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Author Topic: Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!  (Read 1534 times)

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Offline CoralBeauties

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Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!
« on: February 15, 2019, 00:11:58 »
I recently added 5 new fish to my 30 gallon qt tank that I thought was cycled enough to host the fish.  I was treating them with copper for any potential problems.  After a day I was seeing .25 of ammonia in the tank.  I added amquel which is an ammonia reducing liquid.  I have been adding about 5ml of amquel in the mourning and 5 ml in the evening to keep the ammonia at 0.  One of the fish came in looking rough with its fins jagged and a growth on its side.  it wasnt improving so after some reading I felt it was fin rot. Yesterday I treated with furan2 antibiotic which said it might affect the bio filter bacteria.  Fish looked good this mourning so I added 5ml of amquel for any potential  ammonia.  This afternoon two fish were dead and a third was on it side.  I immediately added some amquel figuring a major ammonia spike.  Tested water and no ammonia.  Lost the other 2 fish tonight to what I figured was ammonia poising.  I posted up on r2r and was stunned at a response I received that I felt everyone should know.
  While treating with copper any ammonia removing products will react with the copper and turn it toxic to all fish.  Will actually increase the strength of the copper by 10x the original amount.  So I actually killed them by trying to keep them alive by keeping the ammonia at bay.  I hate to see any living creature die and it is really troubling to know that my stupidity killed them.  PLEASE try and remember and be aware of this if you are qt'ing in the future with copper.  I might have to try hypo salinity the next time for my qt tank.
Jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2019, 02:31:17 »
I have no problem with prime/amquel use with copper. Used it many times (3x per day for months) with 50-60 fish at a time in quarantine system. There is a lot of folks on reef2reef and other sites that say things they have no experience with. Ammonia will kill a fish faster then anything. Once the damage is done their is usually no correcting it. Sudden fish death especially when there is multiple fish involved is almost always from ammonia in quarantine tanks. It takes a completely cycled, very mature system with lots of filtration to get that much fish weight/respiration  through quarantine. The furan2 tip likely tipped the already teetering scales of biological filitration and nitrite/ammonia took the fish.

Offline jmiller1611

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Re: Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2019, 10:25:49 »
so for your qt do you use mechanical filtration then? I've never used quarantine but having a cycled tank running off and on seems impractical for most regular people?


Offline lazylivin

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Re: Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2019, 15:59:47 »
I use live rock and live ceramic. live being populated with bacteria. Sump with rock and a return pump and heater. All in one tanks work good as well. It is critical to be a fully cycled mature system to handle the waste. Fish in quarantine especially sensitive have a lot of food waste. Commonly fish don't want to eat as they have never seen the food we are using being fresh from the ocean. We have to keep trying lots of types of food and often to get them to start eating. In the tank bare bottom so it is easy to see and siphon detritus. They other issue is quarantine bioload change rapidly where their is no fish then suddenly a lot when fish arrive so needs to be oversized as far as biological filtration capacity.

I think Jeff has biowheel hang on back filter

Offline Heinbaughb

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Re: Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2019, 17:56:15 »
I’m sorry to hear that Jeff. It was with best intentions. I know I’ve already got disease back in my tank, currently trying out polyplab medic.


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Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Hard lesson learned today!! Must read!
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2019, 18:37:13 »
Brian if you have the time explain how you feel about using hypo salinity. I’m thinking of that route once I fully cycle this tank. I have a bio wheel hang on the back, a bubbler sponge filter and just added one of those bio blocks. Hopefully once all 3 get well populated it will be enough.
Thanks
Jeff

 

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