If you could only quarantine for 7 days in a single tank, what would you dose?

[Lost in the Sauce]

SO - to finally get to your question - I wouldn't do it. The medications will not be effective alone, If you want to take the risk of not QT'ing - that's your choice. But - doing it half-way - is more likely to cause resistant organisms - and more long-term problems.

I agree 100%.

If I couldn't wait a week, I would likely just observe.

 

[Jwise]

I agree with this. Especially with cryptocaryon. But - with any disease - crowded conditions can make a difference.

Its just crazy to think about because you don't hear people talk about getting as big as you can afford for qt tanks but rather how long you should have your fish in them

 

[Spare time]

If the fish can take it, copper.
If you want more natural, methylene blue.
If the fish is eating, metro + prazi.

How is methylene blue more "natural" than copper

 

[MnFish1]

Its just crazy to think about because you don't hear people talk about getting as big as you can afford for qt tanks but rather how long you should have your fish in them

I agree. Overstocking - or repeatedly stocking increases the possibility of disease IMHO. I'm not sure it's hugely important to have a big QT tank - BUT - overstocking your display tank - and then adding and adding and adding - IMHO - does cause problems (especially from different sources).

 

[MnFish1]

If the fish can take it, copper.
If you want more natural, methylene blue.
If the fish is eating, metro + prazi.

Curious - can you give your rationale for this? Since the OP was designed as a 'thought provoker'?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I'm not adamant about anything, I simply posed a question. I buy all my fish pre quarantined and medicated. Also, there is an entire world of people with saltwater tanks who have never even bothered to google proper salinity, let alone created a reef2reef account and participated in a poll.

There are, and by purchasing records, BRS has found that a Massive majority of people don't last a year.

Do you think that's coincidence? I do not. I believe failing to QT and the results of that knowingly or unknowingly bad decisions causes a lot of this wash out.

 

[Tamberav]

I would not dose meds except maybe prazi pro x2 if only doing a week since that should give you a proper time line to do.

The other stuff just probably won’t help and you are exposing fish to meds for nothing helpful at that point. Plus possibly helping create copper or antibiotic or whatever med.. resistant organisms.

Hybrid TTM is 14? Days but more work then 30 days of copper.

 

[MnFish1]

Its just crazy to think about because you don't hear people talk about getting as big as you can afford for qt tanks but rather how long you should have your fish in them

PS - because - as mentioned before - a protocol is a protocol. There is not a decision tree that says - if your tank is 200 gallons - only QT for a week - but if it's 20 gallons QT for 6 weeks, etc.

The fact is - according to polls here on R2R - most people do not follow 'the protocol'. I feel like I was a little hard on @rennjidk because - the fact is - many people post here 'I don't QT - and nothing has happened'. However the variables

1. Susceptibility to parasites in general
2. Shipping (was the fish in a box for 2 days then another box for a day, etc - with temp fluctuations
3. Were a group of fish who were immune to a given parasite - exposed to the same parasite - but from a different ocean
4. IMHO - stocking density. Putting a 3 inch wrasse into a 100 gallon aquarium is different than putting 6 tangs into the same aquarium (and I'm not sure I completely buy the 'tangs are ich magnets')
5. The overall health of the fish. IMHO - online ordering - has - with multiple exceptions (@Dr. Reef ) caused more problems than any LFS.
6. There is no right or wrong answer - IMHO - except - IF you are going to follow a biosecurity/QT protocol - follow it.

 

[The0wn4g3]

How is methylene blue more "natural" than copper

Per Humblefish...
What It Treats – Healing agent which treats ammonia burn, abrasions, cuts. Mild antiparasitic/antibacterial properties. Will possibly detoxify a fish that has been exposed to cyanide poisoning. Probably one of the best “first response” treatments for a sick fish.

Methylene blue is like neosporin where as copper is like chemo. Maybe natural wasn't the right word.

 

[Jwise]

PS - because - as mentioned before - a protocol is a protocol. There is not a decision tree that says - if your tank is 200 gallons - only QT for a week - but if it's 20 gallons QT for 6 weeks, etc.

The fact is - according to polls here on R2R - most people do not follow 'the protocol'. I feel like I was a little hard on @rennjidk because - the fact is - many people post here 'I don't QT - and nothing has happened'. However the variables

1. Susceptibility to parasites in general
2. Shipping (was the fish in a box for 2 days then another box for a day, etc - with temp fluctuations
3. Were a group of fish who were immune to a given parasite - exposed to the same parasite - but from a different ocean
4. IMHO - stocking density. Putting a 3 inch wrasse into a 100 gallon aquarium is different than putting 6 tangs into the same aquarium (and I'm not sure I completely buy the 'tangs are ich magnets')
5. The overall health of the fish. IMHO - online ordering - has - with multiple exceptions (@Dr. Reef ) caused more problems than any LFS.
6. There is no right or wrong answer - IMHO - except - IF you are going to follow a biosecurity/QT protocol - follow it.

I agree with that as well that if you start a qt stick with it all the way to then end and dont give up just because 2 weeks went by and the fish dosnt have any problems because most parasites life cycle is about a month

 

[doubleshot00]

What data do you have to back this up?

Do you ever talk to people in person? I know 5 local reefers and non QT. They look at me like i was crazy when I mention it

I wouldn’t waste 7 days. Just add the fish or do a full QT.

 

[Jwise]

What i was trying to point out is that most fish in the wild have a huge expanse of space to go and if a fish gets infected by disease or parasite normally doesn't spread out of control because the fish can most of the time not even come in contact with said infected fish. Im not saying that everything that is wild caught probably doesn't have parasites but its always safe to treat a wild caught specimen as if they do and qt and stick with it regardless. i was just wondering if more space by getting a bigger tank like a 75 gallon qt or plus sized tank would result in fish with a reduced chance of still having something after said qt process because they have more space to get away from any remaining disease or parasite left in the qt and more of a chance of the medication getting to the disease or parasite before they get back to the fish.

 

[MnFish1]

Per Humblefish...
What It Treats – Healing agent which treats ammonia burn, abrasions, cuts. Mild antiparasitic/antibacterial properties. Will possibly detoxify a fish that has been exposed to cyanide poisoning. Probably one of the best “first response” treatments for a sick fish.

Methylene blue is like neosporin where as copper is like chemo. Maybe natural wasn't the right word.

it is actually an antioxidant. Neosporin is an antibiotic - and copper is not like Chemo it's also a broad spectrum antibiotic/antifungal/etc.

 

[MnFish1]

Do you ever talk to people in person? I know 5 local reefers and non QT. They look at me like i was crazy when I mention it

I wouldn’t waste 7 days. Just add the fish or do a full QT.

I don't remember if it was the OP or someone else - the bottom line is that few people follow the recommended protocol - and they luck out. There are lots of reasons for this. But - now you're talking to me in person - and I had a 15 year old tank - with most fish let's say 5-10 years old. Ordered 3 semilarvatus butterflies - yes - at about 350/fish. Within a week they and all the fish in the tank were dead. Talking to people doesn't make a difference - until their tank is wiped out. Then all the sudden the discussion makes more sense

 

[rennjidk]

I don't remember if it was the OP or someone else - the bottom line is that few people follow the recommended protocol - and they luck out. There are lots of reasons for this. But - now you're talking to me in person - and I had a 15 year old tank - with most fish let's say 5-10 years old. Ordered 3 semilarvatus butterflies - yes - at about 350/fish. Within a week they and all the fish in the tank were dead. Talking to people doesn't make a difference - until their tank is wiped out. Then all the sudden the discussion makes more sense

Yes it was me and I caught a lot of slack for it. There are an estimated 700k saltwater tanks in the US alone. Major retailers such as Petco are a big majority of that. I can say with 100% certainty that, after working with the general public for 20+ years, those "Nemos" going home in a 10g aqueon starter kit with a spongebob pineapple and rainbow gravel are not going into a QT, and neither are the 3+ fish overstock that follows. Like it or not, that's the majority of the fish trade in the world. Like you said, even educated people that are active in the community still like to gamble and do not quarantine. That part is absolutely true.

 

[Dom]

Do you ever talk to people in person? I know 5 local reefers and non QT. They look at me like i was crazy when I mention it

I wouldn’t waste 7 days. Just add the fish or do a full QT.

Well... "5 local reefers" aren't everyone in the hobby. As you can tell, I believe in QT!

 

[MnFish1]

Yes it was me and I caught a lot of slack for it. There are an estimated 700k saltwater tanks in the US alone. Major retailers such as Petco are a big majority of that. I can say with 100% certainty that, after working with the general public for 20+ years, those "Nemos" going home in a 10g aqueon starter kit with a spongebob pineapple and rainbow gravel are not going into a QT, and neither are the 3+ fish overstock that follows. Like it or not, that's the majority of the fish trade in the world. Like you said, even educated people that are active in the community still like to gamble and do not quarantine. That part is absolutely true.

I'm going to edit what I said - I meant (rather than few people follow a QT protocol) - that few people follow a QT protocol religiously - and my point was it only takes one 'mistake' to cause a problem.

EDIT - to make the point a bit more firmly - IMHO - not having a QT protocol (I happen to favor the one recommended by @jay hemal at the top of the forum) - is a bit like playing Russian roulette. Not using one works - until it does not. Some people believe that they have 'every parasite' in their tank because they add mud or some other local product. They do not - and they cannot - it is scientifically impossible for a person to have every disease - let alone every strain of every disease in one tank.

 

[doubleshot00]

Well... "5 local reefers" aren't everyone in the hobby. As you can tell, I believe in QT!

Im not hating on QT. Im QT a fish now. I’m just saying there is not as many people as you think that are QT there fish.

 

[Dom]

Im not hating on QT. Im QT a fish now. I’m just saying there is not as many people as you think that are QT there fish.

And those are the people that post here all the time about:

"Fish acting weird"

"All my fish died overnight"

"My fish has spots"

No harm can come from a 90 day observational QT.

 

[kenchilada]

If 7 days is all you are willing to do, it is still better than nothing. Mainly just to observe. You can do prazipro or GC. You might get lucky and catch velvet before it goes to your display. Maybe you can spot flukes, or see it start flashing.

It is still just 7 days where you might catch a break. If you spot trouble you will have to do proper treatment or re-home the fish.

I just lost ten dispar anthias in quarantine to internal uronema. Sucks hard but I'm thankful they didn't make it into my display. If I only had 7 days, in this case, I would have caught it in time.