I guess there are various schools of thought:
1. The highly experienced (20+ years of experience or more) who feel they can select fish based on appearance and more importantly behavior who don't quarantine and seem to be successful
2. The less experienced who have gotten burned and now quarantine
3. The new to the hobby who have so far dodged a bullet and think that diet and water conditions will solve any problem.
Although I fall into category one above in terms of many years of experience, I tend to order my fish online and hence do not have the luxury of observing behavior and appearance. My recommendation is to quarantine as follows:
Q: Should I quarantine all fish?
A: Yes. Four weeks is a good window for observation of disease and parasites. All newly acquired fish will benefit from 4 weeks of time by themselves in the quarantine tank to recover from shipping/handling stress and to acclimate to your feeding regime.
Q: What about corals, inverts, algae, and live rock?
A: Set up a separate QT for them. That tank must never see copper or any medications that may be harmful to corals and inverts. It doesn't need to be large, doesn't necessarily need a skimmer, but will need adequate light and water movement. 4 weeks of observation should help spot any unwanted hitch hikers and pests and to provide a fallow period for cryptocaryon irritans and oodinium. Most people are not adding live rock after a while, but many people with reef tanks do add corals. To be 100% safe, do quarantine anything added to your tank.
Q. How big of a Quarantine Tank (QT) do I need?
A. Ideally large enough to permanently meet the needs of the largest fish you can expect to acquire. Realistically, as close to that size as you have room for. For corals, etc, much less.
Q: What filtration do I need for my QT?
A: The more the better. A skimmer is beneficial for oxygenating the water and in some cases can be run with medication in the water. A HOB filter adds more surface for bacteria to colonize as well as a place to run filter pads and carbon. A ball of chaetomorpha is a good idea provided there is light available. There's no substitute for live rock but keep in mind that copper as well as other medications will contaminate the rock permanently (never use it with inverts); I prefer to have live rock in my quarantine tank but obviously cannot do so for a hospital tank. Bottom line; use water changes to maintain water quality regardless of the filtration methods in place. I believe that a quarantine tank and hospital tank for treatment should be different tanks.
Q: How often should I change the water?
A: As often as necessary to maintain excellent water quality. Spend $5 and get an ammonia alert indicator so you're not caught off guard by an ammonia spike.
Q: How many fish can I keep in my QT?
A: There is no magic number but I prefer one fish by itself unless the fish come as a group such as a shoal of Apogon parvulus. Do your homework to understand which fish are compatible with each other, make sure there are enough hiding spaces for all fish to shelter in, and don't overload your filtration. Stress from fish interaction is highly undesirable during a quarantine period.
Q: How long should the quarantine process last?
A: Four weeks for observation is ample as it exceeds the life cycle of most parasites. If treatment beyond that is required it will depend on the treatment; usually 2-8 weeks. Technically speaking a QT would strictly be used for observation and rest period whereas a "Hospital Tank" would be used for treatment. As such the QT would more closely resemble an established tank, while the hospital tank would be very sterile with no surface that a parasite can attach to.
Q: Should I proceed with any treatments even if I don't see signs of disease?
A: Prophylactic treatment is a personal decision; I treat only if I see a problem. The primary reason for this is that hypo or copper is effective for ich but is not effective for other parasites such as oodinium. (I usually treat with Praziquantel (Prazipro) regardless of whether or not I see signs of parasites)
Q: How soon should I begin treatment?
A: Have the fish eating before starting treatment if possible. If there are signs of disease or parasites you may need to start treatment right away. Otherwise I wait until disease evidences itself before treating.
Q: How far in advance should I have the QT cycled an ready?
A: I keep an established QT constantly available. If a hospital tank has to be set up on short notice to treat a sick fish, use water from an established display tank.
Q: What equipment do I need to setup a QT?
A:
* Tank
* Heater
* Powerhead(s)
* Thermometer
* Ammonia Alert Indicator and/or Nitrate & Nitrite test kits
* PVC pipe segments or other hiding places for fish
* Live Rock (QT only not hospital)
* Light (optional for fish-only)
* Skimmer (optional)
* HOB Filter (optional)
Q: What are some medications I should have on hand?
A:
* Copper or Chloroquine - for ich and other external parasites
* Praziquantel - for flukes and worms
* Metronidazole - for intestinal and other protozoa
* Formalin - for brook and other external parasites
* Erythromycin and Minocycline - for bacterial prevention/treatment
* Food enhancers such as Selcon, Vitality, and Eco Garlic
1. The highly experienced (20+ years of experience or more) who feel they can select fish based on appearance and more importantly behavior who don't quarantine and seem to be successful
2. The less experienced who have gotten burned and now quarantine
3. The new to the hobby who have so far dodged a bullet and think that diet and water conditions will solve any problem.
Although I fall into category one above in terms of many years of experience, I tend to order my fish online and hence do not have the luxury of observing behavior and appearance. My recommendation is to quarantine as follows:
Q: Should I quarantine all fish?
A: Yes. Four weeks is a good window for observation of disease and parasites. All newly acquired fish will benefit from 4 weeks of time by themselves in the quarantine tank to recover from shipping/handling stress and to acclimate to your feeding regime.
Q: What about corals, inverts, algae, and live rock?
A: Set up a separate QT for them. That tank must never see copper or any medications that may be harmful to corals and inverts. It doesn't need to be large, doesn't necessarily need a skimmer, but will need adequate light and water movement. 4 weeks of observation should help spot any unwanted hitch hikers and pests and to provide a fallow period for cryptocaryon irritans and oodinium. Most people are not adding live rock after a while, but many people with reef tanks do add corals. To be 100% safe, do quarantine anything added to your tank.
Q. How big of a Quarantine Tank (QT) do I need?
A. Ideally large enough to permanently meet the needs of the largest fish you can expect to acquire. Realistically, as close to that size as you have room for. For corals, etc, much less.
Q: What filtration do I need for my QT?
A: The more the better. A skimmer is beneficial for oxygenating the water and in some cases can be run with medication in the water. A HOB filter adds more surface for bacteria to colonize as well as a place to run filter pads and carbon. A ball of chaetomorpha is a good idea provided there is light available. There's no substitute for live rock but keep in mind that copper as well as other medications will contaminate the rock permanently (never use it with inverts); I prefer to have live rock in my quarantine tank but obviously cannot do so for a hospital tank. Bottom line; use water changes to maintain water quality regardless of the filtration methods in place. I believe that a quarantine tank and hospital tank for treatment should be different tanks.
Q: How often should I change the water?
A: As often as necessary to maintain excellent water quality. Spend $5 and get an ammonia alert indicator so you're not caught off guard by an ammonia spike.
Q: How many fish can I keep in my QT?
A: There is no magic number but I prefer one fish by itself unless the fish come as a group such as a shoal of Apogon parvulus. Do your homework to understand which fish are compatible with each other, make sure there are enough hiding spaces for all fish to shelter in, and don't overload your filtration. Stress from fish interaction is highly undesirable during a quarantine period.
Q: How long should the quarantine process last?
A: Four weeks for observation is ample as it exceeds the life cycle of most parasites. If treatment beyond that is required it will depend on the treatment; usually 2-8 weeks. Technically speaking a QT would strictly be used for observation and rest period whereas a "Hospital Tank" would be used for treatment. As such the QT would more closely resemble an established tank, while the hospital tank would be very sterile with no surface that a parasite can attach to.
Q: Should I proceed with any treatments even if I don't see signs of disease?
A: Prophylactic treatment is a personal decision; I treat only if I see a problem. The primary reason for this is that hypo or copper is effective for ich but is not effective for other parasites such as oodinium. (I usually treat with Praziquantel (Prazipro) regardless of whether or not I see signs of parasites)
Q: How soon should I begin treatment?
A: Have the fish eating before starting treatment if possible. If there are signs of disease or parasites you may need to start treatment right away. Otherwise I wait until disease evidences itself before treating.
Q: How far in advance should I have the QT cycled an ready?
A: I keep an established QT constantly available. If a hospital tank has to be set up on short notice to treat a sick fish, use water from an established display tank.
Q: What equipment do I need to setup a QT?
A:
* Tank
* Heater
* Powerhead(s)
* Thermometer
* Ammonia Alert Indicator and/or Nitrate & Nitrite test kits
* PVC pipe segments or other hiding places for fish
* Live Rock (QT only not hospital)
* Light (optional for fish-only)
* Skimmer (optional)
* HOB Filter (optional)
Q: What are some medications I should have on hand?
A:
* Copper or Chloroquine - for ich and other external parasites
* Praziquantel - for flukes and worms
* Metronidazole - for intestinal and other protozoa
* Formalin - for brook and other external parasites
* Erythromycin and Minocycline - for bacterial prevention/treatment
* Food enhancers such as Selcon, Vitality, and Eco Garlic
