How Many of you QUARANTINE EVERYTHING that goes into your tank ?

[reefrubble]

How Many of you QUARANTINE EVERYTHING that goes into your tank ?

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We all know how hard it is not to put that new coral , fish , or anything else that may have something living on it into our Display Tank . I would like to take this time to tell everyone what a big mistake I made by no quarantining everything I put in my tank .



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A little over a year ago I introduced (Acro. Eating Flat Worms ) into my system . I got some coral frags from a club sponsored frag sale , and I thought because I dipped everything I was safe . Big mistake ,because I didn't Quarantine any of the new frags . I had a large tank full of really big Acros. , and I hadn't added anything new for about a year . Well in about a week I noticed some of my corals were dieing from the bottom up . After close inspection I found AEFW eggs on the base of my now dieing corals . I had too many big corals , with too many eggs , and nothing big enough to treat and quarantine all that was infected . After my big loss , I swore I would never go through that again . I have been keeping marine fish since 1972 , and reef tanks since 2000 , and never had anything that devastating happen to me before . I had red bugs , but I did the interceptor treatment , and didn't lose anything . I also had Dinos , and although it was hard to get rid of , it wasn't as bad as AEFW .

Now big mess up number 2 , Amyloodinium Ocellatum (marine velvet ) . Again this was my fault , because I added 2 new fish to my system , with out putting them in quarantine . They didn't look sick , and I was like so many other hobbyist , I was anxious to see them in my tank . Two days after I added the new fish I couldn't find my Starry Blenny . I knew he didn't jump ship , because I have screens on my tank . Then the next morning I found one of my other fish dead , and by mid after noon another fish dead . Both of them eat well the night before , and didn't look sick at all . The next morning I had another dead fish . Same thing eat good the day before , and didn't look sick . Now I'm going crazy trying to figure what is going on , because none of my fish look sick . I started calling everyone I could think of that may know what I was facing . After talking to everyone , and reading about fish diseases , I discovered I had marine velvet in my system . The only excepted treatment is copper , for approximately 3 to 4 weeks , and then 30 to 60 days in quarantine . It would have been easier to do the quarantine first , and I wouldn't have lost any of my other fish . Now to know 100% that I don't have anymore MV in my system , I have to do the copper treatment on the fish that are still alive , and quarantine them . Plus pull , dip , and quarantine my corals . After that I have to drain , and sterilize my entire system ( Rocks , Sand , Tank , Sump , Skimmer , Pumps , Plumbing , everything , and start over . Now doesn't it make a lot of sense to QUARANTINE EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO YOUR SYSTEM ? It is your responsibility to do this , no anyone Else's . The wholesaler can't , and your LFS owner can't do it , because they can't hold fish for 30 to 60 days , and stay in business . The only thing they can do is look the fish over , and make sure they don't look sick , and they are eating . IT IS YOUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING BAD ENTERS YOUR SYSTEM , AND NO ONE ELSE'S

I hope by me telling everyone what I did wrong , and what can happen if you don't quarantine everything , may be it will influence others not to make the same mistake I did .

Just because you have been lucky so far doesn't mean the bomb isn't ticking .

[ziyaadb]

sad reality is that 99.99% of peeps will read this and still not QT.

[reefrubble]

Thank you for your input .

I hope that may be some will see the light .

[iwishtofish]

[Post edited twice - sorry]

I wish the poll had an option to choose, simply: "I do not QT anything - I take my chances'"

This is discussed quite often, and the obvious deterrents for people are added cost/trouble along with the desire for instant gratification. I have been guilty (and may continue to be) of taking chances with adding non-quarantined fish to my system.

I would be willing to pay three times for a fish that was properly QT'd (and treated) by a vendor. Of course, this may or may not be feasible for vendors from a financial angle, but I bet one that does it reliably would develop quite a following.

[reefrubble]

Thank you for your reply , and input .
I don't think I have the ability to add another choice to the poll , or to make the poll anonymous now . If one of the mods can do that , please feel free to do so .

[Post edited twice - sorry]

I wish the poll had an option to choose, simply: "I do not QT anything - I take my chances'"

This is discussed quite often, and the obvious deterrents for people are added cost/trouble along with the desire for instant gratification. I have been guilty (and may continue to be) of taking chances with adding non-quarantined fish to my system.

I would be willing to pay three times for a fish that was properly QT'd (and treated) by a vendor. Of course, this may or may not be feasible for vendors from a financial angle, but I bet one that does it reliably would develop quite a following.

[jg93]

I just lost 1/2 a tank to ich. To get my fish out, I had to pull out all my rock, corals, etc. A bunch died in the QT from the copper - they were already sick. It was a nightmare. I have 4 weeks left of leaving my tank fallow.

Was terrified when I realized that corals, frag plugs, could possible hold ich, as I've added some from two different stores. Did the math, also know the dealers, I'll still have 6 weeks fallow so I'm still going to add my (few) remaining fish in November.

It does suck to QT. Sucks WAY F'ING WORSE to have this, and your situation, happen. For a couple hundred bucks it's easy to set up a QT and maintain it.

My next conundrum is whether or not to prophylacticly treat my fish with copper. I don't want to, but hell I don't want another ich outbreak either. Not at all.

Also - what kind of lighting do you guys use for QTing corals? I don't want to have to drop a lot of money here, but I don't want red bugs or these damn worms either.

Thanks -

Jeff

[rtparty]

6.5 years in this hobby and I've never QTed a thing. I've never lost anything either because of disease or lack of QTing.

I dip the majority of my coral in iodine and/or revive.

Ich is ALWAYS present in our systems. Soak your food in garlic oil and feed it like that. It has always worked for me.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[ReeferKimberly]

I don't QT.

I have had fish get a small bit of ick so many times (new fish or old) but I do frequent WCs and have only ever lost 1 due to ick, ever.

In a healthy system with clean water fish WILL get over ich nearly every time, in my experience at least.

It's just that doing so many changes (25% twice a week or so, once when there is no ich visible) on a larger tank is not feasible. I only do nanos (up to 30 gal but my biggest now is only 20)

Anyways, had ich brought from outside fish several times and only lost 1 fish. Had my own fish show a spot here and there since forever, only lost the same 1 fish.

Water changes.

Of course other parasites, well I have not gotten any yet. Maybe if I do I will start QTing.

[yogoshio]

Ich is something like the flu. Even if you are healthy, even if you get the shot, sometimes you're still going to get it. Best thing to do is the same thing we don. Keep good hygiene (water changes) keep in good health (garlic and vitamin enriched foods), and hope for the best. Ich is always present, just like the flu is.

[paparchasa84]

Luckily for myself, I just got into the hobby a few months ago.(2 to be exact) And although my dt is ready and seems as though its calling me to put fish in. I set up a qt from old changed water from my dt added a filter, powerhead, and heater and i just added my first to true clowns last night. Im truly proud of myself being as though i get inspired by seeing everyones tank and want that for myself. I know however, that the only way to be able to get there is by qt all my fish for 4-8 weeks. I've never been the one to have patience.

My fiance is surprised I didnt just dump them into the dt. As I am also, I just feel after reading everyones' problems i would rather take the time to qt and save heartache than dump them in my dt and lose them days later.

I look at it like this, my tank finished cycling last week but it gives my chaeto i added to my fuge last week time to mature as well as defeat GHA and, my sand bed time to mature and get my tank set up with powerhead positions and just perfect as i can while i watch over my two new children lol.

[Plato]

I use to never quarantine any thing for years until I added an Achilles tang and got an Ich outbreak. I was fortunate to have only a fish only system at the time so I did the hypo treatment and only lost three fish. Tank has recovered and all are doing well and lesson learned. Now everything gets six weeks quarantine. For corals I usually do dips upon arrival and quarantine for two weeks with daily inspection for bugs. I have three 48x24x12 60 gallon tanks in a rack system plumbed in series. Each tank has 6 T5s and shares a common sump/skimmer. I got flat worms once in a 90 gallon tank and I never want to have to go through that again.

[discocarp]

Ich is not always present if you take the proper steps to prevent it. It is not present in mine. I q-tank everything for a little over 2 months - even inverts. ALL my fish get hypo (probably switching to tank transfer on the next fish) and prazipro even if they look completely healthy.

I learned the hard way very early in my fish keeping, and have been pretty religious about quarantine since. Other than a jumper, I don't remember the last time I lost a fish once it had passed quarantine.

[Wonton Soup]

It doesn't matter how many horror stories you tell, humans just do what they want to do and that's all there is to it.
For example; A DUI costs on average $10,000 and yet millions of people still get in their cars and drive drunk every single night.

That's not to say someone can't be educated on the consequences of their actions but don't expect your woes to persuade anyone.

[oscar.millan]

I disagree that Ich is always present. Being a tang person I've taken proper precautions.

Current tang list:

1. Achilles
2. Sohal
3. Powder blue
4. Purple
5. Blonde Naso

I do agree that proper nutrition and good water params can help fight disease if your tank does have ich. Do I think my tank has ich right now? Absolutely not. But it wasn't easy to make it happen. Quarantine for months, not weeks.

Basically what I'm saying is that, if you take proper precautions, Ich will not have an opportunity to enter your main display. But it's not easy process, although also not impossible.

[paparchasa84]

It doesn't matter how many horror stories you tell, humans just do what they want to do and that's all there is to it.
For example; A DUI costs on average $10,000 and yet millions of people still get in their cars and drive drunk every single night.

That's not to say someone can't be educated on the consequences of their actions but don't expect your woes to persuade anyone.

As far as being persuaded by others mistakes thats not true. I can tell you for a fact because I am one of the more impatient people. But after hearing and reading about peoples problems without qt I decided to make one. It also helped that when i was thinking about if i should or not petco had the dollar per gal sale.

[skykingcory]

I've never QT'ed anything in 5 years without any problems so far. I'm sure if I had really expensive fish or coral I would be more likely though.

[jg93]

FWIW, I'm 5 years in this hobby now too and never QT'd. I too had ich, would see it recede if I kept up my water quality... Then about 2 months ago... got, what I would presume to be, a really bad strain. I learned my lesson the hard way. Feel free to keep 'whistling in the dark' as I did. No, ich is not always present. Too many large-scale long-term reefers on here say otherwise. I'll stick with them and start QTing.

[swcc]

6.5 years in this hobby and I've never QTed a thing. I've never lost anything either because of disease or lack of QTing.



me too only we're talking 25 years in my case... Never lost a thing to disease.

[rfequity]

So the thread starts out about qt everything and it ends up being about ich. I understand why you qt fish and why you would dip/ qt corals, but why do you qt inverts ( snails, hermits, starfish, etc)? Also, did someone say that corals can carry ich? How on earth are you going to treat a coral for ich?

[Charley Diesing]

I started this hobby roughly a year ago. Didn't QT anything... 3 months later 200 dollars worth of fish wiped out from either ICH or Velvet. Really wanted to quit all together. Definitely QT all fish, its a matter of time before you get the bug. But it will happen sooner or later. And there's no such thing as a "safe source of getting livestock" almost all fish have some sort of disease they just aren't always apparent.

[discocarp]

Also, did someone say that corals can carry ich? How on earth are you going to treat a coral for ich?

Corals can have substrate. Substrate can have ich. I QT my corals in a fishless system for 9 weeks minimum. Any ich would die off. It also gives me time to see any of a multitude of other possible problems that are not immediately apparent.

[reefrubble]

Ich isn't the only bad thing you can introduce into your tank . As far as things other than fish carrying a disease , or parasite into your system , it happens . I talked to a Marine biologist about this , and they said that things like Amyloodinium Ocellatum can travel from one system to another on your hand or arm , if you don't disinfect it between systems . they went on to say this can happen even if your hand , or arm is dry for hours in between . Also snails , and crabs can carry the parasite in their water . I just know I'm going to quarantine everything from now on . Laugh at me I don't care .

[KCombs]

I went 25-30yrs and saw ich once, and I mean ONCE....
Recently we stocked a 150G with about $300 bucks worth of fish from LiveAquaria...didn't quarantine as they all came in at once and from the same place (tank was pre-cycled)

Then I had to get a single fish from a LFS.....
in 2-3 days all the Tangs, butterflies, and angels were gone!!! as were 1/2 the anthias

I got 30+ yrs in SW and am proof anyone can be a hardheaded knucklehead...

Anymore nothing goes in our tanks anymore w/o a 2-3 wk observation/quarantine period....

edited to add: if you do the dollars & cents of it, a 20L with a Aquaclear 50 (filled w/coral rubble) makes a pretty cheap/efficient quarantine tank for most SW fish .... I think my setup cost me $60 ...a lot less than loosing a tankfull of fish

[Allmost]

this reminds me of a friend, who got a disease after seeing alot of ppl, and being unsafe ....

he said the same "but I did it for 30 years ! Nothing happened ! my friends did it too, nothing happened, then BAM"

it only needs to happen once.

with that said, I was on the no QT boat, for about 15-20 years ! now after getting AEFW, and loosing a couple of really old fish [ones Ive had for many years, no expensive, but still part of my FOWLR for many years, so I had a speciall feeling for them] I QT everything.

now, I dont even stick a net in there without QTing it lol

[MellowReefer]

Ich isn't the only bad thing you can introduce into your tank . As far as things other than fish carrying a disease , or parasite into your system , it happens . I talked to a Marine biologist about this , and they said that things like Amyloodinium Ocellatum can travel from one system to another on your hand or arm , if you don't disinfect it between systems . they went on to say this can happen even if your hand , or arm is dry for hours in between . Also snails , and crabs can carry the parasite in their water . I just know I'm going to quarantine everything from now on . Laugh at me I don't care .

I thought I was doing pretty well at QT till I read this. I have separate fish and invert QTs and I thought I was careful enough. I figured if I rinse the buckets and my hands with freshwater in between uses that was enough, since I thought freshwater kills ich/velvet. It can get stuck to your hands for hours? Wow. Maybe do maintenance on the separate tanks on different days?

[discocarp]

I always try to work on the main tank prior to the q-tank on any given day just out of principle. However, after reading that, maybe I should make it a rule instead of a habit.

[reefrubble]

I thought I was doing pretty well at QT till I read this. I have separate fish and invert QTs and I thought I was careful enough. I figured if I rinse the buckets and my hands with freshwater in between uses that was enough, since I thought freshwater kills ich/velvet. It can get stuck to your hands for hours? Wow. Maybe do maintenance on the separate tanks on different days?

Just make sure you wash with plenty of soap , and water , or use some alcohol hand sanitizer.

[MellowReefer]

I think I'll get different colored buckets too. I think one time I did forget to wash my hands inbetween...its crazy to think that one mistake could wipe out all your hard work.

[discocarp]

I use orange home depot buckets for the q-tank.

[reefrubble]

I started keeping salt water tanks in 1972 , and I didn't quarantine anything . I was lucky for many years , but the past 2-3 years my luck ran out big time . I had some problems with ich in the past , but that was nothing like red bugs , AEFWs , and Marine Velvet . There are a lot of other things that can infect your tank as well . I don't know , may be it's because I'm getting older , and think it's better to QT than to lose something you had , and watch grow for years .

[MellowReefer]

I use orange home depot buckets for the q-tank.

You read my mind, I was thinking of getting the HD orange buckets. My others are the blue Sherwin-Williams buckets (never had paint in of course).

[MellowReefer]

I didn't QT inverts when I first started because a lot of people say you don't need to. Then I put in a coral from my LFS and it must have had ich on it because it had been months since I added any fish. So I lost my beloved starry blenny and another fish almost died. Then I treated all my fish in QT and left the tank empty for 2 months. Never want to go through that again.

[Outrigger Reef]

Thanks to this site I see its a must for a QT tank. I have my first fish in one now and can't wait to get it in the DT.

[reefrubble]

Thanks to this site I see its a must for a QT tank. I have my first fish in one now and can't wait to get it in the DT.

patience grasshopper

[dzfish17]

I QT everything (FOWLR) after dealing with velvet and ich last year...lesson learned. I run my fish through cupramine and prazipro even if I dont see anything wrong.

[seamonkey84]

I QT all new fish unless I get drop shipped or bring home in bag shipped from aquaculture facility, like Ora, SA, and sea and reef for my designer clowns. My problem came up when I didn't QT macro algae that was in the stores system. Learned the hard way that anything wet can transfer disease. So now I am at the point that I want to set up a macro algae tank just to grow food for my tang (don't have a sump and only fuge I use is a ac70 on another tank) and another to qt new cleanup crew for 6-8 weeks.

[tkeracer619]

A lot of times I don't do the QT but trustworthy and skilled people do. Nothing goes in without a proper QT.

[MellowReefer]

I QT everything (FOWLR) after dealing with velvet and ich last year...lesson learned. I run my fish through cupramine and prazipro even if I dont see anything wrong.

I also have decided to treat all fish regardless of whether they look like they have anything. I use cupramine too. A lot of people on this other forum I've been on use hypo, but I've read on wetwebmedia (Robert Fenner) that it doesn't always work even if people supposedly did it correctly. I figure why not go with what definitely works. I did lose one fish recently, a small wrasse, after I used cupramine on it. I increased the dose very gradually and it was only at 2/5 of the dose when it died. But it seemed weak to begin with, it was very small and a picky eater, so maybe it wasnt the cupramine, I don't know.

[reefrubble]

Anyone else care to give some input ?

[GuvNa H2o]

I never do

[Reefahholic]

Ich is not always present if you take the proper steps to prevent it. It is not present in mine. I q-tank everything for a little over 2 months - even inverts. ALL my fish get hypo (probably switching to tank transfer on the next fish) and prazipro even if they look completely healthy.

I learned the hard way very early in my fish keeping, and have been pretty religious about quarantine since. Other than a jumper, I don't remember the last time I lost a fish once it had passed quarantine.

Good advice

[Reefahholic]

patience grasshopper

It's worth it bro. Just wait it out.

I have 6 fish that are all ICH free and the nasty crap is not present in my system.

Feels great!

Plenty of other crap to do while waiting on fish to come out of QT.

[Reefahholic]

You read my mind, I was thinking of getting the HD orange buckets. My others are the blue Sherwin-Williams buckets (never had paint in of course).

Buckets for qt?? Come in guys...how can you see the fish.


Break down and get a 20L for crying out loud.


If I had to QT in a 5 gallon bucket, I would just throw the fish in my toilet for 2 months! Lol

[discocarp]

Buckets for qt?? Come in guys...how can you see the fish.


Break down and get a 20L for crying out loud.


If I had to QT in a 5 gallon bucket, I would just throw the fish in my toilet for 2 months! Lol

We were talking about which buckets to use for water changes, etc. Not QTing in the bucket! Although I know people that use the transfer method for ich use 5 gallon buckets to do it for all but big fish.

[ReeferKimberly]

If I had to QT in a 5 gallon bucket, I would just throw the fish in my toilet for 2 months! Lol

You might be on to something. It would be a good way to flush away the parasites.

Bud dum dum tsssshhhh

[spinsonic]

I dont quarantine or dip anything. first sign of ich and uv light goes on. worked for me

[vel123]

well here is a good one for you, i have a 400g DT. everything gets QT for 8 weeks at least before going in my tank. until my wife decided to suprise me with 2 clowns, she put in the tank i came home and seen the clowns swimming around and asked the wife where did thiese come from. well lets just make this short. Marine Velvet, here is the main fish i lost,
Gem Tang, 8 Black Tangs, 2 purple Tangs. and 5 other fish.

[ReeferKimberly]

I want people who have lost fish (to ich, not talking about other parasites, ilnesses) to honestly post their tank params. I know there are other parasites. But strictly speaking of ich. I have never treated for ich and I have only lost one fish ever and it was a tiny green clown goby who was very young. If I see some spots I check my params and every time it's because I have slacked off somewhere. I start my 2-3 weekly water changes and it goes away every time.

[aandfsoccr04]

well here is a good one for you, i have a 400g DT. everything gets QT for 8 weeks at least before going in my tank. until my wife decided to suprise me with 2 clowns, she put in the tank i came home and seen the clowns swimming around and asked the wife where did thiese come from. well lets just make this short. Marine Velvet, here is the main fish i lost,
Gem Tang, 8 Black Tangs, 2 purple Tangs. and 5 other fish.

:eek::debi::mad::worried2::rolleyes::eek2::facepalm::eek1::(:hmm5:

Oh my gahhhhhhh that's one of the worst things I've ever read. Especially since she was trying to be nice I'm sure. 20 dollar fish costing you several thousand dollars in fish. Bummer

[Allentown]

None of the above.

I QT if i have a heavily populated tank, if the fish itself is particularly ick prone, or if i have a tank with lots of newly established inhabitants (ie if i have 5 or more fish added in less than 3 months i start qt all new inhabitants from there going foward)

Remember fish disease is not just exposure the way everyone thinks it is. Fish are no different than us..they have immune systems. The factors invovled are exposure, population density, and the genearl health of the tank inhabitants immune systems (both of the new fish and the exsisting fish) which ties cloesly into the next two items: a) water quality and 2) proper nutrition.

[Allentown]

well here is a good one for you, i have a 400g DT. everything gets QT for 8 weeks at least before going in my tank. until my wife decided to suprise me with 2 clowns, she put in the tank i came home and seen the clowns swimming around and asked the wife where did thiese come from. well lets just make this short. Marine Velvet, here is the main fish i lost,
Gem Tang, 8 Black Tangs, 2 purple Tangs. and 5 other fish.

While i certainly do not want to accuse anyone of exaggerating, this should never have actually occured in an underpopulated tank with good water quality and adequate nutrition for the fish.

The asertion here is that a super bug capable of immediately killing all fish the world over upon immediate exposure exsisted in your tank...and while possibly (if you believe the end of the world scenarios), it is highly doubtful. I have to believe the tank had either a bunch of already compromised inhabitants, improper nutrition, improper water quality, or some combination there of that just happened to coincide with the addition of the clowns.

[Allentown]

"The immune system of the fish: As with almost all parasitic infections, most fish can fight off minor infections providing their immune system is strong. Many fish that are caught from the wild, however, and then placed in an aquarium are very stressed and their immune systems are not able to fight off minor infections let alone the greatly increased numbers that may be present in an aquarium environment. Amyloodinium can infect any fish at any time, but it appears to be much more of a problem when new fish are brought into an aquarium."


The fact is the QT process itself can stress and kill the fish. Ensuring that your tank is not over populated, that water parameters are good, that the tanks inhabitants are not stressed and have proper nutrition is AT LEAST (and ill make the argument way more so) important than a QT procedure.

Again the reverse argument hinges on the fact that all fish have no immune system, are never exposed to this and can never fight it off, which is simply not true....

Dont stress your fish! Dont overstock your system.


"If Amyloodinium does strike your tank, you will want to make sure that the water quality and nutrition are at the highest possible levels. Do everything possible to reduce the stress level of your fish to allow their immune systems to fight off this disease. There is evidence that fish that contract Amyloodinium and recover develop some lasting immunity to the disease."

I am going to get bashed for this now but if you a bunch much of already stressed sick and stressed fish into a smaller tank with worst water parameters, you just signed their death warrant. It is however valid that while putting a single newly purchased fish is only going to stress it further, adding to the chance that it will develop illness and either require treatment or die...you are offering some degree of protection from being exposed to the exsisting inhabitants of your display tank, and thus this has widely become the pervasive wisdom.

I still maintain that selecting healthy fish and putting them into healthy systems and other healthy tank mates is the best practice with all except the most disease prone species.

[Humu Humu]

You eventually learn the hard way. QT everything.

[jalisco]

Everything I've ever read in print says ich is present in most fish as the flu is in most humans. Only when stress or health levels compromise the host does it surface.
I read an interview with a marine distributor and he keeps personal and display tanks at 1.024 - 1.025. He also used to keep his receiving tanks at 1.024 but lost a lot of fish to ich. I can't remember if he stumbled upon it or it was recommended to him but he now keeps receiving tanks at 1.020 and gradually raises it before selling the fish. If he knows in advance he will be getting a new fish for his display or personal tank he will gradually lower the salinity to 1.020 via water changes. Once the fish is settled he raises it back to 1.024 1.025. I think he said he hasn't seen any ich since adopting this practice or very little. If done the way he mentions in the article it doesn't stress corals very much, I can't remember what he said it does to inverts. He recommended a qt tank at 1.020 for impulse buyers.
I'll look through my book marks to see if I save the article.

[MorgueMD]

Used to be in the never QT tank until I got marine velvet. I was in the same boat as many here, had ich a few times, but never lost fish that were otherwise eating and healthy.

Velvet will make you wish you QT, trust me. Lost 50% of my fish, one after another. With the amount lost, easily could have afforded a very nice QT.

Will NEVER bypass the QT process again.

[Breadman03]

A pair of 10 gallon WallyWorld tanks cost about the same as a pair of common fish. QT everything.

[jalisco]

Can you keep anything cool in a qt tank? Do you need separate qt tank for fish and sps?

[toothybugs]

Can you keep anything cool in a qt tank? Do you need separate qt tank for fish and sps?

If by "cool" you mean interesting, then yes, of course. But QT is only short term so you often see bigger/ faster fish kept in smaller QT systems than you would see if you were looking to keep them for a longer time period. Ex. tangs.

Separate tanks for sure, especially if you treat your fish with copper meds. Don't re-use that tank on corals or inverts. I'm planning out a large system (265 with 125 sump and 40 fuge) with a QT system of 2x20L for fish and a 10 for inverts. Will never transfer between them.

[Cdogsailr]

I think there are valid poll questions missing, such as;

I don't quarantine, I just roll the dice (me)
I don't quarantine, I have a nano reef and dont want another tank (me)

I can hear the groaning now! What, no QT, he's such a fool.... Maybe so....

[Nina51]

i never had a qt those 30 years ago that i had a 125. i added a yellow tang as my last fish and ended up with an ich outbreak that wiped out my tank.

i didn't qt when i had my 2 biocubes but now that i have the 75g and after spending SO much $$$ to get it up and going, i qt ALL fish. i have a kole tang in qt right now that is recovering (nicely) from lympho. the spots look exactly like ich. had i put him in my dt and saw these spots later, i woulda had a bleeding ulcer worrying about the possibility of ich.

qt is so easy and another advantage is that it has taught me more patience that i ever thought possible!

[Spar]

I think there are valid poll questions missing, such as;

I don't quarantine, I just roll the dice (me)
I don't quarantine, I have a nano reef and dont want another tank (me)

I can hear the groaning now! What, no QT, he's such a fool.... Maybe so....

I don't necessarily disagree with you when it comes to a Nano tank. If or when you have an outbreak, you can pretty easily get the fish out and QT at that point to get back to health and you have so few fish that this is completely manageable. QT'ing becomes exponentially more important as you get into larger tanks. For instance, in my 450g, if an Ich infested fish doesn't want me to catch it, I'm not going to be able to catch it. And I have WAY too many fish to QT reactively anyway. So... rolling the dice just isn't an option (for me at least).

Still, to give the fish the most comfortable experience possible, why not rid it of the most common parasite? Takes 12 days...

[Mhay]

Luckily my LFS is AWESOME and dips/treats everything for me. Yes, I know, I should STILL quarantine just to be safe but at this point I have all the fish I want aside for maybe 2 or 3 more. The last to go in will be a Kole Tang and they have a beautiful one there and hes been there for probably a good 6 weeks. So I have no worries that he will be clean by the time I bring him to my tank.

[edsbeaker]

I use tank transfer for all fish. It only takes 12 days so is quick and efficient. Also there is no need for filtration since fish are only in a tank for 3 days. I do add prime on days 2 and 3 so that I won't have to worry about ammonia.

I use prazi pro during the second and fourth tank transfer.

After back to back incidents of velvet recently, I will never go without quarantining again.

[jalisco]

If by "cool" you mean interesting, then yes, of course. But QT is only short term so you often see bigger/ faster fish kept in smaller QT systems than you would see if you were looking to keep them for a longer time period. Ex. tangs.

Separate tanks for sure, especially if you treat your fish with copper meds. Don't re-use that tank on corals or inverts. I'm planning out a large system (265 with 125 sump and 40 fuge) with a QT system of 2x20L for fish and a 10 for inverts. Will never transfer between them.

I guess what I should have asked is:
Would it be cruel to permanently keep an undulate trigger in a 70 gallon bare bottom tank with a few pieces of rock and then add a divider and use it as a qt tank when a new fish comes home?

[Spar]

so you would treat him with copper as well each time you get a new fish?

[jalisco]

Do people just treat with copper because it's a new fish in the qt tank or do you observe the new fish and treat accordingly?

[edsbeaker]

There are many opinions, but 4 typical choices in how to QT for ich/velvet

1. Observe for any sign of disease, but do not proactively treat with meds unless necessary
2. Tank transfer method
3. Copper/Cupramine
4. Hyposalinity

For any of these methods I would say it would be cruel to purposely house a undulate trigger or any fish in a QT where they may likely be exposed to a disease from a new fish thats health is questionable. That is why the new fish is in QT, so that other fish are NOT exposed.

[jalisco]

I know. I was trying to think of it as having a bare bottom tank and not quarantining. Buy healthy looking fish and if something pops up you can treat without having any coral or live rock to worry about. Deep down it feels like a dich move, was hoping someone would chime in with why it's ok and that the alternative of keeping an empty tank indefinitely at the ready would just be silly. Knew better than to ask but was hoping.

[Cdogsailr]

You read my mind, I was thinking of getting the HD orange buckets. My others are the blue Sherwin-Williams buckets (never had paint in of course).

For nearly the same price my Home Depot here sells 5 gallon white " food grade" buckets along side the orange buckets. The white buckets also have sealed lids available with a threaded spout opening. The spout is good for pulling pump and heater cords through. I use this for making nano water batches.

[zeebies]

I quarantine fish for 12 weeks (includes TT and Prazi). Everything else gets 12 weeks in a fishless system. After a while it just gets to be a habit. So I guess I'm a YES.

[codyreed29]

LOL i have learned the hard losing fish and coral. I now have built my own quarantine system and will start to quarantine and treat everything. Fish quarantine and treatment center. Seperate no fish coral quarantine.

[jalisco]

I spent the weekend reading and want to thank everyone who contributes as I was about to make a 5 hour round trip to buy a complete running 60 gal with LR, sand, filtration and led lighting for $200 to use as a QT and HT. I was going to use the live rock in my 29 DT, sell/give away/throw away the live sand as it was not my color preference.
After some RC reading I currently plan on starting my DT with CaribSea’s Arag-Alive and Aquaroche and/or RealReef. Use a 20 gal HT and treat every fish that will tolerate it with Cupramine and prazi and another 20 gal for fishless quarantine of corals and macro. In my DT sump I will keep two sponges to seed the other tanks when needed and then toss em after treatment or usage. Water changes for the HT and QT will come from the DT preparing the new inhabitants for parameters and that way the DT is getting the expensive salt for more frequent water changes.
I still have a ton of questions but here are just a few:
Can inverts be quarantined in the same tank and at the same time as the corals and macro? Can I just put coral, inverts and macro directly into a brand new just cycled DT/sump 8 weeks prior to introduction of fish?
Thank you for any input, advice or suggestions.

[Spar]

Can inverts be quarantined in the same tank and at the same time as the corals and macro? Can I just put coral, inverts and macro directly into a brand new just cycled DT/sump 8 weeks prior to introduction of fish?

As long as the inverts are coral-friendly, you can keep them together with corals and macro for QT. You can put all non-fish together at this time.

Even a better plan is as you suggest, just put them straight into your DT during the fallow period. This will in essence act as a QT during that period.

Note that although 8 weeks very well may be enough time, given we know that Ich cysts (tomites) can last up to 72 days, you might want to extend that fallow period up to 10-12 weeks.

[BigDog]

Everything gets QT'd

Fish get a cupramine treatment and have Metro/Focus mixed with their food
Corals get QT'd and dipped


I've learned the very very hard way :(

[jalisco]

Thanks a lot, now off to read about coral dipping.