inverts before entry???

[DoubleM 10]

What do you do with inverts like snails, crabs, shrimp before they enter the tank???

im cycling a new tank and do NOT want to get anything unwanted(mainly ich)
the fish are in QT now but i dont know what to do with the inverts.

the store is having a 50% off sale this weekend and thats when i would like to get the inverts. i just want o be prepared for them when i get them so i dont introduce unwated pains in the tank

thanks in advance

matt

[duncantse]

I don't think a CUC carries any parasties. If you want, you can rinse them in a bucket of saltwater and I guess thats it.

[Chris27]

Wait about 3-4 weeks after adding the inverts before you throw a fish in there. An invert can carry the parasite into the tank in cyst form, after a week or two the cyst will burst and send out the free swimmers....with no fish host the lifecycle will end.

[DoubleM 10]

Wait about 3-4 weeks after adding the inverts before you throw a fish in there. An invert can carry the parasite into the tank in cyst form, after a week or two the cyst will burst and send out the free swimmers....with no fish host the lifecycle will end.

well that sounds like a good plan.

that is what ill do. is their any other ways to help prevent stuff?

i have heard of dipping things like corals! whats that about??

i just want all the insite i can cause i have delt with ich before and it was no fun. i want to do everything i can to avoid it

[MarlinHooker]

you definitely want to QT everything, the CUC plan presented is a good one ... I'm about to do the same thing with my new 150g mixed reef ... some people dip corals as a preventitive measure while in their QT .. personally I put new corls in the QT & then observe them closely for signs of red bug, flat worms and other parasites. If I don't observe anything after 2-3 weeks in the QT they are ready for the DT. If I do see something then I treat with something like CoralRX & then after the treatment start the observation period over again ...

[DoubleM 10]

well i have a qt that im using copper to treat the fish in it. i will not be able to use that for the inverts. how do u suggest to stock the tank??? put in ALL inverts. then qt and put in the fish? does that sound like a plan that would make sence????

matt

[reefsforme]

YAY!!! It's a sale, let's get some inverts!!! Eh, wrong! I know, we are always tempted to get a particular type of species on a discount, as needless to say, they seem overpriced. But are you getting a discount? If you purchase them now, you have the risk of losing them, as you are placing the specimens in a un-finished cycle tank. So, this will lead to buying more inverts, which wouldn't be so much of a discount. Remmeber, just because your parameters are stable, it doesn't mean it's cycled. The aquarium goes through stages. The first stage, is the cycle process, of where nitrate, ammonia, and nitrite are undeticable near the end. But from there, the second stage is algae growth. This algae will grow, and possibly take over your tank. Just leave it. IT subsides with-in a few weeks itself, if your aren't dosing anything to it. If not, than remove it with your hands. From there, the third stage, which would be beginning of coraline algae. Throughout these stages, several bacteria grow, and die, continously, which is why it isn't finished cycling. Than after a while, technically speaking, it is finished cycling, and water parameters are truly stable. But once you put in new specimens, mini-cycle occurs. So in fact, you will never be finished cycling.