Quarantine Inverts yaae or naaee

[codyreed29]

Just wondering about quarantine. I know fish should be quarantine which makes sense and i will do. But what's the deal with inverts. I wouldn't quarantine a sea anenome or shrimp crabs starfish or clams urchins.

So just fish? fish and coral? or everything?

[d2mini]

If you are going to QT, you have to QT everything, otherwise don't even bother at all.

[ca1ore]

I don't know that I agree that QT is an 'all or none' proposition, but certainly infection/infestation risk falls the more you QT. If you want to almost eliminate the chances of bringing something nasty into your tank then, yes, you should QT everything. If you are willing to accept slightly higher risk, then you may just choose to QT some things. Personally, I do the following:

1. QT almost all fish for 8 -12 weeks, with CP in most of those cases. I do not prophylactically treat wrasses, and some of those (depending upon how much I trust the source) may go straight into my display refugium.
2. QT all corals for 2 - 4 weeks in a fishless tank, observing for things like red bugs, etc. I dip all coral prior to moving to the display.
3. QT all clams for 2 - 4 weeks to observe for things like pinched mantle.
4. Most inverts (snails, crabs) go straight to the display.

[jesterisdead]

I ended up doing it when I got an order or snails and actually saw aptasia growing out of its shell. I used Joes on them and left them set for a few days to see if any more popped up. Crazies thing I ever saw.

[d2mini]

I know someone personally who got brook from a hermit that came from THE major retailer. Wiped out all his fish. No point in spending all that time and money QT'ing fish if you are not going to QT every single thing you put in your tank.

[igot2gats]

Crabs and snails are tiny. What do you look for / how do you inspect?

[codyreed29]

Well i know that most of the stuff in my ten gallon is ok. i will move the fish snails and hermits from it. And then quarantine all new fish corals and inverts from then out. which won't be for another 2-3 weeks anyhow. I guess I need to buy another light to keep my corals quarantined and i'm just gonna put them in the same tank as the fish.

So what to buy for the ten gallon hmmm. guess i gotta check out graiglist again.

[zeebies]

I make it easy. Everything gets 12 weeks quarantine.

[codyreed29]

lol i was shooting for 8 and now buying another light to quarantine corals isn't being nice on my wallet like i want. But if it keeps me from losing 500 bucks in corals i will do it.

[Nevil]

I don't quarantine inverts. I dip all coral prior to going into my DT

[Reefahholic]

I try to QT everything. Recently I didn't with 2 Nems.

[anthias26tang]

Everyone says they dip their coral. Dip with what? And if you have to leave your main display empty for 9-10 weeks to let ich die off wouldn't you have to quarantine inverts and such for that long?

[Timfish]

QT everything. Cryptocaryon irritans cycts have the potential of being on any hard surface and in rare cases can take 10-11 weeks to hatch out.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa164

[MondoBongo]

If it is wet, QT it.

[anthias26tang]

So shrimps and such need to be in qt for 10 weeks or so then? Guess I need to get a second little like 10 gallon for those then.

[MondoBongo]

My QT tank is fully cycled and I do not treat prophylacticly. Inverts, fish, and corals go through the same tank for the same amount of time. If medication is needed, a separate hospital tank would be used.

I do dip all corals.

[ca1ore]

And if you have to leave your main display empty for 9-10 weeks to let ich die off wouldn't you have to quarantine inverts and such for that long?

Yes, if you want to be essentially assured that no ich is allowed to enter your display, you will have to keep all inverts in a fish-less QT tank for 10-12 weeks. Having said that, my own personal experience at keeping reef tanks since 1988 is that I have never had ich (or any fish parasite) transmitted to my tank on an invert. Not saying it cannot happen, just that I have not had it happen.

[anthias26tang]

Yes, if you want to be essentially assured that no ich is allowed to enter your display, you will have to keep all inverts in a fish-less QT tank for 10-12 weeks. Having said that, my own personal experience at keeping reef tanks since 1988 is that I have never had ich (or any fish parasite) transmitted to my tank on an invert. Not saying it cannot happen, just that I have not had it happen.

Yea I think I will go ahead and quarantine them just to be safe. I have gone through letting my tank sit empty besides my starfish and snails for 12 weeks and treating all my fish and I do not want to go through it again. So I'll just go ahead and do it. Glad I saw this thread though because I didn't even think of quarantining inverts.

[GroktheCube]

I take all corals off plugs and dip sps in bayer.

Other inverts, it depends. Any from a trusted/fishless system, I don't bother. I don't transfer their water into the tank though.

[GroktheCube]

I know someone personally who got brook from a hermit that came from THE major retailer.

Unlike ich, brook does not form cysts. It does swim and can survive a while without a host, but you'd have to be fantastically unlucky for the few drops of water transfered with an invert to have brook parasites. Not saying it's impossible, but highly unlikely. Especially from THE online retailer, where an infestation of that magnitude (parasite numbers so high that a few drops led to a wipeout rapid enough that there was no time to respond) would likely mean near total loss of held fish.

[codyreed29]

Well I bought another light for my quarantine for corals. I guess i don't really have to have inverts at least not for a while. By the time I quarantine fish corals inverts I will be building a bigger tank LOL.

I just realized how far ahead of a tank you should start having things. well you know having 3 or 4 tank prior to a 100 gallon isn't rediculous at all if this is what you need to do.

Would it be ok to keep tangs in a 40 breeder or 55 with just water(no live rock or sand). Cause buying a 55 gallon just to quarantine for a 100 gallon. Gotta take advantage of the dollar per gallon sale.

Once I upgrade to fourty i will have a 30 gallon fish quarantine a 20 long reef and a ten gallon quarantine/ hospital. I think i'm good just won't put inverts till I upgrade. corals and fish for now. then i can hospitalized fish in 30 and inverts and corals in the ten.