How many do not quarantine?
- Thread starter CrayolaViolence
- Start date
Str8linespeed
New member
I've researched QT tanks, but I have not put my fish into QT. I have bought fish at Petco and others at various LFS around my area. I have had great success with every fish so far.
I dont QT because I dont want to maintain a tank that is going to sit empty 99% of the time, let alone I really dont have a place to put one. I also have a small system compared to some of you on here and I dont have thousands of dollars in fish. So in my mind its not worth the time or cost to invest in a QT tank.
I dont QT because I dont want to maintain a tank that is going to sit empty 99% of the time, let alone I really dont have a place to put one. I also have a small system compared to some of you on here and I dont have thousands of dollars in fish. So in my mind its not worth the time or cost to invest in a QT tank.
I went 10 years with out qting. Never a single issue. Now I qt because of my own ethical reasons. My tank is only 60 gallons and the fish could be easily replaced but they are lives and no life is worth risking. Now I take in sick fish or bad looking fish to try to help them.
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I never did for years. Then a $10 firefish came with a fungus that ripped thru my tank like wildfire. I lost about $1000 worth of fish to said fungus. After losing a bunch of fish a Blue Face Angel who had previously no interest in coral while his Regal Angel buddy was alive decided since his best friend just died he would eat about another $1000 worth of coral n 2 days. I've had plenty of fish die in QT since but my opinion is if it can't survive QT there is a reason.
There are a few folks here that say they don't do QT and have a large and diverse fish population, but they're in the minority. I wouldn't put great stock in the opinion of folks recent to the hobby who haven't been around long enough to offer much experience ... or a diverse fish population. Although I QT religiously now, I didn't for about the first 15 years of my time with this hobby. I had a couple of fish that survived for almost a decade, but mostly I was battling disease problems.
DarkSkyForever
New member
I didn't QT my first 10g, but I only kept one six line wrasse. I had him for two years, then upgraded to a 45g. I added two clowns and a royal Gramma, someone brought ich and killed off every fish but my six line. I set up a QT so I could leave the display fallow, and FORGOT to put my cover back on the tank overnight. He jumped into my overflow and went down the dry emergency drain. Like Luke and the Deathstar.
So I learned a good lesson that day. Not quarenteeing your fish is like Russian roulette. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and it sucks. Because I didn't QT, I lost my little bud.
So I learned a good lesson that day. Not quarenteeing your fish is like Russian roulette. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and it sucks. Because I didn't QT, I lost my little bud.
I have not in the past but will has part of my new upgrade. I have lost a couple fish by not doing so "I" believe anyway.
Would you QT a Gem Tang? Better yet your display has a Gem tang. Would you blindly add "insert any new fish" without?
I think some things are manageable whereas other symptoms are not. I own dogs and they get shots. Just like me and my family
Would you QT a Gem Tang? Better yet your display has a Gem tang. Would you blindly add "insert any new fish" without?
I think some things are manageable whereas other symptoms are not. I own dogs and they get shots. Just like me and my family
I QT all my fish. Recently I bought 100 snails from a lfs. Three days ago I noticed small white specks on one of my paired candy basslets. Did I get ich from f*cking snails, seriously? Right now its 3am and im working on setting up a large tank to hold all my fish when theyre done with ttm for the 3 months my DT will be fallow. Quarantine everything.
2wheelsonly
Member
AEFW
Monitpora Eating Nudi's
Red Bugs
If you don't QT frags then you're on borrowed time. Reef branded dips are junk and nothing out there (even insect killer) kills eggs.
Once you get them, kiss your tank and all your years of building a system go down the drain. Corals do NOT survive those infestations.
Monitpora Eating Nudi's
Red Bugs
If you don't QT frags then you're on borrowed time. Reef branded dips are junk and nothing out there (even insect killer) kills eggs.
Once you get them, kiss your tank and all your years of building a system go down the drain. Corals do NOT survive those infestations.
Ron Reefman
Active member
I used a QT for several years and I stopped 7 or 8 years ago.
I have 4 tanks and 2 sump/refugiums totalling 400 gallons. I bring in wild collected animals and algae from the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys.
When I started collecting I put everything through a QT. But after a few years and never seeing anything bad, I gave it up. I've never had ich, or red bugs, or AEFW or any other serious issues with fish or corals. Aiptasia, majanos and some flat worms, yes, but they are so common and fairly easy to get rid of.
IMHO, based on friends and fellow club members, my guess is that well less than half of the reefers I know quarantine their new fish. Probably even less than 25%.
I have 4 tanks and 2 sump/refugiums totalling 400 gallons. I bring in wild collected animals and algae from the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys.
When I started collecting I put everything through a QT. But after a few years and never seeing anything bad, I gave it up. I've never had ich, or red bugs, or AEFW or any other serious issues with fish or corals. Aiptasia, majanos and some flat worms, yes, but they are so common and fairly easy to get rid of.
IMHO, based on friends and fellow club members, my guess is that well less than half of the reefers I know quarantine their new fish. Probably even less than 25%.
CrayolaViolence
New member
I think I made what I was looking for in the opening perfectly clear, except on the fish part. The reason why I asked the way I did is not because I only want to success stories, it's because people who do not QT are often chastised and I want them to feel safe enough to post their experiences. I think there are more than enough horror stories of not QTing on this board to make up the difference.
Interesting that nobody has actually answered the OP's question; speaks volumes. Well, maybe RR did, but I'd argue that getting wild caught animals, and avoiding the ornamental fish supply chain, disqualifies him as a data point. 
1. Do you quarantine fish? If no, proceed to Q2
2. How long have you been in the hobby?
3. Please list your current fish population, and the approximate time each has been under your care?
I'd be shocked if there are more than a handful who's answers to Q3 would reveal a diverse, long-kept fish population. I'm quite interested to know myself.
1. Do you quarantine fish? If no, proceed to Q2
2. How long have you been in the hobby?
3. Please list your current fish population, and the approximate time each has been under your care?
I'd be shocked if there are more than a handful who's answers to Q3 would reveal a diverse, long-kept fish population. I'm quite interested to know myself.
CrayolaViolence
New member
Yeah, sadly snails, hermits anything wet and sometimes not wet can bring in nasties.
CrayolaViolence
New member
Interesting that nobody has actually answered the OP's question; speaks volumes. Well, maybe RR did, but I'd argue that getting wild caught animals, and avoiding the ornamental fish supply chain, disqualifies him as a data point.
1. Do you quarantine fish? If no, proceed to Q2
2. How long have you been in the hobby?
3. Please list your current fish population, and the approximate time each has been under your care?
I'd be shocked if there are more than a handful who's answers to Q3 would reveal a diverse, long-kept fish population. I'm quite interested to know myself.
There were a few who did answer them in a round about way, how in the first X number of years in the hobby they did or did not QT and some still have fish from that era.
I'm hoping others will still chime in.
WatDatThing
New member
Chastised is such a strong word. I don't take it that way. Everyone is here to help newbies like me. There are common practices to help newbie be successful in starting their tank. At the end of the day everyone will do it his/her own way.
QT or not, there will be mix success. I think most people don't want to go through the trouble of QT their fish until disaster happen. As for me, I won't be QT my first batch of fish. When I have an established tank with hundreds invested in corals, I'll reconsider.
Thing is, I think the 'devil's in the details' and some throw away comment like 'I don't QT and everything's good' isn't useful at all. Somebody who has had had a 30 gallon for a year or two, doesn't quarantine and has a damsel, clownfish and maybe a cardinal or wrasse isn't going to 'impress' me. In order to at least begin to consider that QT is overblown, I'd need to hear from a number of folks long in the hobby with 50 plus fish, all healthy and long tenured. Don't you think?
As I noted earlier, I didn't QT for almost the first two decades in this hobby. I could never get a stable, healthy population of fish. Yes, I had a couple that were 'bulletproof' but mostly some disease would strike and take down most of the population. Don't think I had any tangs that made it much past the 3 year mark (though in one case they were murdered). Been much more successful since implementing QT.
As I noted earlier, I didn't QT for almost the first two decades in this hobby. I could never get a stable, healthy population of fish. Yes, I had a couple that were 'bulletproof' but mostly some disease would strike and take down most of the population. Don't think I had any tangs that made it much past the 3 year mark (though in one case they were murdered). Been much more successful since implementing QT.
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gone fishin
New member
I will try.
first year to 18 months no QT.
No survivors from that time period.
last 7ish years I have QT
I have a 100GL tank with 8 fish for over 2 years and I have not quarantine any of them and never have any issue. I lost a few over time due to other issues such as injury and fighting. I just set up another tank and this time I am having ich and velvet problem so my conclusion is if you opt to not quarantine then stick with disease resistant fish from good LFS and finish buying all you fish fast and then don't buy anymore for good and you have better luck not run into disease. If you are going for disease prone fish such as powder blue tang or hippo tang it is almost absolutely necessary to quarantine all fish and invertebrates properly to have any success.
CrayolaViolence
New member
What are your fish successes in comparison?
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