Help with my maroon clown fish

[YupYup]

gold stripe looks stunning

[bkv1997]

Patrick:

If you have a sponge or something similiar from the display you could put in the QT to help seed it with a bit I think it would help with the ammonia etc... other than that I'd do as bryan stated.

[salt newbie01]

I don't have a sponge that will fit in the QT filter - Icould put one of the inserts from the emp 400 in the tank. But from what I have read the meds will kill a good bit of the beneficial bacteria. I guess I will just monitor the ammonia levels since they are the first to spike. If they start to go up then I will do a water change. That's all I am trying to do is prevent the little tank from going into a quick cycle and killing the fish. Have any of you guys treated a fish in QT for several days? If so did you do any water changes or did you just leave it alone?

Thanks yup yup -

Thanks for the input guys

[bkv1997]

i did once.. put i pulled water from the main tank to put into the QT and put the new water in the main tank.

After all the trouble I put it back in the main display and it iched right back over. I then decided that I would feed as much as I could if i noticed a fish getting sick and keep the water quality high. Your scenario is a little different though as your not dealing with ich.

I recently did the medicated food to cure a yellow tank with pinched stomach in the main display and am pretty sure it helped remove an internal parasite.

BV

[Ironman]

hey pat, are you not using tank water for the QT? You need to do like brandon said and use already cycled water. yes the meds will screw with the bacteria but it takes time and you wont be using the QT that long. if your using fresh mixed water you may be stressing out the fish on top of his current situation.

[salt newbie01]

Yes I filled the QT with water from the main tank. I should have been more clear. So with that info, if the fish is only in QT for 5-7 days do you think it will start to cycle?

[Ironman]

I dont understand? If the water came from your tank it is already cycled.

[sailfin]

All the good stuff you need isn't just in the water itself. It could have cycles after the fish is in the tank. I don't think, however, that the short amount of time that the fish will be in there could cause any nitrite or nitrate spikes. Hope that helps Patrick.

[RevReefer]

I agree with Anthony. The water itself is good to come from the tank basically for matching salinity, PH, etc... The cycle is not in the water itself, but rather in the surface area of the rock and items in the tank, sand, etc....

I would test everynight though and do small water changes as needed.

[salt newbie01]

I was thinking like Anthony and David. That's why I was concerned about the water going through a cycle. I didn't know if anyone had any experience with how long it would take to start going into a cycle. I am just testing the water 2-3 times a day. So far so good. The ammonia has gotten to a detectable level but it is not bad. I may do a small water change from the main tank before a dose tonights meds. The swelling is going down, so I think it is working.

Thanks for everyone's help