QT tank fish release

[MarkSzy]

So I'm not ready yet to release my QT'ed Blonde Naso tang but the time is coming, at least the standard 4 weeks. He (I believe its a he because of the blue line down its back) it eating great in the QT tank but I am afraid he stresses to easily still. My question is do go by the standard rules or feel your fish out? Mine is less then 2 inches going into a 200g with a 4" hippo and a 2.5" Scopas and I feel like he will just get so scared and never come out for food and die. What would you do?

 

[Chris A.]

Acclamation box will be your friend

 

[FREAKINRICAN69]

Acclamation box will be your friend

+1 for a bit

 

[Mixed Reefer]

If your Naso is eating well in QT. I think you’ll be fine. I would release into larger tank. Acclimation box could stress him out, and eventually he’ll have to go into tank where he’ll be stressed again. If he’s ready to go put him in and keep an eye. Feed with feeding tool if necessary. Your tank is large enough for him to hide and get comfortable. In my experience they will hide and will take about two weeks to adjust to the tank. It’s common to see a dark stressed look or quick color change when stressed. Also sexing for the Blonde I believe can’t be done till approximately 6” in size. The male will have the streamers. Good luck! Keep us posted, my favorite personable fish!

 

[MarkSzy]

If your Naso is eating well in QT. I think you’ll be fine. I would release into larger tank. Acclimation box could stress him out, and eventually he’ll have to go into tank where he’ll be stressed again. If he’s ready to go put him in and keep an eye. Feed with feeding tool if necessary. Your tank is large enough for him to hide and get comfortable. In my experience they will hide and will take about two weeks to adjust to the tank. It’s common to see a dark stressed look or quick color change when stressed. Also sexing for the Blonde I believe can’t be done till approximately 6” in size. The male will have the streamers. Good luck! Keep us posted, my favorite personable fish!

I love his colors and the fish in general, it goes from stress free to stress spots so quick and that’s what worries me. He has been in qt for 3 weeks now so I’m thinking 1-2 more weeks to be safe.

BTW that is a beautiful fish.

 

[Mixed Reefer]

I love his colors and the fish in general, it goes from stress free to stress spots so quick and that’s what worries me. He has been in qt for 3 weeks now so I’m thinking 1-2 more weeks to be safe.

The stress spots will pass eventually. I know how you feel. I was worried at first because of my Naso’s color. It was stress. It took my Naso 14 days to adjust to the tank. He settled in and now is one of my favorites. When I added mine he was about 2” also.

 

[highfive52]

Qt might be the stresser. Qt never gives enough hiding spots. I think he'll be much more at ease in big tank. Don't be afraid to move other fish out of way if they start bothering him. I would feed everyone quite heavy lots of small meals to avoid food aggression. You can always trap biggest aggressor in box. Let him settle in.

 

[PSU4ME]

Is he in QT or an observation tank? Have you treated him with meds? I think all three above are correct but I’d probably blend them both, large enough acclimation box for 1-2 days then release him towards the end of the light cycle

 

[ChrisV]

Back before acclimation boxes were all the rage, we would just feed the DT heavily just before normal lights out time, then after lights out but before ambient light in the room lights were out, dump the fish on in. Then feed heavily as soon as the lights come on the next morning. Most of the fish I introduced this way find great. I'm a little concerned that for some fish (like tangs) being in the acclimation box is itself super stressful. They are often under full tank lighting with little to no place to hide, and if they see fish they are afraid of they will still be freaked out. There are other fish that I'd totally do it with ..but if the idea is that you want the fish to know the smell of the new fish or w/e, this can happen over night. Fwiw, if I had a major aggression issue it would either resolve in two days or never resolve.

 

[MarkSzy]

Is he in QT or an observation tank? Have you treated him with meds? I think all three above are correct but I’d probably blend them both, large enough acclimation box for 1-2 days then release him towards the end of the light cycle

observation tank, I never had to treat for anything. I ordered him and wanted to make sure he survived, I plan on doing this with all this fish I get though as I have lost two anthias days after introduce because of bullying and I could get them out.

 

[PSU4ME]

So are you sure you have stress spots and not Ich?

 

[Humblefish]

If you are confident that the fish is disease-free, just make sure SG + temp match between QT & DT. This way you can just net him (or I prefer to use a colander) and release. An acclimation box in the DT is a good idea if you anticipate any aggression from other tangs.

 

[MarkSzy]

So are you sure you have stress spots and not Ich?

100% sure, when he gets scared and hides they show up. When he is calm and eating they are gone.

 

[MarkSzy]

If you are confident that the fish is disease-free, just make sure SG + temp match between QT & DT. This way you can just net him (or I prefer to use a colander) and release. An acclimation box in the DT is a good idea if you anticipate any aggression from other tangs.

I do have a fairly large breeder box that I used once but it seemed to stress the fish out more even with PVC to hide in.

 

[PSU4ME]

Feed your fish in the DT till they are about to bust, the add the tang. Do this with roughly 1 hour till lights out. Match the temp and salinity abs I bet he’s fine. If you see aggression then net him to acclimation box

 

[MarkSzy]

thank you all for the advice, my Naso is happy and healthy after a few days in the display. My Scopas tang gave it a little crap at first but now they seem fine. I was more worried about my hippo but it didn't seem to care.