Quarantining new fish

[acwilson]

As far as I know, the main purpose of quarantining new fish is to observe for disease, many of which are caused by one of two common bacteria. Both of these bacteria, I forget the names, are killed by the use of copper. My question is, if the LFS treats all of its new fish with copper for a few days, then is it still necessary to quarantine them?

 

[schiejr]

Copper is primarily for parasites. The parasites are often vulnerable in only a certain stage of their life cycle, thus length of quarantine is a factor. Type of copper and actual concentration are factors also in determining the effectiveness.

By doing your own quarantine you make sure it is effective. A few days at the LFS is not enough to be sure. You are playing with fire relying on that.

It is not necessary to automatically use copper in your quarantine, it has other issues, but allowing enough to time to observe the fish and for any possible parasites/disease to become manifest is the important thing. Treatment can then be performed if needed without affecting your main tank.

Some good reading:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-02/atj/feature/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php