1st fish

[mtaswt]

I am "wanting" to get my 1st fish for the tank. I'm looking at getting two clownfish, but here is my concern. I haven't had a chance to get my QT tank up and running yet. I know the importance of the QT, and I WILL be getting one in the future! But.....

What kind of risks am I taking by not quarantining my first two fish? I do have 4 shrimp (2 cleaner, 2 blood) and a few hermits/snails, but NO fish as of yet. Would I be safe, or should I wait until my QT tank is up and running?

[SuperNemo]

you should get your QT up and running first. not QTing would cause problems in the future is your fish has disease/parasites that cannot be seen with the eye.

i dont recommend this, but you can use stability to help kick start your QT cycle process and get fish. It will be tougher on the fish, but you can monitor the amnonia levels and do water changes as needed to keep it down. this is probably the fastest method you can do if you want fish right away.

[RenoR1]

I have not used a QT once, and I havn't lost a new fish yet. actually, I lost more fish trying to acclimate them to the climate of my tank, than fish that I have just dumped in.

It all depends on the stability of your tank. With this being the first fish, if it were my, I would make sure the temp and salinity match what the clowns are used to, then throw them in. But thats just me. Maybe I just have a really stable tank

[mfforeman]

You will get many answers from those who QT everything everytime to those who never QT... never did, never will. That being said, my first fish were a pair of false percs that I bought at a very reputable LFS. I temp acclimated for about 20 min. then drip acclimated for 30 - 45 min. and put them in my tank. They've been swimming happily ever since.

[Floowid]

If you plan on having a QT and using it, then I would NOT put fish directly into the tank "just this once". If you do, then you will forever wonder if you introduced ick or whatever else into the tank with these first fish. If your tank is a new set up, without ever having seen a fishy presence, then you can be reasonably sure that it will be ick free after 8 weeks of existence. Put those fish in, and you can never be sure. In that case, why QT at all?

In or out. Do it or don't, but don't fudge "just this once".

[mrwonderful]

Some people get really bent out of shape about QT everything which I think can be a bit much.

In MY experience I have never QT anything and have never had a fish die on me from NOT QT it. I'm not saying this is neccesarily the best course of action or I'm right but in MY opinon I would say if you want a pair of clowns go for it.