how long do you quarantine all your fish?
- Thread starter doox00
- Start date
LJA
New member
I agree, for a tank stocked with inexpensive and robust fish; skip the qt and learn how to buy healthy samples. Alternatively, playing it safe and qt every fish is not unwise. Happy reefing.
Reel North
New King of Quarantine
I just lost my entire tank full of beautiful, fat healthy fish.
Funny thing is? The fish I put in that killed everything was a fat healthy LOOKING fish.
I went and got a 75 g qt tank, and now have four fish in it. I freshwater dipped them, and nothing came off, so that's a good start.
I don't think advocating no QT is really the way to go. That's how I used to think, and look what happened.
I read this some where on here - not QTing fish is like playing Russian Roulette. Nobody ever wins the game. Some just get to play a bit longer.
I'm friends with the owner of a LFS here, and he told me that the fish coming in for the past year have been loaded with parasites and flukes.
I'm just choosing to QT now. I bought a big qt tank, because I feel it's more stable, and it gives me some options to buy more fish at once, or to buy a bigger fish.
It's personal preference, but I won't ever put another fish in my system without at LEAST 6 weeks of QT.
Funny thing is? The fish I put in that killed everything was a fat healthy LOOKING fish.
I went and got a 75 g qt tank, and now have four fish in it. I freshwater dipped them, and nothing came off, so that's a good start.
I don't think advocating no QT is really the way to go. That's how I used to think, and look what happened.
I read this some where on here - not QTing fish is like playing Russian Roulette. Nobody ever wins the game. Some just get to play a bit longer.
I'm friends with the owner of a LFS here, and he told me that the fish coming in for the past year have been loaded with parasites and flukes.
I'm just choosing to QT now. I bought a big qt tank, because I feel it's more stable, and it gives me some options to buy more fish at once, or to buy a bigger fish.
It's personal preference, but I won't ever put another fish in my system without at LEAST 6 weeks of QT.
scuzy
Active member
I do this. Formalin baths for 45 minutes. Then I do ttm. On 2nd and 3rd transfer I dose prazi. During the ttm I dose all water with nitrofuracin green powder to fight bacterial infections. After ttm I out in main cycled quarantine tank for 2 weeks for observations.
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lespaul339
Reefer
I quarantine for as long as it takes. There is no set amount of time. It's when I'm sure my new fish show no signs of disease after TTM and prazi pro treatment. I've quarantined fish for up to 3 months before.
Hal
New member
I had a fish look healthy and eat fine for 30 days. Then on day 31 it was covered in ich spots. Now I QT for at least 6 weeks.
I QT'd my powder blue for 3 months.
As an aside, I found my fish do better in QT with lots of hiding spots, lots of things to break up sight lines, and lots of flow.
Sometimes I will move fish after a month if there have been no signs of problems and no deaths but I have to have an excellent confidance factor with the way all the fish are acting. ANYTHING that gives me pause (like a fish being shyer than I would expect for that species) and I will keep them in QT longer and I often stretch it to 3 months or longer.
I am a big fan of UV sterilizers and from my experience with my maintenance business they can be used to eradicate ich from a display tank. It is FAR FAR better to use it on a QT than to allow ich to get into a DT. They do have their limitations, setting them up wrong won't kill the larval parasites fast enough to break their life cycle, they only slow down the infection rate and with a heavy parasite load you can still lose a lot of fish.
I would find another LFS. I'm convinced from what I have seen over the years we have selected for parasites that have a longer reproductive cycle and are less virulent than what was common 20-30 years ago. One consequence is it may take 2 or 3 generations for parasites to show up in a tank and not all the fish may show obvious signs of infection but are still going to be able transfer it.
I am a big fan of UV sterilizers and from my experience with my maintenance business they can be used to eradicate ich from a display tank. It is FAR FAR better to use it on a QT than to allow ich to get into a DT. They do have their limitations, setting them up wrong won't kill the larval parasites fast enough to break their life cycle, they only slow down the infection rate and with a heavy parasite load you can still lose a lot of fish.
I would find another LFS. I'm convinced from what I have seen over the years we have selected for parasites that have a longer reproductive cycle and are less virulent than what was common 20-30 years ago. One consequence is it may take 2 or 3 generations for parasites to show up in a tank and not all the fish may show obvious signs of infection but are still going to be able transfer it.
Chicagoreef2016
New member
Do you quarantine your corals for the same amount of time? It seems to me when starting a tank after the appropriate time to cycle/etc, that the first year you have a quarantine going non-stop, is that about right?
scuzy
Active member
If you don't do ttm or Medicate with cp/copper your chances of getting ich is still the. Just cause you observe them in quarantine without parasites doesn't mean they aren't silent carriers. Reason I or them through ttm or do profilatic treatments in all new additions.
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Jeremy1988
New member
Real north...I'm frustrated with you by not putting your fish in a quarantine from the beginning...however I think from reading your post this will make you a stronger and better reefer. This hobby is no joke...as you have seen. You will become a better reefer because of this and from now on YOU WILL research extensively before you make your next moves. Happy reefing my friend and god speed...
bat21
New member
I tried TTM once and the fish didn't live through it. I did it immediately after he arrived, so it could've just not been healthy after shipping. But it turned me off of that practice. It shouldn't have, bc I just need to gain experience so that I can properly perform it, but I live in an apartment so space is a challenge.
My QT practice now is just observation. I know it isn't 100% effective, but I just don't feel confident about my ability to properly perform the various prophylactic treatments, like TTM, hypo, copper, formalin baths, etc. I think once I get a house instead of an apartment, and I have a proper fish room, or second bathroom, or whatnot, I can set things up better and confidently (and prevent my cat from interfering.)
So I simply quarantine for AT LEAST 6 weeks to observe the fish. It has worked so far, though I strive to do an even better job in the future. But I am amazed that people can have an established tank, that houses fish that they care for as pets, and be able to just toss in a new fish without any type of quarantine.
I have a theory that this is directly related to the feelings of people on how they value their fish. There was a poll posted on here a few weeks ago about how people view their fish: as pets who are part of the family, or as replaceable decoration. And to my surprise, it was much more divided than I thought. Some people just don't view fish on the level of other pets. But I (and my wife even more so) get very attached to each and every fish. They all have distinct personalities and we get to know them and truly care for them, and I take my responsibility of keeping them alive very seriously. So the thought of possibly introducing a deadly disease into the tank is terrifying. It would truly break my heart if I did something like that, something that could have been prevented.
My clown goby died suddenly last week. No signs of sickness, was a perfectly healthy fish for the 4 months he was in the DT after 6 weeks of QT. Our male clownfish though, always seemed to not like him and would bully him from time to time, so my only theory is that he may have taken one bump or bite a little too far. But the point is that I felt truly awful. That I stole this fish from the ocean, and tried to give him a comfortable safe life, and I failed him. It was my wife's favorite fish because he was the smallest cutest fish in the tank.
So what I'm trying to say is that I feel it is clear that people who choose not to quarantine do not see their fish as real pets like a lot of us do. Because if you did, simply put, you would quarantine.
My QT practice now is just observation. I know it isn't 100% effective, but I just don't feel confident about my ability to properly perform the various prophylactic treatments, like TTM, hypo, copper, formalin baths, etc. I think once I get a house instead of an apartment, and I have a proper fish room, or second bathroom, or whatnot, I can set things up better and confidently (and prevent my cat from interfering.)
So I simply quarantine for AT LEAST 6 weeks to observe the fish. It has worked so far, though I strive to do an even better job in the future. But I am amazed that people can have an established tank, that houses fish that they care for as pets, and be able to just toss in a new fish without any type of quarantine.
I have a theory that this is directly related to the feelings of people on how they value their fish. There was a poll posted on here a few weeks ago about how people view their fish: as pets who are part of the family, or as replaceable decoration. And to my surprise, it was much more divided than I thought. Some people just don't view fish on the level of other pets. But I (and my wife even more so) get very attached to each and every fish. They all have distinct personalities and we get to know them and truly care for them, and I take my responsibility of keeping them alive very seriously. So the thought of possibly introducing a deadly disease into the tank is terrifying. It would truly break my heart if I did something like that, something that could have been prevented.
My clown goby died suddenly last week. No signs of sickness, was a perfectly healthy fish for the 4 months he was in the DT after 6 weeks of QT. Our male clownfish though, always seemed to not like him and would bully him from time to time, so my only theory is that he may have taken one bump or bite a little too far. But the point is that I felt truly awful. That I stole this fish from the ocean, and tried to give him a comfortable safe life, and I failed him. It was my wife's favorite fish because he was the smallest cutest fish in the tank.
So what I'm trying to say is that I feel it is clear that people who choose not to quarantine do not see their fish as real pets like a lot of us do. Because if you did, simply put, you would quarantine.
heathlindner25
New member
I don't quarantine because I see my fish as pets, way to many unnecessary deaths ( from what I've read), and I have yet to come across a problem I couldn't handle. Will I lose a fish from time to time,sure. But rare.
Reel North
New King of Quarantine
Update:
I had my yellow wrasse, cherub angel and mimic tang in a 20 g for observation. The yellow wrasse got a big bacterial welt, and died in a day. The other 2 fish were fine.
I got the 75 set up 8 days ago, and used sponges that had been in my sump in my frag system. I put them in a canister filter, and added an air stone and the small aqua clear filter I had on the 20 gallon.
I added some new fish at the same time I set up the 75. Emp angel, a new coris wrasse and bristle tooth tang. I treated the qt with ick shield powder.
Everyone is eating well, active and look good so far. There is no sign of disease.
I have 2 more weeks to go before the cp treatment is over. Then I'll give it another week, and decided on the next course of action.
I need to do a 20 g wc on the system today
It's really boring looking at my DT right now, but the end result will be worth it.
What would you do after the cp (ick shield powder) treatment is done.
I've never had much luck with prazi - 100% losses with that.
A week of observation?
I had my yellow wrasse, cherub angel and mimic tang in a 20 g for observation. The yellow wrasse got a big bacterial welt, and died in a day. The other 2 fish were fine.
I got the 75 set up 8 days ago, and used sponges that had been in my sump in my frag system. I put them in a canister filter, and added an air stone and the small aqua clear filter I had on the 20 gallon.
I added some new fish at the same time I set up the 75. Emp angel, a new coris wrasse and bristle tooth tang. I treated the qt with ick shield powder.
Everyone is eating well, active and look good so far. There is no sign of disease.
I have 2 more weeks to go before the cp treatment is over. Then I'll give it another week, and decided on the next course of action.
I need to do a 20 g wc on the system today
It's really boring looking at my DT right now, but the end result will be worth it.
What would you do after the cp (ick shield powder) treatment is done.
I've never had much luck with prazi - 100% losses with that.
A week of observation?
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