Now that you have amassed all the components of a good Q-tank facility,
it is time to exercise the Q-tank process. The following is a day-by-day
schedule for managing the Q-tank process. Certainly this is not cast
in stone and can be altered to meet specific needs, but consider
the basic procedures used throughout the schedule:
Day One: Once
you have set up your q-tank and added and treated the water, you
are ready to add your fish. At this point,
you should have a .1% salt level in the water, Amquel or Prime treating
the chlorine and ready for the ammonia, a KH level of at least 100
and the pH within the 7-8.5 range. Add the dimlin or Anchors Away.
Note this in your journal.
Assuming the fish is in a transport bag, make sure that the water
temperatures between the bag and the q-tank are within 5 deg F of
each other. If not, float the bag in the tank until the temperatures
are within 5 deg F.
It is
advisable to NOT add the water from the bag to the q-tank. Whatever
the fish
is bringing with it is in the bag water and so
let’s reduce the odds of problems and just pick the fish out of the
water and turn it loose. Thoroughly clean the bag and save it for
later.
The fish will be immediately unhappy and probably dart around a
bit and then settle into a dark quiet place. No matter how the fish
reacts, cover the tank tightly as in short order, the fish will attempt
to leave.
Do not feed or even try to feed. Let the fish settle down and get
accustomed to the new tank and water.
Observe
the fish’s
behavior closely and often. Some things to look for:
- Make sure that the fish is swimming level and can maintain a
proper attitude when at rest.
- The gill movement on each side is even and not labored.
Day 2 or 3: Once
the fish has settled down and appears to be acting normally, it
is time to do the initial exam
of the fish. Depending on how experienced you are with handling fish
or how big the fish is, you may wish to use the transport bag or
a shallow tub for this process. At a minimum, perform the following
tasks:
- Check water parameters. This should be a daily procedure and
the parameters should be managed accordingly. Note the water parameters
in your journal. Include water temperature.
- Raise the salt level to .2%.
- A general external exam, checking the fins, mouth area, skin
and gills, eyes, etc. Also feel the belly and make sure it is firm.
Check for visible macroparasites, such as lernea and anchor worms.
Note the results of this exam.
- Next, exam the gills. The easiest way is to slip your thumb under
the gill cover and raise it gently. The gills should be blood red.
It is not uncommon for a stressed fish to expel blood from its
gills during handling. Also, what appears to be hunks of gill material
may also appear in the blood. Do not panic. While this is not a
good thing it is a common occurrence. The increased blood pressure
caused by stress forces blood out from the capillaries in the gill
filaments and normal clotting of the blood causes the appearance
of hunks of gill material.
- Using
a microscope slide, scrape the fish’s mucous covering from
tail to gills along the lateral line and under the chin, from
mouth to pectoral fins. Use a cover slip to evenly spread the
mucous
coating on the slide and then cover the specimen and examine
under the scope. Obviously we are looking for anything that
is moving,
such as parasites and flukes. This is a critical step in the
q-tank process as this will dictate a more solid routine to
follow in
the next couple of days. Without this step, we have to assume
that the fish as parasites and flukes.
- Last, check the fish feces. The fresher the feces, the better.
Typical feces is either light gray or brown (depending on the diet),
narrow and tubular and firm. If the feces is whitish and stringy,
this is an indication of a possible internal parasite problem.
A microscope study of fresh feces is always an interesting ordeal
and quite revealing in the health of the fish.
- Feed sparingly, but do not expect him to eat. If the food is
still in the water after one hour, remove it.
Day 4 or 5: This
time frame begins the treatment of the fish for parasites, flukes,
etc. As stated, the microscope
study from Day 2/3 should dictate the routine to follow but if this
has not been done, we have to assume that the fish has EVERYTHING.
And this is not a bad assumption and as such, treatment for all conditions
should be performed.
- Perform the first water change (minimum 50%) and treat the water
accordingly.
- Salt levels should be raised to .3%. This level will be maintained
for the next couple of weeks.
- Check
the fish’s behavior. By this point he should have settled
down and acclimated to his environment.
- Add the fluke tabs. Record this in your journal by date.
- Continue to feed lightly.
Day 6 or 7: These are "maintenance days" and
the following needs to be performed:
- Check water parameters and treat accordingly.
- Scrape and scope the fish. Note the results in your journal.
- Check the gills.
- Look for and exam fresh feces.
Day 8 through 12: Assuming that the scope studies
show nothing and the fish’s behavior is normal, you can start planning
for the fish’s release. To do this, perform the following:
- Perform
a 50% water change using pond water. This will begin to acclimate
the fish to the main pond’s condition.
- Maintain a .3% salt level.
- If you plan on performing a potassium permanganate treatment
prior to release, manage ammonia levels with water changes from
the pond. Do not use Amquel, Prime or other de-chlorinating products
as this will neutralize the PP treatment immediately.
- Observe the feces. No need to do a scope exam unless the feces
are irregular.
- Continue to feed lightly.
Day 13 or 14: Last
days in captivity. Prior to release, perform the following:
- Complete a thorough physical exam, especially the gills.
- Optionally, perform a q-tank-wide PP treatment at 2PPM. Leave
the pump and filter running as this will provide a nice sterilization
process. Neutralize the treatment after 8 hours with hydrogen peroxide
or Amquel.
- Alternatively, perform a .6% salt bath for 30 minutes (unless
fish is too stressed)
- Release to pond.
- Enjoy!
Additional Thoughts: As stated early on in this chapter,
these procedures are not set in stone and really offer practical
guidelines for meeting the goals of a new fish from the dealers environment
to your pond safely and healthy. Certainly we could not cover all
the problems that one can encounter in a q-tank process, such as
advanced health problems, injectable medications, etc. and for these
types of situations, let me offer the following resources on the
web:
Both web sites offer bulletin boards supported by some of the best
and most helpful koi health advisors and specialists around. Do not
hesitate to ask your question on these bulletin boards. When it comes
to health problems, time is always of the essence.
And
finally, it is my experience that pond-wide koi health problems
just do
not "happen"- something caused them. The occasional
ulcer or fin rot is too explainable. But when it comes to massive
fish kills or pond-wide health problems, THE MOST COMMON reason for
these sad events is usually linked DIRECTLY back to the owner’s failure
to properly quarantine and treat new fish prior introducing them
to the pond. For all of us that have seen massive fish kills from
poor quarantine procedures, we have heard all the excuses like:
- "But they looked healthy…"
- "I trusted my fish dealer… his
fish are healthy."
- "I
was told this was not important."
- "I didn’t
know."
The quarantine and treatment of new fish is probably the single
most important activity koi owners need to do to ensure the health
of their ponds and fish.
