How to Quarantine

[sphelps]

Hi Shelley, I see you don't use any copper treatments, do you find ParaGuard effective enough for all external parasites?

[Enigma]

From what I understand, ParaGuard is not guaranteed to work against Ich. However, I chose ParaGuard for prophylactic treatment as Brad (I'm sure it was him) mentioned that since starting a strict QT regime that includes ParaGuard's use that he hasn't had any loses.

I haven't had any of my fish exhibit symptoms of Ich or Velvet. I may have it in my system, but I've never seen any sign of it. I have lost two clownfish to Brook, however. I've also had an issue with flukes.

One of the best treatments for Brook is Ich-X, which contains formaldehyde, methanol, and malachite green chloride. Ich-X is pretty aggressive though, and it requires big water changes. Paraguard is "a proprietary, synergistic blend of aldehydes, malachite green, and fish protective polymers," and it doesn't require big water changes. I'm hoping that the gentler, and lower risk, Paraguard (with its similar ingredients to Ich-X) will help keep Brook out of my system.

Brook strikes so fast that there isn't a whole lot of time to act. Brook horrifies me. The two clowns were dead within three hours of the obvious onset of symptoms.

I use the PraziPro for flukes and intestinal worms, as I've had very good success with it in eradicating flukes. I haven't had anything react negatively to it, and I don't feel it is detrimental to fishes' health. It seems like a very low risk prophylactic to me.

I'm not using copper as a prophylactic as it can be quite toxic, and I don't want to use it unless it is absolutely required for the treatment of an obvious parasite infestation. It seems very high risk to me. And, I would probably try hypo first. Being that Ich doesn't usually take down fish as quickly as Brook, there is usually time to try hypo fist.

Edit: I should add that the reason I don't do water changes through the PraziPro treatment is because one treatment lasts in the system for five days. I don't want to dilute it or mess up the concentration with a WC. I do very regular water changes (often daily) when treating with the Paraguard, as that only hangs around in the water for 24-hours.

[sphelps]

Thanks for sharing that. For copper treatment Cupramine is pretty safe provided you don't mix it with other treatments such as ParaGuard.

While I'm new to the whole QT process my setup/procedure is as follows

Dual 55 gallon separate QT tanks for Fish, allowing for some flexibility on purchasing rather than min set 6 week frequency. May also be used for different treatments if need be.

Heater, air pump and power-head for equipment. Filter is made from rubble rock which tank water is forced to flow through one direction while air from air pump flows the other way.

Just monitoring salinity and copper for now, not sure I see the need for monitoring NH4 given the tank size and what I would expect to be a fairly efficient biological filter.

Using Cupramine right now as my previous tank did has ich present although it didn't seem to cause any issues I want to prevent any issues going forward, butterflies also presented symptoms of gill flukes. I will consider other treatments going forward or treat on demand.

Quarantining just fish for now, contemplating separating my frag tank for use as coral and other invert QT system. New tank will all previous corals is going to run in parallel for 6 weeks without fish to insure fresh start.

Fish will be quarantined for 6 weeks.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Enigma

From what I understand, ParaGuard is not guaranteed to work against Ich. However, I chose ParaGuard for prophylactic treatment as Brad (I'm sure it was him) mentioned that since starting a strict QT regime that includes ParaGuard's use that he hasn't had any loses.
.

nope, not me. I use chloroquine phosphate.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

nope, not me. I use chloroquine phosphate.

Care to elaborate Brad? I've heard good things about it but never really looked into it before.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Care to elaborate Brad? I've heard good things about it but never really looked into it before.

It's an anti-malarial med that apparently treats ich, velvet and brook. Hard to find but easy to use. Not toxic to fish like copper is (AFAIK) and doesn't need to be tested for like copper.
It also kills algae really well, so absolutely not coral safe, so for QT tanks only. Does not affect bacterial filters, is light sensitive.
Overall, it's worked well in that some fish I had affected with MV were treated with this and survived. I haven't had ich or brook to deal with, so can only go on what I've read from the experts.

[molotov]

I'm new to the whole quarantine thing as well.

I have a 30G tank with a heater and PVC pipes/elbows for hiding places. I'm also using a Fluval canister filter 105 for filtration and flow. That's it. no additional power heads or air stones.

I seeded the foam for the canister in my sump for 3 weeks before using it in the filter.

I only test for ammonia of which I've never had a trace. I also do weekly water changes.

I don't dose any med treatments.

Because I'm new to this I'm by no means an expert or claim I'm doing it right. Although I hope I am.

Good Luck.

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

nope, not me. I use chloroquine phosphate.

I wonder who it is then.

Let's just say "Someone I consider a sound authority."

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

nope, not me. I use chloroquine phosphate.

Where do you get it? I thought you could only get chloroquine with a prescription?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Where do you get it? I thought you could only get chloroquine with a prescription?

For pharmaceutical you do, not technical grade. The difference in purity is something like 0.9%
I bought it bulk, but there are some supply houses in Canada that sell it.