QT or not QT

[julie180]

I don't usually QT fish that come from local hobbyists, but anything from the LFS gets monitored before putting in the display tank. I've lost too many fish to disease in my early days by skipping QT.

I think there are some very finicky species that probably do best without QT, but those are rare exceptions.

FYI, not qt what I got from a fellow hobbyist is what bit me in the arse!! I will QT everything from now on.

 

[jaybfresh]

FYI, not qt what I got from a fellow hobbyist is what bit me in the arse!! I will QT everything from now on.

I guess I should say trusted hobbyists, meaning people whose tank I know and am comfortable with. That said, I know the risk I take by cutting corners so I don't mean it as advice.

 

[bwp]

Do you all think it is necessary to QT if the LFS is dosing copper?

 

[Mishri]

Copper doesn't cure everything, lots of things will live through a proper copper treatment. So you are taking a risk not QTing it. but if they have had it for 4 weeks, looks good/healthy and copper levels were properly maintained I would usually risk. (Probably not if I had a 300gal+ tank with a lot of fish in it)

 

[DDon]

Do you all think it is necessary to QT if the LFS is dosing copper?

Most LFS that run copper in their systems run it at a non-therapeutic level which only masks diseases, not cure them.
I am on the side of QTing everything. TTM for ich with prazipro on tranfers 2 and 4 follow by observation. A minimum of 4 weeks for the total process.

 

[Paul B]

Can my flounder get flukes?

 

[Mark_C]

Thanks for all the responses, though I was out picking up a couple fish during Dave's post. I picked up a couple basics, a chalk bass and a fairy wrasse.
Both are in a 20g QT atm and will remain so for the next 4-6 weeks.

So, what do you guys do at this point?

My initial thought is to simply observe and treat any illness if it occurs.
BUT...
Unless a disease is grossly evident (e.g. physically visible) I'm going to miss it.
So...
Is it worth running a medication plan over the next 6 weeks as insurance?
And...
Ive read to dose Prazipro on day 2, 50% WC day 7, Cupramine post WC. Observe 2 weeks dosing with Maracyn 2 if any bacterial infection observed. Good plan?

 

[ca1ore]

I don't usually QT fish that come from local hobbyists, but anything from the LFS gets monitored before putting in the display tank.

I'd actually argue that fish from a local hobbyist are the biggest risk of all, even if they are 'trusted'. Many homes tanks do have ich, with asymptomatic fish. So unless the fish is coming from a reefer who is incredibly disciplined about QT, the chances are pretty good that a fish is a carrier.

 

[rffanat1c]

Proactively treating is up to you. Consider two things though. 1. Copper is stressful to their bodies and can do permanent damage. 2. If they look healthy the next six weeks, they can still carry a disease. That means any future stressed fish can still catch it down the road and may not fair so well.

I just had two maroon clowns in QT for the last 5 weeks doing great. As soon as I moved them, one died in two days and the other one is on the way out. (Still investigating but I'm certain the stress brought out whatever it was that killed em)

 

[campos]

I would definitely quarantine everything. I lost all my fish due to not quarantining. Been in the hobby for over 20 years, bought all my fish from reputable dealers ie Live Aquaria Divers Den.
I am now out of the hobby because that fish loss devastated me. I lost several fish that I've had over 10 years (purple tang, powder blue tang, mandarin) in total around 20 fish. No longer in the hobby but if I was ever to do it again I would definitely quarantine. I would never want what happened to me to happen to anyone else

 

[cFloor]

I too had a bad experience. With my past two tanks, I've QT'd everything wet. It's a pain, but definitely worth it IMO

 

[Dmorty217]

This is a rhetorical question right? Why on earth would you spend the time and money in this hobby to watch it all be taken from you by disease because you didn't QT a fish or invert? It only takes one time to watch your years of work literally wither and die before your eyes

 

[gt93pony]

We have too much blood, sweat, and tears not to quarantine.

 

[jbvdhp]

No QT = less time you'll spend in this hobby.

/end

 

[Paul B]

No QT = less time you'll spend in this hobby.

Dam, I wish I knew that 43 years ago when I started my still running reef tank. :fun5:

 

[jrr98002]

I personally think it's fine if you want to QT but if you're going to do it, make sure you do it correctly and patiently or you're wasting your time. FWIW though I've personally overseen many many tanks where QT wasn't used, without the loss of livestock, although doing so if you have the space is probably the better course.

 

[jrr98002]

As an aside to this, we seem to view our fish and inverts as incredibly fragile infants who die more often than not. That's not the case if you're smart and care for your livestock properly. In my personal tanks I've managed to go through two outbreaks of ich and one of velvet without losing a single thing. They can and do pull through. I wish people would stop acting like fish don't have immune systems, because they in fact do, and can and do get better if treated properly.

 

[Lagoon monkey]

So, I set up a QT last week and went to buy new additions from a very reputable LFS and was told the following from a very reputable LFS guy, which seems to make sense.


I'll paraphrase"¦

Though a QT tank is a great idea, it doesn't necessarily work. Every aquarium has a level of ich and everything in the your tank carries ich and other potential diseases. If new fish are QT'd, and you add them to the DT later, you are curing them of ich from the distributor/LFS, then you're putting them back into another tank with ich, defeating the entire purpose.

The key to avoiding disease, which is always potentially present, is to chose your fish wisely and maintain their environment. If tank-mates are peaceful and a quality environment (including water parameters) is maintained ich should not be a concern. If fish are aggressive or overly stressed by the environment, they will develop ich as the stress has broken down thier resistance.

So, if you purchase from a reputable shop, have a peaceful tank, choose fish with no visual evidence of disease, and maintain a quality low stress environment, you can simply acclimate new fish and release them directly into your DT.

The true use of a QT is to keep it on hand as a "˜bad fish' or hospital tank. If a fish turns aggressive and tank health is in jeopardy, the QT give you a place to house the fish until resolution. If a fish develops a disease and you notice it quickly enough, QTing the fish and medicating it may prevent the spread throughout the tank.



If this is the actual case my wife will be overjoyed that she can have her kitchen counter back.

QT all the way. LFS ppl tell lies to promote resale of dead fish. Point and case.

 

[jaybfresh]

Dam, I wish I knew that 43 years ago when I started my still running reef tank. :fun5:

Well if you had used QT you might have started 44 years ago. Think of how much more experienced you'd be.

 

[ca1ore]

Can my flounder get flukes?

Possible, I suppose, but it would of course be ...... a fluke.