Ok, I'm going to sneak out from behind my tree here and admit that, no, I don't quarantine. Here's why:
I look back over the logs I have kept since I started in this hobby two years ago, and every fish I have bought from one particular lfs in Minneapolis has lived. Now, I buy fish from that store only. I feel there are good reasons why her livestock is so healthy, and it is because of her dedication to her animals.
I also think dropping a fish into an intermediate environment with the additional catch and release incident
can be stressful.
I have heard too many stories of "I quarantined my fish for 3-4 weeks and it got ich anyway as soon as I added it to my display tank".
I believe that if we buy healthy fish, feed them properly, limit stress in their tank as much as possible, they will fight off most diseases on their own.
I think more important than quarantining is doing our homework on: a)which species have a reasonable chance for long-term survival in our tanks b) which fish gets along with the ones we already have c)not overcrowding our tanks.
I don't ever buy
fish mailorder. Corals yes, but not fish. Not so much because I think the trip is stressful on them (obviously it is, but then they have to make that same trip when being shipped to the lfs) but because I can't see them beforehand, and what kind of environment they came out of.
If Terry B is reading this I can see him biting his lip already. Maybe this will bite me in the butt someday, but this method so far has worked for me. Aside from a case of ich in my 75 FO tank shortly after it was setup due to my own ignorance, I have been without a fish death for a long time. I have had minor cases of ich in both my fo and reef tanks, but the fish have fought it off on their own, with a little help from vitamins, Selcon, and good food.
Disclaimer: I'm not recommending this method to anyone else, just saying what works for me.
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Larry M
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