QT questions....and thoughts?!

[gooyferret]

Well i have had alot of fish in my days, and have never quarantined fish. Questions i have:
Why move from one tank (LFS for example) to another the QT, then to the main display? Generally fish will get ich (most peoples biggest concern) if stressed. Now i would understand the QT for a sick fish when purchased or bought online to cure the disease before the introduction of the main tank. If a healthy fish is bought and put into QT and continues to be healthy throughout the QT process, then the move to the main tank could cause stress just as easily as the QT introduction would. For every advantage that i find for the QT process i find a disadvantage also. I do understand the reason for it if the fish gets sick in the main tank the the QT is good. But on the other hand you could then quarantine the fish to better health with cooper and other medications. But cooper is what is killing the bacteria or disease not the fish immune system. Making the next introduction in the main tank less of a chance since the fish immune system is lower. What do you all think....Pros and Cons of QT??

 

[austinsdad]

I'm a huge fan of QT . I don't think anyone can know that a fish is healthy when they bring them home. The car ride home itself could stress'm out. New environment, new food maybe, new tankmates, different water parameters could also stress'm out. I've been burned by adding a new fish directly to my main with 12 other fish and 100 lbs of rock. New fish had a latent issue obviously.

Killed 9 fish inside of 2 weeks.

Some folks (IMO) have had incredible luck not QTing fish. I think it was just that - incredible luck.

 

[Phyl]

I have my questions about QT too. Just because you have QTd a fish and they didn't exhibit ich then (nor ever since) does that mean that ich is not in your main? I'm starting to wonder. I have very healthy fish and always have. Does that mean that there's no ich in my main? Nope. I'm afraid that isn't what it means. Unless you treat each fish you get with hypo or copper how can you ensure that you don't end up with ich in your main? My perfectly healthy 8w QTd purple tang has what I'm fearing might well be ich again. I know he didn't have it going in to that tank and he's been in there for 2 full weeks now with no spots. Last night I noticed what I'm afraid is an ich spot. I'm not sure that's what it is yet (but of course I fear the worst). Curing it won't guarentee that I don't get it again the next time I add a perfectly healthy fish to my system.

 

[RLG2182]

Is there any benefit by having a skimmer in the QT? I have a BakPak CPR that's just sitting there doing nothing... trying to find something to do with it!

 

[MYTY1705]

You could ship it to me . Skimming really does not have much to do with ich. It keeps the water sleaner which helps keep the fish happier (less stress, less chance of ich) But as for getting rid of the ich no it does not help. A UV sterilizer does though.

I agree on the ich being in the main tank already. If you add live rock you are adding all sorts of things above and beyond your unwanted hitch hikers you can see. I can bet you also have just added ich and other parasites as well. Now your tank has it and you have not even added fish yet. You qt your first fish then put him in a tank of GOOD water?????? Nope the ich is on the rock waiting for your fish. Please correct me if I'm wrong about it coming on rock or other things you add to the tank. (maybe corals????) I have yet to qt a fish and have not had a problem, neighbor down the street qt's all fish, ich 3 times in 4 years. Coincidence, he got ich, probably. Coincidence I have not, probably. But why stress the fish out even more. Sorry for the RANT.

 

[RLG2182]

If a healthy fish is bought and put into QT and continues to be healthy throughout the QT process, then the move to the main tank could cause stress just as easily as the QT introduction would.

8O I never considered that possibility. What if the conditions in your QT are BETTER than in your main? That might make things worse. I'm 100% all in for doing what is right... just never thought of some of these issues. I'm interested to hear more of what people have to say!

 

[Phyl]

Anything that comes from a system that isn't fishless (ie: the ocean, someone else's tank, etc) can be carrying ich as well as other unwanted parasites. Very true.

I've upped my garlic and selcon doses as well as an increased feeding regimen. I may even add ground ginger to the mix and cross my fingers that it just goes away without turning into a full case of ich (there are already 3 skunks and a UV on the tank). My other fish are clearly strong enough to be resistant right now. I'll forever be adding corals and frags and whatnot from fellow reefers tank. Each time I do that I risk reinfection. I don't have the lighting to be QTing my coral purchases too... so then what? *sigh*.

I will continue QT my fish and still have my anthias in QT (2w so far). I believe you're better off doing QT for other reasons: watching the fish eat, making sure that they're healthy and strong and because there are much more terrible things than ich to deal with that I don't want in my tank, but I'm not convinced that keeping ich out of your main is a valid reason to QT.

rant rant rant...

 

[RLG2182]

See, I MORE than see the need for a QT to treat a sick fish with copper, etc. What if you needed to QT a coral? *gasp* 8O does that mean you'd have to buy a PC/VHO lighting setup for your QT too?? I heard somewhere that one drop of copper could ruin an entire main setup... is this true? If so, when you take your fish out of a copper treatment, do you have to "wash" the fish off?

 

[morgan24]

if u don't want the skimmer i'll take it off your hands for ya. lol

 

[MYTY1705]

OOOOOOPPPPSSSSS . Can of worms, pandora's box AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I agree there are worse things than ich. I never buy a fish without seeing it eat in the store. I also watch the fish store very closely. I am there at least 3 times a week to look at their tanks and to get an idea of what fish are healthy and what the clerks are doing for the fish. If there is something that I could see wrong with the fish or they aren't eating I don't buy!!! I know most people are not as anal about thier fish purchases as I am but I'm not about to spend the type of money saltwater cost without knowing the fish is healthy and eating. But I also know that my tank is not free of bacteria and ich. So as long as it is not currently showings signs and eating, no reason to stress out more.

 

[ellisz]

There are other organisms beside ich that can be on fish. Around here, most of the salty stores promote meds that help with worms. I forget the name but it is a de-wormer that is used on other animals.

The President of our local reef club has actually disected dead fish and found worms.

Just an FYI

 

[Phyl]

Ewwwwwwww. I shouldn't have opened this in the midst of eating lunch! Gross!

 

[gooyferret]

This is why i made this thread just to see comments on others thoughts about QT. From what i have read and heard that all fish carry a dormant ich...that will only come out when a fish is stressed. Ich is a very bad parasite to have in your tank once it is introduced to a tank, it will feed off a single fish, then fall to into the water/sand/rock to reproduce. Im not sure If a UV sterilizer would actually remove all the ich or just the spawn in the water colom. (which would help significantly) After the ich spawns its multiplied X4 then it tries to find a host to feed off again. Without a host it will die in about a month time. If the fish is already sick i can see why to QT with ich, bacteria, or parasites. But if you purchase a healthy fish and then QT him by himself..then you drop him into a tank thats 10 times as big with other fish, IMO that fish is going to get severly stress. Especially consider the fact that he has had his "own" tank for 4-6 weeks. Worms on the other hand is actually fairly common throughout a fish's life. But can be deadly also. But QT a fish isnt going to tell you that he has worms. And giving meds only weakens a fish's immune system. Just some food for thought!

 

[revhtree]

Ok first off Ich is not caused by stress. A fish that has ich that has no signs of it may show signs when stressed. Anything wet needs to be put in qt IMO. From now on all LR, coral, inverts will be put into a qt at my home. The coral and LR will be put in a place that has proper lighting to sustain health for a period of no less than 4 weeks, more than likely more. If your tank is fishless for a period of 6 weeks or more all the ich will die. Then if everything you add is put through the qt process your main will remain ichless. After 4 weeks you should be able to tell if a fish has something in qt. Also no rock or coral will be in qt with a fish at anytime. Therefore when the time is up I'll no that ich could not have survived without a fish host.

 

[ellisz]

Some worms are on the outside. The LFS store here that dose theit FO tanks has said they see the parasite drop off the body. Internal worms won't necessarily kill the fish but they might not get the nutrition needed and they can pass the worm to other fish by their waste.

As for ich, you can wait till it breaks out and then remove all fish to a QT but tearing down a reef is not fun

 

[revhtree]

As for ich, you can wait till it breaks out and then remove all fish to a QT but tearing down a reef is not fun Sad

A statement of wisdom that I am far to familiar with....

 

[Phyl]

Again, QTing a fish for 4 weeks isn't going to ensure that they aren't carrying ich. Just that they aren't showing symptoms. If they stay in QT and don't become symptomatic and then you transfer them to your main you could still be transferring ich into your main. The only way you'll know that you're ichless is if you hypo or cupramine all of your fish prior to putting them into your main. How many of us are doing *that*?

I agree that a 6w QT of all inverts and corals would allow for the proper die off of the parasite but just QTing a fish isn't going to prevent infestation in your main unless you treat them while they're there.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

Well, I've just added 2 peppermint shrimp, which I drip acclimated, and shouldn't have done it.. They didn't look all that good(lying on their backs kicking) I just thought "stress maybe", so I dripped 'em for a few hours and dropped em in.. well they died and I had to take them out.. and after reading horror stories about parasites and other whatnots, I believe I"m gonna start qt everything from here on out..I bought some snails and dropped them in, hope they didn't carry anything with em...

 

[gooyferret]

Invertabrates are the most sensitive to water quality. May not have been your water since you say they were on their back in the bag most likely it was from shippment and water quality issues not QT.

 

[dianeww]

Watching the fish for a while in the lfs seems to be one way lots of you try to get healthy fish, make sure they're eating, etc. I am going to have to buy mostly on-line (not much choice of lfs around here). Do you tend to get healthy fish on-line? There's no way to choose individuals! Is quarantine more important if you've bought on-line, or would all these pros and cons be the same?