5. Don't dip until you have acclimated the fish as normal with drip method. Dip fish in fresh water as directed and put in tank.

[snorvich]

Some fish do not tolerate fresh water dips well. Personally I would QT by observation prior to medication but in your case this is not feasible. I would worry about bioload increments though.

[LobsterOfJustice]

Thanks for the input.

I just removed a number of large fish from the system and I am replacing with a larger number of smaller fish. I do not plan on the overall bio-load changing at all because I will be feeding the same amount as before.