TTM questions

[Ab129]

Looks like I will have to try TTM to get rid of ich but I have some questions that aren’t covered in the TTM sticky.
I have 7 fish now,
1 melanaurus wrasse
2 oscellaris clowns ( I hope I still have two!)
1 red margin wrasse
1 blue throat Trigger
1 yellow tang
1 Valentini puffer
First question- how big do my tanks need to be to get these fish through TTM and the 70 something days before they go back to DT. Obviously I would prefer to use the smallest that are practical without stressing these fish out. Would two 10 gal be too small?
Second- since I have wrasse Im told copper is ng and I should do hypo. I assume hypo is hypo salinity? My DT is at 1.026. Where should I start off with salinity in hospital tanks and where do I want to stay.
Three- is there anything else I need to treat the fish with?
Thanks for any help. I am totally bummed out by this.

[billdogg]

If it is Ich, and you do TTM, there is no need at all to mess with hyposalinity. That’s one of the best things about it IMO. You can do TTM using a few 5g buckets if you want. That’s what I do and it works very well. As for the 72 days (minimum) that your DT will need to remain fallow, I’d suggest a couple 20 longs. They are still on the cheaper side and won’t break the bank on waterchange day either. Make sure they have secure covers. For my QT I use egg rate with window screen on top Ziptied in place to prevent jumping.

HTH!

[Ab129]

So I can put all 6 or 7 fish in one 5 gal container during TTM ?
Treat with Prime?
And then you mean to get two 20 longs and split them up for the remaining 60 some odd days?
Am I ok with just a heater and an air stone in TTM or do I need a powerhead too?
I know I am asking a lot of questions but I want to make sure I do this right and I want to get these guys out of the DT ASAP.

[reefling]

Originally Posted by Ab129

So I can put all 6 or 7 fish in one 5 gal container during TTM ?

Treat with Prime?

And then you mean to get two 20 longs and split them up for the remaining 60 some odd days?

Am I ok with just a heater and an air stone in TTM or do I need a powerhead too?

I know I am asking a lot of questions but I want to make sure I do this right and I want to get these guys out of the DT ASAP.

I have used a koralia nano in a bucket pointing up at the surface for gas exchange or a sponge filter.

Prime and stability are your friends.

Buy the cheapest salt for ttm

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[reefling]

This is in my entryway now to make sure nothing has ich or velvet to begin with

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[Spar]

Originally Posted by Ab129

So I can put all 6 or 7 fish in one 5 gal container during TTM ?
Treat with Prime?
And then you mean to get two 20 longs and split them up for the remaining 60 some odd days?
Am I ok with just a heater and an air stone in TTM or do I need a powerhead too?
I know I am asking a lot of questions but I want to make sure I do this right and I want to get these guys out of the DT ASAP.

5g for all those is way too small. He meant do the TTM using a couple 20 longs. For the remaining post-TTM time I would do something larger than a 20g, perhaps a 40g if you room for it. As for equipment, heater, airstone and some PVC hiding places is all you need. Make sure every single thing that is in the tank is switched out each time, even if you use a temperature probe... only the fish should transfer from tank to tank. Prime is recommended.

My recommendation, having just come off almost all of my fish being wiped out by Velvet, is to use CP or Copper (2 separate tanks dependent on the tolerance of fish as to which to use) instead of TTM. TTM does NOT help with Velvet, and Velvet is way more common these days than it was 5-10 years ago when TTM was the hot QT method.

[ilikefish34]

Originally Posted by Ab129

So I can put all 6 or 7 fish in one 5 gal container during TTM ?
Treat with Prime?
And then you mean to get two 20 longs and split them up for the remaining 60 some odd days?
Am I ok with just a heater and an air stone in TTM or do I need a powerhead too?
I know I am asking a lot of questions but I want to make sure I do this right and I want to get these guys out of the DT ASAP.

He said, "using a few 5 gallon buckets"--then, yes, using two 20 gallon longs for the remainder.

Keep in mind, using multiple buckets (or small tanks) still requires sets of circulation, aeration and heaters (depending on your home's temps). You may also want to consider a few 10 gallon tanks--they're still cheap and allow for better observations since your fish are already infested and are susceptible to other issues. One more thing, let's say you split them into just two 10 gallon aquariums (Tang, Melanurus and clowns in one--Trigger, Red Margin and Puffer in the other--size and aggression will dictate)... you can do the TTM every two days for the same full duration if controlling water parameters if you don't trust the prime (I use it).

Lastly, borrow some established filter media from a friend or a trusted local source to add to the 20L's to help provide some stability.

Good Luck!!!

[Spar]

Originally Posted by ilikefish34

Lastly, borrow some established filter media from a friend or a trusted local source to add to the 20L's to help provide some stability.

I'd argue against this. The chances of bringing over something you just went through all this mess to get rid of is too high. Kind of goes in the 'trust nobody but yourself' advice.

I have a 10g with a couple sponge filters and a raw shrimp running to get some beneficial bacteria cooking for later. Add some bacteria-in-a-bottle product. Best to have these running for at least 4 weeks, but sooner will at least get a bacteria colony going for you.