To quarantine or not to quarantine

[BLUElobster99]

I'm planning on purchasing a flame angel for my 55g. To be completely honest, I have never quarantined a fish in my life. I have several fire fish, clowns, and gobies, all of which were never qt'd yet they never got any disease, sickness, or parasite. The reason I'm only exploring this now is because A) it's a 50 dollar fish and B) because the website I'm buying from (bluezoo aquatics) states that all fish NEED to be quarantined if they are to be healthy. After about a half hour, and about 100 visits to variations) various forums and websites I still can't decide. Some people say it's essential and others say it stresses the fish which WILL eventually lead to disease. So should I qt this guy or not? And of so, what is the ideal setup and qt process?

 

[Mebbid]

Some people say it's essential and others say it stresses the fish which WILL eventually lead to disease. So should I qt this guy or not? And of so, what is the ideal setup and qt process?

Those people are quacks and don't know what they are talking about. Quarantining is an essential practice. If done properly, a quarantine is no less stressful than keeping it in a normal tank.

Just give it a tank approx 20g or so and throw some hiding places in it. PVC works well but I tend to use a random assortment of freshwater ornaments I acquired from buying a tank over craigslist. It's not pretty by any means, but it's perfectly functional.

 

[icydeath]

I agree with Mebbid. Good water quality and hiding places is the same as the stress when in a new tank. It's a good practice when used properly.

 

[tonedogz]

Agreed qt. Perfect example I just got an order from blue zoo coincidently, the hippo tang I purchased ended up having ich, if I had put that fish in my dt the whole tank would have been infected right now and I would have had to pull all my fish. Just a word of warning.

 

[BLUElobster99]

How long should I qt? And should I medicate or just observe?

 

[tonedogz]

I usually keep them 3 to 4 weeks. Never medicate if its not necessary just watch for any signs of a problem. Watch your parameters

 

[Mebbid]

I usually keep them 3 to 4 weeks. Never medicate if its not necessary just watch for any signs of a problem. Watch your parameters

+1 i make it a habit of doing a hypsalinity treatment just because ich is super common though.

 

[BLUElobster99]

Ok I'll definitely do 3 weeks and I'm picking up a 10 gallon today. I have an hob filter but what should I use as filter media? I know carbon is a no no. I have floss, Aquaclear sponges, bio media (the noodles), and a bag of purigen on hand. What should I use?

 

[tonedogz]

Why is carbon a no no you can use carbon you just can't use it if your using medications because it removes most.

 

[tonedogz]

use the floss bio and carbon and filter of course

 

[54seaweed]

hey bluelobster empty your in box it be full

 

[BLUElobster99]

Thanks I went and cleaned it out

 

[icydeath]

What you use as media shouldn't matter too much... just enough surface area for biological filtration. Keep an eye on nitrates though.

Also, there isn't much of a point to using carbon unless removing medication

 

[Sniperhank]

Also, there isn't much of a point to using carbon unless removing medication

That is not true in the slightest. This is directly from Randy Holmes-Farley from some time ago on the subject.

I run it 24/7 in a cannister filter.

It reduces yellowing.
It exports organics and metals attached to them.
It may bind organic toxins from the water.
It makes a great place for bacteria to grow for my organic carbon dosing.

Drawbacks may possibly include possibility of HLLE beign encouraged in some fish.

EDIT: That said, in terms of a QT tank you shouldn't need to run ANY type of media. A QT or hospital tank is as minimal as possible. No filter media, just a small powerhead for flow and some PVC as a place to hide.

 

[mr_X]

What about a bacteria colony? I must be a "quack" then....because I don't qt anything and have only lost 1 fish (to acclimation) since I've been in this hobby. I disagree that a bright white pvc pipe is just as stressful as a recreation if it's natural environment. I realize I'm in the minority here, but I'm not changing my practices just because the masses think it's a good idea.
I just tossed 6 wild caught fish into my tank. Let's see what happens. I'll be your guinea pig

 

[Sniperhank]

What about a bacteria colony? I must be a "quack" then....because I don't qt anything and have only lost 1 fish (to acclimation) since I've been in this hobby. I disagree that a bright white pvc pipe is just as stressful as a recreation if it's natural environment. I realize I'm in the minority here, but I'm not changing my practices just because the masses think it's a good idea.
I just tossed 6 wild caught fish into my tank. Let's see what happens. I'll be your guinea pig

I don't do anything different from yourself Doug. No QT tank here. But when it comes to those that run them, it is bare bones and normally managed by water changes to keep the toxic levels at 0 from all those that I've had contact with.

And for the record, I couldn't tell which fish losses that I've had could have been prevented by such, if at all, since it always ends up being a disappearance during the night after being introduced into the tank.

 

[jeffaquarius]

What about a bacteria colony? I must be a "quack" then....because I don't qt anything and have only lost 1 fish (to acclimation) since I've been in this hobby. I disagree that a bright white pvc pipe is just as stressful as a recreation if it's natural environment. I realize I'm in the minority here, but I'm not changing my practices just because the masses think it's a good idea.
I just tossed 6 wild caught fish into my tank. Let's see what happens. I'll be your guinea pig

I'm with you Doug. Neither do I QT my new fish. Some people here are just good in talking about it by the book. IME as long as your fish are not stressed out your tank would be okay. Parasites are inevitable but if fish have good immune system they can fight it off. The reason why most new fish specially tangs gets ich is because of wrong acclimation. However, I do treat them individually in separate tank when parasites becomes uncontrollable.

 

[Mebbid]

I'm with you Doug. Neither do I QT my new fish. Some people here are just good in talking about it by the book. IME as long as your fish are not stressed out your tank would be okay. Parasites are inevitable but if fish have good immune system they can fight it off. The reason why most new fish specially tangs gets ich is because of wrong acclimation. However, I do treat them individually in separate tank when parasites becomes uncontrollable.

I don't do anything different from yourself Doug. No QT tank here. But when it comes to those that run them, it is bare bones and normally managed by water changes to keep the toxic levels at 0 from all those that I've had contact with.

And for the record, I couldn't tell which fish losses that I've had could have been prevented by such, if at all, since it always ends up being a disappearance during the night after being introduced into the tank.

Those are both very common sentiments among the reefing world. And some people that follow that rule have no problems. But the rest of the aquarists that aren't as lucky usually pay for it in lost fish.

My question to anyone that doesn't quarantine:

Is it worth losing all your fish to avoid caring for the fish in a QT tank for 4 weeks?

If the answer is yes, then don't QT. If the answer is no, well... you get the picture.

If you have a healthy tank then Ich is not really a problem. I kept my tank this way for close to a year without any deaths related to disease. When it came time to switch over to my 90g tank I pulled all my fish out of my 20g, added them into my 90g running a cycled filter. The plan was to add some fish, let them get cozy and comfortable, and then drop it down to do a hyposalinity treatment to get rid of any remaning traces of ich in my tank and make sure the new fish didn't have ich.

The few fish I added in one at a time were a yellow tang, caudern cardinal, and a McCosker's wrasse. I spent approx 4 - 5 hours drip acclimating them and I added them about a week apart. The only aggression there was came from the clowns when I added the McCoskers in but I stuck them into the sump and added a few decorations to keep them happy. Nitrate never rose above 10ppm and there was never a sign of ammonia or nitrite. The pH was stable the entire time as I ran a sump and kept the lighting schedule on alternate timers. About a week after I added the last fish before I started dropping the salinity; I lost my first fish, then over the course of a week I lost all but a blenny and my clowns to marine velvet. I drove an hour away to the nearest LFS to get some copper and treated the tank for it.

All in all this cost me approx. $250. But compared to some here I am a relative newcomer to salt water. If you ask around, especially on other forums, there are many veterans that have had a similar experience and lost their entire tank or close to it due to not QTing.

Mr Saltwater Tank tv talks about it a little bit here.. His bill was $1,200 in lost fish.

So again, is it worth risking losing all your fish to avoid a 4 week QT?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I'm a quack too. No surprises there.
QT is sometimes not done right and does stress the fish more in many cases. Rarely is a QT system run as clean as your main tank. Certainly it can be desirable for observation and maybe even treatment. But I haven't seen disease in 20 years. And I have added fish I saved from the LFS that were not in good shape. As in the natural environment, it's hard for a free swimming parasite to exist in a tank full of filter feeders. But in the end, IMO, placing the fish into the most relaxing natural environment will allow their natural defenses to recover and many things they can cure themselves of. A good example is how live stock is commercially raised. When all the animals live on top of each other and are constantly stressed, they have to fill them up with antibiotics. Any farmer will tell you that allowing the animals some space and security keeps them healthy without all the antibiotics. I think fish may respond the same way. If you have a smaller tank, without the natural defenses, or are stocked to the "gills" then a QT may be necessary.

I do have a cure for baldness that uses 20 double A batteries. Quack!

If you QT just make that system as livable as your main tank, no temperature fluctuations and pristine water, otherwise the fish will just get sicker. Medication might eliminate the symptoms in the QT system, but the fish may still be weakened and becomes a problem once you end the QT.

I'm not a fan of Mr. Saltwater as I have heard him say some things I didn't think were very accurate. Each to their own though!

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[Mebbid]

I'm a quack too. No surprises there.
QT is rarely done right and does stress the fish more in most cases. Rarely is a QT system run as clean as your main tank. Certainly it can be desirable for observation and maybe even treatment. But I haven't seen disease in 20 years. And I have added fish I saved from the LFS that were not in good shape. As in the natural environment, it's hard for a free swimming parasite to exist in a tank full of filter feeders. But in the end, IMO, placing the fish into the most relaxing natural environment will allow their natural defenses to recover and many things they can cure themselves of. A good example is how live stock is commercially raised. When all the animals live on top of each other and are constantly stressed, they have to fill them up with antibiotics. Any farmer will tell you that allowing the animals some space and security keeps them healthy without all the antibiotics. I think fish may respond the same way. If you have a smaller tank, without the natural defenses, or are stocked to the "gills" then a QT may be necessary.

I do have a cure for baldness that uses 20 double A batteries.

If you QT just make that system as livable as your main tank, no temperature fluctuations and pristine water, otherwise the fish will just get sicker. Medication might eliminate the symptoms in the QT system, but the fish may still be weakened and becomes a problem once you end the QT.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

All I can think of is this

I can honestly say I've never had a problem with either stress or parameters in my QT tank. I use the water from my DT water changes to change the water in my 20g QT so that's up to a 50% change every week. I also throw a handfull of Chaeto in there or my caulerpa for algae eaters. The nitrate generally stays at 5ppm or below.

I have enough decorations in there to give the fish plenty of hiding places. Rocks, fake plants, and caves.