Wrench September 11, 2014 Share September 11, 2014 I've run into a problem with QT twice in as many months and I'd like to hear opinions from those who may be more experienced than I am. The first time was with a large isolation system while my display was fallow to eradicate ich. I was able to manage ammonia levels, the fish were eating well and getting fat and treatments went flawlessly until I dosed PraziPro. It was around 48 hours after adding the Prazi Pro and I noticed the water clouded up. I assumed it was a bacterial bloom (I had been using Seachem Stability) but I hooked up my carbon reactor. The next day I couldn't see through the water and I was worried about the fish so I took a net and tried to scoop them out. I was surprised to find that I had lost about 30% of the fish in the system. I decided to cut the QT period short and added the surviving fish to the display. I checked the ammonia and it had risen from 0 to 1ppm overnight and that's what killed the fish. I didn't think much of it and assumed I had overfed and gotten complacent about water changes. Thought I had learned my lesson. Fast forward to yesterday. I had a 55g tank set up that I am using for a more permanent QT system for new arrivals. It has housed a single yellowfin flasher wrasse for the past three weeks. Once again, all was well until I dosed PraziPro. I checked on the system before work and the water had started to cloud up once again, only 48 hours after adding the PraziPro. I was able to remove the wrasse and place it into another tank. Based on these two experiences I can only surmise that the PraziPro is having some sort of effect on the biological filter in my QT systems. Has anyone else noticed this, had a similar experience or know what I could be doing wrong? QT details: Filtration is by way of air-driven sponge filters and HOB power filters. The 55g has some live rock in it which I remove during copper and antibacterial treatments. Temps were steady at 78-79* Feedings are light, two or three times a day. Water changes are 50% weekly using water from my main system. Only additive I've been using is Seachem Stability. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 September 11, 2014 Share September 11, 2014 Is there a date on the prazipro? You might try buying a new bottle as maybe it has just gone bad or was a bad batch. I am also wondering if there is some sort of chemical reaction happening (sort of how you are not supposed to mix Prime with copper treatments). Hopefully Marco and others will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 Maybe forgo the prazipro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 Or you can stop QT'ing, LOL. I've killed more fish trying to quarantine than in my tank(s) for sure. I'm at my limit, so I won't be adding fish anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 Are you shaking it before use? http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/ Also, any chance when you add the liverock back there is residual copper in the system knocking out the bio filtration of the rock causing an ammonia spike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 Also, read this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1997077 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 Or you can stop QT'ing, LOL. I've killed more fish trying to quarantine than in my tank(s) for sure. I'm at my limit, so I won't be adding fish anytime soon. This. I have also used prazipro in my display with great success. I think that the absolute best thing that you can do for a quarantine system is to set up a sump full of chaeto or an ATS. It is very good at coping with the nutrients even without the biological filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrench September 12, 2014 Author Share September 12, 2014 Are you shaking it before use? http://www.hikariusa.com/solutions/healthaid/prazipro/ Also, any chance when you add the liverock back there is residual copper in the system knocking out the bio filtration of the rock causing an ammonia spike? I didn't have any live rock in the big system when the first incident happened and there has never been copper in the smaller QT tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrench September 12, 2014 Author Share September 12, 2014 Or you can stop QT'ing, LOL. I've killed more fish trying to quarantine than in my tank(s) for sure. I'm at my limit, so I won't be adding fish anytime soon. No. I've lost too many fish and seen too many fish lost due to not QT. Not a risk I'm willing to take anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 Seems like the prazi is killing off some large amount of life in there and causing an ammonia spike. I guess it could be the bacterial life that you were using to maintain the nitrogen cycle via sponges, live rock, etc, but I didn't know that prazi did that. Others with more experience with hospital tanks can weigh in here, but maybe the solution would be to make sure the prazi you have is good, and then rely not on biological filtration, but rather water changes to keep the ammonia down when dosing things that will kill the biological part anyway. Stick an ammonia alert badge in there and dose and watch it carefully. Feed minimally. Change water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 You mentioned you were using water from your main system for water changes? Ich is in the display, right? Why would you use water that has ich? Keep in mind PraziPro does not eradicate ich. You'll need to use Cupramine. Buy and download Mr. saltwater tank's guide to Quarantine as it has a ton of information. Worth every penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrench September 12, 2014 Author Share September 12, 2014 You mentioned you were using water from your main system for water changes? Ich is in the display, right? Why would you use water that has ich? Keep in mind PraziPro does not eradicate ich. You'll need to use Cupramine. Buy and download Mr. saltwater tank's guide to Quarantine as it has a ton of information. Worth every penny. Yeah I had thought about that before but for some reason it didn't concern me much. I am using Prazi strictly for flukes and internal parasites (worms). Not ich. I have a copy of Marks QT manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k September 13, 2014 Share September 13, 2014 We import lots of fish and house them in isolation for a month. We never treat with anything- just plenty of food and good water conditions. We maybe lose 10% of all fish imported. I make the assumption that 90% of all fish we import are healthy to begin with. If the fish is going into one of 3 high end tanks with existant population of expensive fish, then the fish usually gets to stay in a different tank for a month before going into the final DT. Seems like the cure is often worse than the disease around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads September 13, 2014 Share September 13, 2014 Seems like the cure is often worse than the disease around here. agree 100% Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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