Do I really need a quarantine tank?

[monkeysee1]

One word answer:
YES!!!
A few years back I learned this THE HARD WAY!
Ich wiped out my tank - introduced from a fish purchased at a chain pet store - will NEVER do that again!!
Poor fish, it was awful!!
I now get my fish and corals from specialty shops on line, and I have my 10 gal qt tank ALWAYS fit, fired up and ready to go and I qt EVERYTHING!!

 

[tmz]

Yes; qauratnine and preventive treatment can keep a a tank disease free. Otherwise it's like the phrase from an old Dirty Harry movie, "Do you feel lucky"; sooner or later there will be a bullet in the chamber ; the effects on your aquarium will be devastating.

 

[coralsnaked]

The simple answer is NO! You DO NOT need a quarantine tank if you do not plsan to quarantine your new fish.

Maybe you'll roll all 7s & 11s, and maybe you'll roll snake eyes and crap out.

 

[juniorrocketdad]

Ik this is seperate but how long do you guys at if your just doing observational qt, I'm just curious and do you really need a separate siphon, I never thought about that

 

[Spar]

Ik this is seperate but how long do you guys at if your just doing observational qt, I'm just curious and do you really need a separate siphon, I never thought about that

if just doing observation, you really should do it for at least 8 weeks.

only reason to get a separate siphon is so that you aren't cross contaminating water between QT and DT, especially before you know if your fish may be sick or not. but, as long as you are disinfecting appropriately between uses (sufficiently drying it out and/or bleach solution, for example), then having one is fine.

 

[oblio]

Not to jump on the bandwagon but there are honestly 100 reason to do it none not too. But I read one article about this subject that made the most sense to me and I cant find it. Aside from the entire "dont bring unhealthy pest/animals into your display" argument. If you simply follow the experience your new fish has taken over the last month or so that led to it being in your hands in a bag at your house, think of the QT as a "spa for fish" believe me your new fish is stressed out, and not anywhere near its healthiest state. The QT allows you to let this new guy, relax, get acclimated to your food source that will be offered daily, and simply get healthy before making that last change to his new forever home. By allowing your fish to "re-engergize" there slime coat will thicken, they will fatten up and overall just be far healthier than they are when you bought it.
This new state allows your new fish to then handle the stress involved in making that last step, and believe me its stressful on every fish to be dumped into a new tank with new mates.
Plus you can treat for illness if any is spotted. Many "issues" experienced by new fish is due to being introduced into a new tank while they are basically as a state of low health. Give your new fish a chance, since using a QT new fish additions have gone off without a single issue.
Oh!! one last trick Ive used, when you finally move your new Buddie to the display, do it when the light are off for the night. I have no real idea why, but since changing "when" I add my new fish, when the lights come on everyone acts like they been together for years. it works.

 

[bat21]

I'm new to the hobby. I didn't quarantine in the beginning, because I didn't feel like I had anything to lose. But now, 6 months in, 6 months of work making this tank perfect and its inhabitants healthy, I feel very different. I now have several pets that I have grown very attached to and the thought of tossing a strange fish in with them and potentially putting them in danger? It seems crazy to me. It would make me a terrible pet owner.

My prediction is that you will feel differently than you do now, once you have something to lose: all your hard work, and the lives of your pets. If you don't value those things, then you shouldn't be in this hobby.

 

[mjc041800]

Wow SCARY! Thank you guys!

 

[zapirk]

I lost a whole 125gal tank full of african chiclids a few 100$ worth of fish gone within a week of adding 2 new fish from a LFS non-chain store. My wife noticed a white fluf like cotton on one of the new fish and by time i got home from work that night it spread to muliple other fish. I had to treat the DT and it ended up starting a cycle and wipeing my tank. I was very sad/mad that i should have QT the fish. I had to nuke the tank before starting a new setup for my oscar. And on to the multiple syphons someone mentioned. This white cotton also spread to my 60gal fancy goldfish tank due to useing the same syphons (python) . Lesson learned