fishless for month

[lilmatty5dimes]

So, my tanks been fishless for the last 6 weeks and was wondering if i needed to do anything before i try and add a fish. I have 20 snails, 10 blue crabs, and an emerald crab. and so different coral. thanks for the advice

 

[little_fish]

Are you trying to get rid of ich? If so, i would wait another few weeks before adding fish back. But no need to do anything special before adding them.

 

[Smitty]

+1 lil fish.

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

Ok not sure if it was ich or another disease. But had pair of black & white clowns die and a CB. But That's what I was thinking. I just heard the bacteria dies off with no fish in the tank. And it would cause a cycle. But I plan on buying stuff for my 29g to make it a QT. so it's going to be another 4 weeks before I add an fish. Thanks to both of ya.

 

[wontonflip]

Bacteria should be fine. Especially if you have inverts in there...they're also peeing and pooping ;) You should be feeding them a little bit anyway. Just a few pieces of frozen for them to forage for. That should be enough to keep bacteria happy.

 

[FishyReef]

I would just add fish in slowly when you start again. And if you did it to get rid of ich, make sure to treat and quarantine any new fish, otherwise you'll just bring the ich back into the tank.

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

Thanks every1. My plan is to make my 29g freshy a QT. Doing some research on QT tanks. Here are some question.
Do I cycle like the same as a DT? Throw in a raw shrimp and wait til it's done.
Buying/using a small Power filter like biowheel 200 and putting some floss into it or something else?
I'm going to paint the back black and probably one of the sides to keep them relaxed.
Throw in a PVC elbow, heater, a small PH, anything else? Thanks agai. Every1

 

[FishyReef]

My understanding of a QT is that it is literally just the aquarium and a powerhead, no sand, no rocks, no filter. You should put a piece of pvc pipe in it so that the fish has something to hide in, and just do water changes regularly to keep it clean. I think this is the type of set up you need if you are going to treat fish with copper or other meds. If you go the hyposalinity route, you might be able to do a better set up than this, I'm not sure. I do know that you can't just QT fish to get rid of ich, you have to actually treat them for I believe 8 weeks before adding them to your DT. I am sure someone wtih more experience will chime in!

 

[little_fish]

+1 Reef fishy