A lot of known people dont QUARANTINE!!!

[Righteous]

One is better for the life of the fish we keep. Maybe not better for the individual keeping them but for the living animal

You can’t know that for certain and I think judging other hobbyist by those criteria is where people start to have problems. If people judge others and call them out negatively when talking about other husbandry practices, then we all suffer since people won’t share their data.

 

[Jeffcb]

One is better for the life of the fish we keep. Maybe not better for the individual keeping them but for the living animal

I disagree.

 

[Dom]

Hello guys I am so so so confused. Should i quarantine or not? A lot of “famous” people on youtube like reef dork, inappropriate reefer, and fish of hex dont quarantine their fish and they have proof of how successful their reef tanks are.

Based on my experience I am an advocate of 1-4 months of quarantining your fish, because i have personally lost thousands and thousands of dollars after not quarantining before on my Fowlr and my nano reef years back.

Now once again I am seeing a lot of people not quarantining fish. I just started my new aquarium and I heard before that I should quarantine before putting it on my DT but what if there are 0 live stocks in there other than a quarantined sps and CUC.

You only know what they tell and show you.

Why would't you play it cautiously and QT?

The only reason not to QT is because of impatience.

 

[Righteous]

You only know what they tell and show you.

Why would't you play it cautiously and QT?

The only reason not to QT is because of impatience.

Wow.. see this is where people get frustrated. If you read the whole thread you’ll see that people have many valid reasons to not “QT” if we could even agree on exactly what that means.

This type of comment is basically “virtue signaling” and doesn’t meaningfully add to the conversation.

 

[Shooter6]

I would love to be convinced!! I am just not convinced by anecdote and analogy. The system is too complex, and with to many variables.

You may in fact be correct. But I’ll always be skeptical until I see solid research data and science.

I’d also ask what kind of QT should I be convinced of? Are we talking two display tanks, are we talking hospital tanks? Are we talking adding things with low or high stolevels? Are we talking expensive or sensitive fish? Clownfish with strong mucus coats? All these things play into the decisions.

Its why this hobby is hard. Trying to boil everything down to one simple answer just can’t cut it.

My method has been to focus on immune system and fish health rather than heavy QT procedures. That includes also inspecting fish health as best as possible prior to adding the fish. And also understanding the source of the fish, and how long they have lived at the LFS.

I wouldn’t tell any hobbyist that’s how they should do it. But I will share what I learn and I try and learn from others experiences as well and be open minded.

If your system is already infected, then the best you can do is try to avoid adding even more parasites ect to it.

My protocol is to keep all fish in hypo for at least 30 days.
I also treat with a number of meds to clear the fish of internal parasites, fungus and bacterial infections. Then I treat all fish who can handle it with chloroquine phosphate.
I'm not a big fan of copper, I will choose formalin over it when ever possible.
As for inverts and coral I keep them in a qt for 100days of monitoring/ inspections along with corals getting dipped.
I have 4 40g for qt. 2 fish, 2 coral/inverts. But all 4 can be used for fish. 2 never see meds and those are the ones I use for coral/inverts.

10g can be used in the same way, even totes from walmart.

 

[Jeffcb]

Wow.. see this is where people get frustrated. If you read the whole thread you’ll see that people have many valid reasons to not “QT” if we could even agree on exactly what that means.

This type of comment is basically “virtue signaling” and doesn’t meaningfully add to the conversation.

Exactly.

 

[Shooter6]

I disagree.

Really, would you let your dog be infected with heartworm, tapeworms ect? Or treat them, to avoid the suffering?

 

[akleasure]

I think people usually don't quarantine until they've had an experience where they should have. I have been in the hobby for 8 years and have over 400 gallons of tanks. I've never quarantined and never had an issue. So to me, right now, quarantining seems like a giant waste of time because the odds of losing everything are very low. However, I know there are others who have lost everything that would say otherwise.

 

[Righteous]

If your system is already infected, then the best you can do is try to avoid adding even more parasites ect to it.

My protocol is to keep all fish in hypo for at least 30 days.
I also treat with a number of meds to clear the fish of internal parasites, fungus and bacterial infections. Then I treat all fish who can handle it with chloroquine phosphate.
I'm not a big fan of copper, I will choose formalin over it when ever possible.
As for inverts and coral I keep them in a qt for 100days of monitoring/ inspections along with corals getting dipped.
I have 4 40g for qt. 2 fish, 2 coral/inverts. But all 4 can be used for fish. 2 never see meds and those are the ones I use for coral/inverts.

10g can be used in the same way, even totes from walmart.

I appreciate you sharing your methods. It’s always helpful comparing. We’re in many ways all experimenting here and that’s how the hobby progresses. My method is to add more parasites load to trigger and modulate immune functioning. That may or may not be better! So far my fish death has been limited to non disease issues (like an anemone in a pump)

 

[Jeffcb]

Really, would you let your dog be infected with heartworm, tapeworms ect? Or treat them, to avoid the suffering?

What does my dog have to do with adding a fish to a tank.

 

[Righteous]

My final comment… let’s all please just stop judging other hobbyist. People who don’t QT aren’t just lazy or mean, and it’s unhelpful to constantly be indicating that is the case.

If anyone wants to make specific comment about that lack of value of methods focusing on strengthening fish immune systems, then please read the book I posted first.

 

[Shooter6]

What does my dog have to do with adding a fish to a tank.

Curing fish of infections is the same as curing your dog,cat kid, or even yourself.

 

[Shooter6]

My final comment… let’s all please just stop judging other hobbyist. People who don’t QT aren’t just lazy or mean, and it’s unhelpful to constantly be indicating that is the case.

If anyone wants to make specific comment about that lack of value of methods focusing on strengthening fish immune systems, then please read the book I posted first.

These post that ask the question about choosing to qt or not are set up to get people to argue which side is right, or better. You cannot ask the question without expecting to get these answers....

 

[Squidward]

My final comment… let’s all please just stop judging other hobbyist. People who don’t QT aren’t just lazy or mean, and it’s unhelpful to constantly be indicating that is the case.

If anyone wants to make specific comment about that lack of value of methods focusing on strengthening fish immune systems, then please read the book I posted first.

The different qurantine methods have been proven time and time again to work. I'm not sure why you still think it's still an unsure practice? Why would I want to introduce parasites into my tank and have every fish suffer? I'd rather eliminate the parasites in the qurantine tanks before adding them to my display. Having an ich/parasite free tank is a great feeling. Never having to worry about sudden outbreaks etc. Maybe you enjoy the painful process of catching fish and treating them as you go? I've had velvet destroy me nearly quit the hobby. It's never a good thing when that happens to anyone.

 

[Righteous]

These post that ask the question about choosing to qt or not are set up to get people to argue which side is right, or better. You cannot ask the question without expecting to get these answers....

I also don’t agree with that. I think they are legitimate questions from new hobbyist confused by the information. Hence why it’s helpful not to say what to do, but share how we make decisions about what we do.

 

[Righteous]

The different qurantine methods have been proven time and time again to work. I'm not sure why you still think it's still an unsure practice? Why would I want to introduce parasites into my tank and have every fish suffer? I'd rather eliminate the parasites in the qurantine tanks before adding them to my display. Having an ich/parasite free tank is a great feeling. Never having to worry about sudden outbreaks etc. Maybe you enjoy the painful process of catching fish and treating them as you go? I've had velvet destroy me nearly quit the hobby. It's never a good thing when that happens to anyone.

Because this is how we all learn. That line of thinking doesn’t progress anything. Be skeptical, ask questions, challenge existing ideas! It’s the root of science.

I think one of the primary problems here is that the “QT” subject is used to virtue signal rather than to actually share knowledge

 

[Jeffcb]

Curing fish of infections is the same as curing your dog,cat kid, or even yourself.

Oh I see. I thought the thread was about QT fish before adding them to a DT not dog worms. Its good to have your dog checked for worms when you buy one but I would not lock it in a kennel for 2 months to see if its sick.

I added 5 tangs to my tank over 3 months ago including a Gem tang. The next day they all had spots all over them except for the Clown tang. Ich I guess. The Clown tang with no spots constantly swam into the wave makers and died within a week. With good nutrition, garlic and vitimans all the rest cleared up and are thriving. The Purple tang had the hardest time shaking it. It took him about a mounth. Its been over 3 months now. Documented in my 900 build thread. I almost went for a reef safe ich treatment but didnt. I think ich is everywere. A good healthy fish in a good inviroment will have a great immune system and fight off infection. Oh, just like humans.

 

[MnFish1]

I am curious as to why we are going down this rabbits whole. The saying to each their own comes to mind. I will never talk bad about people that don't QT...BUT!!! I will always QT my fish, or buy, from vendors that fully QT the fish.

No offense - It is a discussion board right? I haven't seen anyone 'talking bad' about any other person's method in this thread. People are having a discussion.

About the behavior of parasites in the tank vs. the ocean - the danger of parasites causing much more severe disease in a tank as compared to in the open sea - is a concept much studies and proven in biology. Not just in fish, but humans, other mammals, fish farms, etc. The more 'crowded' an area is, the more likely spread of a parasite (or disease) is to occur. Thats not a theory, its a fact

Specifically in fish tanks, where there are lets say 10 fish, and an 11th is added with CI or velvet, etc. The parasites drop off the first host. In the ocean, those parasites would be widely dispersed - and not usually cause a problem. In a tank, it becomes a downward cascade - with each fish subsequently getting the parasite adding more and more and more to the tank - that at times, even the most healthy fish will succumb. (its the concept of the LD50).

There is no clean evidence that I have seen that adding parasites to a tank does anything but risk problems - especially if the fish in that tank are not in top shape (which is usually the case after long shipments, etc). In fact, I don't know how anyone following that theory has any clue which, if any, parasites they are adding.

 

[MnFish1]

Really, would you let your dog be infected with heartworm, tapeworms ect? Or treat them, to avoid the suffering?

I'm not sure anyone has said point blank that if their fish had an illness that they would not treat it.

 

[Tamberav]

I think what he is saying is why do people let fish fight off stuff themselves yet we treat dogs/cats/humans/livestock and so on. Everything has an immune system but practices are very different. I would say it is because they are fish. If I lose a fish I will be sad but go to work and continue but if my dog suddenly died I would be in tears and call in sick. Also bringing a fish to the vet is not common practice so people are left to being their own vet.

FYI, you don’t really have to lock a fish in a small box to treat it. There is nothing saying you can’t use a large roomy tank with natural looking decor and quality foods. I am sure most QT procedures could be improved upon though may not be spouse friendly. For example, Paul touched on this saying use bricks instead of white pvc which fish hate.