It seems a large portion of the argument against quarantining relies on the quarantine being a stressful environment compared to the display tank. I'd argue quite the opposite, the fish isn't having to compete for food or territory. My quarantine has been set up just as long as my main tank and is in a quiet room, it also has plenty of live rock, sand and a big conch shell for fish to hide in. I'd argue that this is a much less stressful environment than a brightly lit reef tank with numerous veteran fish in a busy living room.
Quarantine tanks don't have to be sterile afterthoughts that are set up while the fish is waiting in the bag.
Well put. I think the term "stress" has become the most over-used word in our hobby. (Watch out, I'm getting gabby) Here's how I see the situation for the Regal Angel in the thread.
This fish has spent his entire life on a reef, avoiding being eaten is a huge part of his life. He is captured by a diver, transferred to the boats holding container, put in a small container to be closely examined, then to the dock. He is probably moved several times before being bagged and packed for shipment to the LA facility in Calif. Then he is acclimated and selected for DD in Wisc, he is bagged and shipped again, QT'd & acclimated to DD facilities. he has probably been moved to specimen containers a few times, to make sure he meets DD standards and he has undoubtedly been treated with copper on much of this trip. he then spends some time at DD, bagged & shipped again to the customer.
At this point, is this fish really going to be stressed more by a quiet DT than a tank full of acclimated fish rushing all over and challenging him at every opportunity? I doubt it. My QT is different than MCCOOL's ; but the intent is the same. there are plenty of pvc pieces for him to hide in, plenty of room, no completion for food, no little kids poking fingers, subdued lighting, etc.
djkms makes a good point about the regal's need to graze and I think this applies to lots of fish. Strips of nori work well, but I prefer softened romaine or turnip greens in DT. They last a few days and fish seem to like the tougher veggies. When I was acclimating a lot of fish after moving; I kept a small tank with limestone chunks . It had a desk lamp lighting it 24/7. Algae grows very fast this way and I'd just put in rocks for grazing.
I do use copper & a de-wormer, as a prophylactic treatment in DT, but don't push it, simply because its controversial. I make sure fish are eating well before starting copper and, if feeding habits change, remove the Cupramine with Cuprisorb and start over. I have not had to do this often. I've been following this basic procedure for years, keep a lot of fish, and have not seen a parasite in any of my DTs since starting this method. Personally, I don't feel that Cupramine is nearly as "stressful" as many people do. Again, this is just my experience & opinion. No fish goes into my Dts without being treated; I do lower copper levels for dwarf angels and a few others. I also have a good way of cycling a QT, easy & foolproof. If you want it, just ask---I've posted it several times.
