Clean-up crew quarantine methods...

[earwicker7]

I finally put my last batch of fish in the display. Quarantined every fish, so the tank is disease free, and I plan to keep it that way.

The tank has been running for a year and a half or so, which, combined with the mantis shrimp picking them off occasionally, means I need to re-up on my clean-up crew. I plan on quarantining the crew, but I am a bit worried about the best methodology. I didn't quarantine the original clean-up crew because it hitchhiked with the Tampa Bay live rock, and I waited a while before adding fish.

The QT is a 40g breeder. It's bare bottom with an established biological filter. How would you quarantine sea cucumbers without adding substrate? There isn't more than a slight haze of algae on the glass due to it only getting ambient light, so how would you keep the snails and urchins fed? Will they eat nori strips?

Any other potential pitfalls?

 

[Uncle99]

With the exception to snails, I find CUC members to be more trouble, than cleaner, and as you say, must be replaced from time to time. I can keep my DT absolutely clean at all times without them and I take no risk, I spend my time mastering perfect water along with a good salt and regular consistent changes.

 

[Subsea]

I finally put my last batch of fish in the display. Quarantined every fish, so the tank is disease free, and I plan to keep it that way.

The tank has been running for a year and a half or so, which, combined with the mantis shrimp picking them off occasionally, means I need to re-up on my clean-up crew. I plan on quarantining the crew, but I am a bit worried about the best methodology. I didn't quarantine the original clean-up crew because it hitchhiked with the Tampa Bay live rock, and I waited a while before adding fish.

The QT is a 40g breeder. It's bare bottom with an established biological filter. How would you quarantine sea cucumbers without adding substrate? There isn't more than a slight haze of algae on the glass due to it only getting ambient light, so how would you keep the snails and urchins fed? Will they eat nori strips?



Any other potential pitfalls?

If you introduced live rock from the Gulf of Mexico, when you first set tank up, how did you know what came in with the rock. I have had diver collected live rock for years that started sprouting stuff. The point is, you are already out of strict compliance with controlling what is in your tank. I see little advantage to qt. Stress kills fish 300% more than all parasites combined. I see little advantage to qt. If it makes you feel good, then do it. I prefer to enhance fishes natural immune system as a proactive measurement. IMO, fish raised in sterile environment have weak immune systems. I used to think that hatchery raised fish were more hardy. In my 45 years experience in this hobby I have not necessarily found hatchery fish to be healthier. Weak fish survive in the hatchery when they would have died in the wild.

 

[mndfreeze]

You don't need to QT sea cukes. I can't imagine any disease they carry that would be a risk to your other livestock.

 

[flawedexistence]

I don't generally quarantine inverts other than corals.

 

[earwicker7]

If you introduced live rock from the Gulf of Mexico, when you first set tank up, how did you know what came in with the rock. I have had diver collected live rock for years that started sprouting stuff. The point is, you are already out of strict compliance with controlling what is in your tank. I see little advantage to qt. Stress kills fish 300% more than all parasites combined. I see little advantage to qt. If it makes you feel good, then do it. I prefer to enhance fishes natural immune system as a proactive measurement. IMO, fish raised in sterile environment have weak immune systems. I used to think that hatchery raised fish were more hardy. In my 45 years experience in this hobby I have not necessarily found hatchery fish to be healthier. Weak fish survive in the hatchery when they would have died in the wild.

I know the tank doesn't have ich or velvet... if either was somehow present on the live rock, they wouldn't have survived the two fishless months before I added the first fish. I want to keep it that way.

 

[Subsea]

I know the tank doesn't have ich or velvet... if either was somehow present on the live rock, they wouldn't have survived the two fishless months before I added the first fish. I want to keep it that way.

Let us talk about ich. The standard method to break the ich life cycle is to remove all fish so that free swimming larvae dies of starvation. When I started in this hobby 45 years ago, the scientific literature said 14 days for cysts to hatch and go thru larvae stage, then cysts die if not attached. Because the reality did not fit the 14 day rule, literature has changed to 28 days and some literature says 56 days.

I had a 1000G extended system with no additions for several years. Following loss of power, which stressed the system, ich was rampant on many fish. I should add that no fish died and that symptoms cleared up after system stabilized. Nothing was added for > 30 months. Where did the ich come from? If you read the actual research papers on ich, when they talk about the incubation period of the cyst, "œmost will incubate in 28 days". Most is not all and it only takes one to tango. "œNature will find a way".

 

[earwicker7]

Let us talk about ich. The standard method to break the ich life cycle is to remove all fish so that free swimming larvae dies of starvation. When I started in this hobby 45 years ago, the scientific literature said 14 days for cysts to hatch and go thru larvae stage, then cysts die if not attached. Because the reality did not fit the 14 day rule, literature has changed to 28 days and some literature says 56 days.

I had a 1000G extended system with no additions for several years. Following loss of power, which stressed the system, ich was rampant on many fish. I should add that no fish died and that symptoms cleared up after system stabilized. Nothing was added for > 30 months. Where did the ich come from? If you read the actual research papers on ich, when they talk about the incubation period of the cyst, "œmost will incubate in 28 days". Most is not all and it only takes one to tango. "œNature will find a way".

Ich can be present in the system for years before the fish show symptoms. Basically, you introduced ich at some point, and the symptoms were suppressed until they got stressed. Big difference is that in my tank, when they get stressed, they don't get ich.

Could people please stick to the topic at hand? My question was directed toward people who do quarantine their inverts... not interested in the "ich is in every tank" debate.