How Do I QT a lionfish

[varg1]

Ive only QT clownfish....I use a non cycled tank and just add amequill. I lower the sg to about 1.009 so that all the parasites die off and raise it back to 1.025 and make sure the animal is doing good, and wait for further treatment if needed. Do i do the same with a lionfish? If not what do i do. I planed on not QT the lionfish seeing as how i have no fish in my tank right now, or coral just live rock and some snails.

[varg1]

O yeah i use ich rid along with amequil, amequil is just for the ammonia etc because i set up the tank and take it down when done. I have an airstone lights and a background.

[LisaD]

I think if it's your first fish for the display, and looks healthy, I'd just put it in the main tank and hold off adding any new fish to the display for several weeks (and QT those before adding). Lionfish are rarely diseased or parasitized if they look healthy and are eating at the LFS.

The way I usually set up my QT is to have a bare bottom tank with cured live rock and a power filter (no carbon). I usually have some macro in the tank too. Water parameters are stable. I put the fish in there to observe health. I do NOT treat with medication or lower specific gravity unless the fish shows signs of illness. If I need to treat, I remove the live rock and any macro to a tub of salt water, treat as needed, and do daily 30-50 percent water changes to keep water quality up. I get medications from national fish pharmacy in arizona. They have a good web site for diagnosing disease and parasites.

I think with a new fish, it's really important to minimize stress, and get them eating well, more than anything. QT lets you observe the fish for disease, make sure its eating, and keep it away from any tankmates that might pick on it. Most of the time, the fish I buy do fine in a 2-4 week QT and never require medication or hypo.

This isn't to say QT isn't essential. All it takes is one sick fish to crash your whole tank. This happened to me in 2005, and I lost fish I had for 3-7+ years.

[varg1]

Ok im still going to QT mine just because its a better way to view the fish and because if somehting dose go wrong treatment is ready. Like i said though my tank is uncycled and I just use amequel so that the tank dosent cycle. this should be fine right, i have qt clownfish like this and they look great now, but lionfish differ from clowns greatly.

[billsreef]

Pick up an air driven sponge filter or a bio wheel filter. You can leave those (the sponge or bio wheel) in the sump of your tank to stay biologically active in between uses ;) This way you can keep an active bio filter for QT use, without having to keep the QT set up all the time.

[varg1]

ok i was thinking about doing that, ill give it a go. I just thought that the tank would still cycle with such little bio fillter placed in a bare tank.

[varg1]

uh oh...Just got my lionfish and it has horns. I dont think zebra lionfish have horns. Or do they? Im talking like horns from the head, almost looks like the horns of a antennata lionfish or a radiata lionfish.

[varg1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acaf6EwXxWo



looks exactly the same as that one.

[varg1]

Ok so hes in QT right now just laying on the bottom in a corner. Is this typical? And pls could someone use the link above and ID my lionfish.

[billsreef]

It's Dendrochirus zebra, which is commonly called the Dwarf Lionfish. But so are several other species ;)

Here's (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php) a good article on lions that is well worth the read.

[varg1]

My new lionfish died within 7 hours of havening him. when he swam he would float all around and upside down, i was worried then i checked on him once more before i was about to go to bed and he was dead, his gills are wide open, i can see all the red inside, maybe even inflated horribly. What did he die from?

[Jerry W]

Sounds like you placed this fish in an uncycled QT. I'd be curious as to the water parameters of the quarantine tank, specifically ammonia, nitrites and pH. A QT must cycle just like any tank.

[LisaD]

I'm sorry your lionfish didn't make it. Was it from the LFS or did you get it mail order? how did it look when you got it - did the stressed behavior start in your tank, or did it look funny before? honestly, I think a better choice is a fuzzy dwarf - IME they are hardier.

I don't know if this could be the case, but if the salt water is not circulated at least overnight (24 hours is better) then it can kill fish. fish shouldn't ever be added to newly mixed sw.

an uncycled QT should not kill a fish in less than a day, though I would want to know what the water parameters were too. you can have an uncycled QT, but it requires daily, large water changes to keep ammonia down. I use a bare bottom QT with live rock and a power filter. if I have to medicate, I remove the biofilter (live rock) and do daily water changes.

[billsreef]

Sorry to hear about the Lionfish. Double check your water parameters for good measure. If they are fine, then it is possible that the lion was in bad shape and transport and acclimation shock was just the final blow. Do you know how long the lion was at the LFS before you brought it?

[varg1]

It was mailed to me. It was about an inch maybe less. Maybe it was just to young and small to handle a big transport. I did double cheak all my params, the only thing im a little worried about is the temp, one of my temp gauges was wrong. My temp is between 80-84, about 82. Could that have had anything to do with it?

[EllieSuz]

Hyposalinity is for curing ich infested fish, not for quarantining new fish before introducing to the Display Tank. You mentioned low salinity in one of your first posts. What was the salinity when you put the Lion in your QT tank?

[billsreef]

That's pretty small. Very small fish (i.e. young) often have difficulty with whole collection and transport chain. The temp is fine and within the normal range for tropical waters.

[CCLAXX]

Ok so quick question I plan n getting a biocube29 for a dwarf fuzzie or. Zebra. This would be the first and only fish going into the aquarium would I need to qt it?

[billsreef]

Are you using live rock in the tank? If so, I would do a seperate QT as some medications that might be needed are not good for the LR. If no LR, than you can go ahead and it put it straight in the tank under this situation.

[seahorsedreams]

Zebras, for whatever reason, are touchy little fish. If I hear of a fish that died soon after acquisition, chances are it's a zebra. And as said, the smaller they are, the harder they are.

[StephLionfish]

I've been spying on this thread...for some reason my brain just doesn't understand this...
I thought I did everything as I should have on my QT when I was doing hypo on my Zebra lion for ich...but I lost him and it was way more gruesome than I like to talk about... unless Zebras are just really that hard to care for...:confused:

[seahorsedreams]

I'm thinking of sending one in for a necropsy (if it's an average looking one, extra special and I'll have to keep it :-)

I've never had a problem with any lion, but a zebra. I think it's what they have or how they were treated before they get to us. The "extra special one" will be dewormed, treated for flukes and Ich and then followed up with a broad spectrum antibiotic while being pounded with vitamins and Beta Glucan.

If they come in looking bad they'll either get MS-222 or formalin dip + the above.

[billsreef]

I think it's what they have or how they were treated before they get to us.

My opinion as well.