No Qt's and still successful?

[Kizzy911]

I've been wondering if there are such stories in which a person doesn't QT and didn't get any problems at all. When i first started, i didn't QT and a problem didn't start until i added a pair of clowns who had ich.

was wondering if my tank would have been fine if i haven't put the clowns in there.
I've heard that only a small amount of people actually put their fish in a QT process before putting it in their main display, and i'm thinking that these people likely have problems in the long run? but i want to heard from people what it's like to not QT and be successful, if there are such stories.

Strict QT for me is something that I find not needed, i've read a page in which their QT is just for one fish and keeping that fish in for 6 weeks before going into the main display.

I just find it absurd that if you do this, it will take about a yea for so just to fully stock your tank (if big) although i do understand the fact that it's safe and it will save me lives of the fish and pain in the future, i'd rather have my fish quickly QT'd if not then no Qt at all even.

 

[andrewkw]

It probably should take a year to stick your tank.


I added it up for corals if you QT everything and only have one tank it would take something like 29 and a half years assuming 150 trips to reef shops for everything from snails to corals to fish. That being said you either gotta buy more at once or get many qt tanks. For me fish it's no problem I can do many at a time as I have lots of spare tanks but keeping a fish alive is a lot easier than a coral.

I would like to see people's large scale coral qt setups as I am looking at ways to hold several batches of inverts at a time.

Maybe a 4 foot fixture over several 10g tanks or something like that?

 

[Kizzy911]

Yeah thats sounds nice, but i have a limited amount of space. I'm QT-ing 3 chromis', a sapphire damsel, and a orange spot goby in a 10 gallon. Not even sure if thats enough.

I've just wanted to acclimate the fish into my main display and let them be, but there are a lot of problems in that

 

[kinnadian]

Reef/marine keeping is a hobby of patience. This includes QT.

There will absolutely be stories of people who have had "success stories" of not Quarantining. There will also be stories of people who lose their entire tank, $1000's worth of livestock, from 1 sick fish.

Here are the facts:

1) All fish can come with diseases/parasites/etc.

2) Fish even in a very healthy environment can become sick

3) Once fish are sick, it is VERY time consuming to effectively treat all fish, and if you don't have the hospital tanks already set up and ready then you will lose fish.

Continuing to put fish into your display tank without Quarantining them is basically just gambling. It could very well pay off for you if you are lucky and get no sick fish, or it could go horribly wrong.

You want people to tell you it's OK to be impatient, it's OK to not follow practices recommended by nearly every experienced reefer.

At the end of the day you can do whatever you want, you might be lucky or you might not be, but if you ever do get a big die-off from an introduced illness you will either quit this hobby, or start Quarantining your fish; of that I can be certain.

Also stocking a large tank SHOULD take about 6-12 months. You need to very carefully plan what you introduce and when, and you should never more than double your bioload each month or two, or your biological filtration cannot keep up.

 

[oseymour]

I've been in the hobby for 2 years, 9 months with my current tank and I don't QT. I live in an apartment and don't have space for QT equipment.

I try to get all my fish from reputable dealers like Manhattan Aquariums.

I know it's a big risk but I'm at full stocking and wont be adding any more fish for the near future.

 

[rffanat1c]

Over a year no QT. yes I'm lucjy

 

[Dmorty217]

Reef/marine keeping is a hobby of patience. This includes QT.

There will absolutely be stories of people who have had "success stories" of not Quarantining. There will also be stories of people who lose their entire tank, $1000's worth of livestock, from 1 sick fish.

Here are the facts:

1) All fish can come with diseases/parasites/etc.

2) Fish even in a very healthy environment can become sick

3) Once fish are sick, it is VERY time consuming to effectively treat all fish, and if you don't have the hospital tanks already set up and ready then you will lose fish.

Continuing to put fish into your display tank without Quarantining them is basically just gambling. It could very well pay off for you if you are lucky and get no sick fish, or it could go horribly wrong.

You want people to tell you it's OK to be impatient, it's OK to not follow practices recommended by nearly every experienced reefer.

At the end of the day you can do whatever you want, you might be lucky or you might not be, but if you ever do get a big die-off from an introduced illness you will either quit this hobby, or start Quarantining your fish; of that I can be certain.

Also stocking a large tank SHOULD take about 6-12 months. You need to very carefully plan what you introduce and when, and you should never more than double your bioload each month or two, or your biological filtration cannot keep up.

Good advice. I'm just about to start the QTing process on livestock for my 625g and it will take me closer to 2 years to stock it. The order in which you add 20-30 fish to a tank is a one time go and must be done correctly. I am one of those who lost Thousands due to sick fish, never again

 

[Drewl117]

I didn't QT my last 2 fish but I have a great fish guy who works out of his house. I pay him a little extra $$ and he Qt's for 6 weeks for me. So I didn't QT them but they did get a full QT.

 

[Kizzy911]

Reef/marine keeping is a hobby of patience. This includes QT.

There will absolutely be stories of people who have had "success stories" of not Quarantining. There will also be stories of people who lose their entire tank, $1000's worth of livestock, from 1 sick fish.

Here are the facts:

1) All fish can come with diseases/parasites/etc.

2) Fish even in a very healthy environment can become sick

3) Once fish are sick, it is VERY time consuming to effectively treat all fish, and if you don't have the hospital tanks already set up and ready then you will lose fish.

Continuing to put fish into your display tank without Quarantining them is basically just gambling. It could very well pay off for you if you are lucky and get no sick fish, or it could go horribly wrong.

You want people to tell you it's OK to be impatient, it's OK to not follow practices recommended by nearly every experienced reefer.

At the end of the day you can do whatever you want, you might be lucky or you might not be, but if you ever do get a big die-off from an introduced illness you will either quit this hobby, or start Quarantining your fish; of that I can be certain.

Also stocking a large tank SHOULD take about 6-12 months. You need to very carefully plan what you introduce and when, and you should never more than double your bioload each month or two, or your biological filtration cannot keep up.

I agree this is actually the best response there is haha. thanks a lot for this.

 

[Bolivian Ram]

I've been wondering if there are such stories in which a person doesn't QT and didn't get any problems at all. When i first started, i didn't QT and a problem didn't start until i added a pair of clowns who had ich.

Yes there are. I have been burned by not using a QT and haven't been burned either. I have had a massive die off when a fish introduced brooklynella into my tank. Wiped out all of my fish in a couple of days. I bought that fish from a dubious lfs too. My current generation of fish are all healthy and happy, and have not been through a QT. They all came from way better sources and were in the lfs tanks for months before I got them so were sorta QT unintentionally. I haven't seen any signs of ich ever on them. So even if the parasite is there it hasn't effected them yet.

TBH the diseases you wanna worry about are brooklynella and velvet. Those two kill FAST.

Bottom line, not using a QT is a gamble.

But remember if you QT fish then use must also QT inverts and corals. Anything wet that comes into the tank. To ensure you don't introduce any parasite into the tank.

 

[Sapelo]

If you do not QT, it's not really a matter of if but when.
The bigger the tank, the bigger the risk.
If you're going to invest a lot of money in a big tank and a lot of livestock then you must decide if it's worth the risk to rush it AND if you can afford to replace losses when your gamble does not work out.

 

[kmbyrnes]

I too have been burned by not QT'ing. Besides the wearying work of keeping too many fish in too small tanks, the heartbreak of losing livestock sucks.
After that disaster, QT is now just part of the 'process' to add a new fish to the DT, despite the wife's pleading.
I am fortunate that my 125 served as QT for my newly cycled 350. Just put the first fish in yesterday. It will be a while before they are all transferred, but I know the livestock are healthy,

 

[gone fishin]

There will always be two sides of the story. Some QT some don't, some use Tap water others use RO/DI, Some do WC's some don't. The pros and cons are out there it is up to you to decide what you want to do.

 

[mitchrapp]

Not Qt'ing is like playing Russian roulette. You may get lucky, but the more fish you add, the more likely you will run into trouble.

 

[laga77]

There have been some very successful tanks that do not QT. If you can create and maintain a stress free environment which will boost the fishes immunity, you can do it. If you do not know how, or do not want to invest the time and effort to learn and practice this method, then do not attempt. But it can be done.

 

[WaReefer458]

So being one of the infidels that has never used a qt stocking my 75 or 40 I ask these questions. I will be setting up a 200dd in the spring and will convert my 40 over to a qt tank.

I know you don't put sand or rock in a qt tank so do you just do frequent water changes to keep water stable?

Do you pre treat the water with anything such as copper or some preventative medicine?

What's the standard duration of qt? 6 weeks?

 

[gone fishin]

FWIW I do TTM on all new fish followed by 4-5 weeks in the main QT. At some point I also do two rounds of prazipro. I very seldom cycle my QT I rely on WC's and prime. I do not pretreat the QT with anything.

 

[mr9iron]

So being one of the infidels that has never used a qt stocking my 75 or 40 I ask these questions. I will be setting up a 200dd in the spring and will convert my 40 over to a qt tank.

I know you don't put sand or rock in a qt tank so do you just do frequent water changes to keep water stable?

Do you pre treat the water with anything such as copper or some preventative medicine?

What's the standard duration of qt? 6 weeks?

Your 40 breeder will make a great qt tank. You could even use some egg crate as dividers to separate fish if needed. I would set the QT up ahead of time so that it is cycled and stable before you introduce inhabitants to it. By doing this you will not have to monitor ammonia levels and add things like prime.

As far as adding medications there are a couple of ways to do this. You could just place the fish in QT for 6 weeks and observe then place in the DT.
I prefer to place my fish in QT and preform Formalin baths prophylactically. I also preform hypo salinity and will use other medications as needed. This is a good time for you to fatten up your fish, and train them to eat the foods you plan to provide them with.

I think back to my earlier days in the hobby when I did not QT anything. I cannot imagine all of the money I have lost because of this. However, as I have matured, and learned patience, I see the value of all of the creatures that go into my tank, and further realize how hard I work to not throw money away.

For me, strict QT is now the norm. I don't want to be fighting pests, and disease, but would rather just sit back and enjoy my tank. I also find some joy in the QT process as well, as it is another avenue of learning about the hobby and caring for my animals.

 

[Maritimer]

"All my fish come from a reputable LFS" . . .

I can't speak for your community, but in my neighborhood, fish arriving at any LFS or big-box pet store go directly from the truck to the display with no quarantine. Folks "in the know" come to the LFS after they get off work on the day the fish are delivered, so many of the fish aren't in the LFS' tanks for more than a few hours - just long enough to acquire a parasite or two if they're in the system, or came in with another fish that day. Your LFS may be reputable - but what about the wholesaler they purchase from? The jobber? Collector/breeder?? That fish may have been through seven or eight systems within the last two or three weeks.

Weigh the risks, weigh the costs - make a choice, and stand by it. <shrug>

~B.

 

[snorvich]

FWIW I do TTM on all new fish followed by 4-5 weeks in the main QT. At some point I also do two rounds of prazipro. I very seldom cycle my QT I rely on WC's and prime. I do not pretreat the QT with anything.

I agree. Not quarantining is like playing Russian Roulette. No one wins, some just get to play longer.