Fish first aid kit

[jejton]

I keep a few meds/treatments on hand for my freshwater tank and was wondering what, if anything, is worthwhile to keep on hand for my reef. Any suggestions?

 

[KathyC]

Aside from a QT set up (not running), I'd keep the sponge for a sponge filter floating in your sump in case you ever need to set up the tank.
It would be good to be aware of what LFS carry chleated copper and copper test kits..again if you need to get them quickly.
If you practice good husbandry (water changes, testing your parameters on a regular basis), QT all new fish you techincally shouldn't run into a problem that would require meds.
IMO SW fish have an advantage over tropicals in that they live in SW and that in itself keeps away many of the ailments we see in FW fish.

For your corals you probably want to keep a bottle of Lugols Solution on hand for dipping for pests and diseases and maybe some TMPC (Tropic Marin Pro Cure). A bottle of FWE (Flatworm Exit) isn't a bad idea either for dipping ne corals. Just be sure to use the appropriate dip for each type of coral

 

[Domboski]

I'd go with Hydrogen peroxide for cuts and scrapes. Also Furan2 is a good med. If you are going to be adding any locally caught fish to your tanks, praziquantal is a good pill to have laying around (de-wormer). It is sold in petland as "D-Worm".

BTW, HP is also good for your reptiles and amphibians

 

[jejton]

So you dab some HP on the fish when they get cuts? I do quarantine all new additions, and after following other opinions here I skipped the quarantine on some frags I picked up from a local reefer and ended up with aptasia or mojano so thats the last time I do that. Are there any good threads that discuss coral dips ? I just picked up a free bag of various iodine solutions ( from a LIRA member ) including Lugol's but I can't find solid information as to how to use it.

 

[Domboski]

So you dab some HP on the fish when they get cuts?

Yup.

 

[Killerdrgn]

Aside from a QT set up (not running)

On a related note, why would you not want a QT continually running? Besides the probable algae outbreaks, and probable neglect of upkeeping it.

 

[Wes]

On a related note, why would you not want a QT continually running? Besides the probable algae outbreaks, and probable neglect of upkeeping it.

simply to save you on electricity and unnecessary maintenance i believe.

However, when stocking up a new system people tend to buy fish more often. It's probably not a bad idea to keep one running because the amount of work to get the QT up and running and then taking it down for every fish you add will probably be more work than keeping one running.

Once you get stocked up pretty well and the fish purchases slow down, it's probably better to do as kathy said, imo.

 

[Killerdrgn]

simply to save you on electricity and unnecessary maintenance i believe.

However, when stocking up a new system people tend to buy fish more often. It's probably not a bad idea to keep one running because the amount of work to get the QT up and running and then taking it down for every fish you add will probably be more work than keeping one running.

Once you get stocked up pretty well and the fish purchases slow down, it's probably better to do as kathy said, imo.

Ok yeah, I have one running, But i'm still adding new fish. Was just wondering if i should empty it out completely and was it out in between getting new fish. I kept it running and stocked it with some pods so if i got new fish that were picky eaters they'd still be able to get the pods.

 

[georgelc86]

A helpfull tip I learned was a filter sponge. If you happen to have a sump drop the sponge in the sump and when you need to run your QT tank take the sponge from the sump and pop it into the QT. That way you will have a great head start on the biological portion of the QT. Now of course if you use copper the baterica is done but if your just holding new specimens or not using any meds that will kill everything then your good to go. I have my biowheel in my sump ready to pop into my bio-wheel filter if the need arises.