Buying quarantined fish...

[lostgaurd]

okay.... get your tomatoes ready.

New to the hobby, and been watching and reading a lot about quarantining fish. I don't have the skills, or the patience to do any of this... i am out... before i even start. kidding yall... just kidding.

So, back to the real deal. There are websites like Dr. Reef and Marine Collectors that sell fully Quarantined fish, which is GREAT. I honestly don’t mind paying extra for healthy fish and the peace of mind of not constantly worrying about introducing something like ich or velvet into the tank.

I’ve been doing as much research and reading as I can about wrasses, especially leopard wrasses and possum wrasses, and one thing that keeps coming up is internal parasites. I really want to make sure I get this part right.

From what I understand, internal parasites can sometimes take longer to deal with than something like a standard 14-day quarantine period. I’m guessing this is something I should probably call the quarantine vendor and ask specifically about: what medications they use, whether they treat for internal parasites, and how long the fish are actually observed.

I would really love to eventually have a leopard wrasse or a dwarf possum wrasse. Since wrasses, especially leopard wrasses, seem to have a reputation for coming in with internal parasites, would it still make sense to put them through my own quarantine afterward and treat with PraziPro/praziquantel or another internal parasite medication?

Or would that just be unnecessarily putting the fish through another round of stress and medication after paying an extra $200–$500 for professionals to quarantine and treat the fish properly in the first place?

Basically, if I’m buying from one of these quarantine vendors, should I trust their process and leave the fish alone once it arrives, assuming they’ve already treated for ich, velvet, flukes, and internal parasites? Or are wrasses one of those fish where you would still recommend additional observation or treatment at home?

For context, there isn’t even a tank yet. I’m planning either a 100-gallon or 150-gallon system. My old rock is currently going through a dark cycle, so I’m still very early in the process and have plenty of time to figure all of this out before buying any fish.

 

[Baldyreef]

@jabberkaycee has experience with them from Dr reef

 

[MuscleBobBuffPants]

Humblefishes Approved vendor list is the only place I’d trust to buy QTd fish from, not just fish either. Invertebrates and corals also need to be considered. Look into UV systems for Pest control too.

 

[exnisstech]

I don't buy fish online but if I did I would place them in an observation tank for a month or so, even QTed fish. All new additions go into an observation tank. It also gives them time to become acclimated to tank life including eating what I feed my tanks. I won't take fish out of observation until the are are out front looking for food when they see me. If they're hiding all the time they won't survive in my tanks with other fish that are aggressive eaters.
I don't run a bare tank with pvc fitting, my observation is a 40g breeder with live rock and corals.

 

[kevgib67]

I ordered six fish from Dr. Reef earlier this year and was very happy with what I received. It takes about 6 weeks to receive after you order them.

 

[lostgaurd]

Humblefishes Approved vendor list is the only place I’d trust to buy QTd fish from, not just fish either. Invertebrates and corals also need to be considered. Look into UV systems for Pest control too.

If I were running a QT tank, I’d definitely get a UV sterilizer. But for a display tank, I feel like it could potentially do more harm than good since it kills a lot of things, although obviously not everything.

I get what you mean, though. It definitely helps lower the chances of disease spreading. It’s probably something I might invest in later.

 

[lostgaurd]

I ordered six fish from Dr. Reef earlier this year and was very happy with what I received. It takes about 6 weeks to receive after you order them.

have you ordered wrasse from them? :)

 

[lostgaurd]

I don't buy fish online but if I did I would place them in an observation tank for a month or so, even QTed fish. All new additions go into an observation tank. It also gives them time to become acclimated to tank life including eating what I feed my tanks. I won't take fish out of observation until the are are out front looking for food when they see me. If they're hiding all the time they won't survive in my tanks with other fish that are aggressive eaters.
I don't run a bare tank with pvc fitting, my observation is a 40g breeder with live rock and corals.

even shy fish like a possum wrasse?

 

[exnisstech]

even shy fish like a possum wrasse?

My yellow banded comes out but doesn't swim to the front. It's quite a boring fish actually and is now a permanent resident in my observation tank. I didn't realize how shy they were or I probably would have passed on it.

 

[lostgaurd]

Humblefishes Approved vendor list is the only place I’d trust to buy QTd fish from, not just fish either. Invertebrates and corals also need to be considered. Look into UV systems for Pest control too.

do you mean their vendors? cause i am a bit confused, i though humble fish is a form? not a seller?

 

[Baldyreef]

do you mean their vendors? cause i am a bit confused, i though humble fish is a form? not a seller?

they meant the list of vendors

 

[mfinn]

I'm a big fan of Dr. Reef.
I've made 3 orders from him.
Had 1 doa and he replaced it immediately.

 

[cryingrn]

I order from QT Reef now and I personally would +1 the Humblefish approved vendor list. There needs to be some level of oversight for me to want to take the status of "qted fish" seriously. And even still, I wouldnt treat it as gospel because all it takes for a quarantine at a vendor to technically be compromised is a single employee that is undertrained/doesnt care using the wrong net or not washing his hand. A single drop of water (sometimes aerosolized particles) are enough theoretically.

I have quarantined fish arriving tomorrow, but they will still go into at minimum an observation tank. I moreso treat QT fish as an extra assurance or to make sure I dont have to work with formalin myself. Same things with captive bred fish like from Biota

 

[kevgib67]

have you ordered wrasse from them? :)

Yes a McCoskers.

 

[lostgaurd]

My yellow banded comes out but doesn't swim to the front. It's quite a boring fish actually and is now a permanent resident in my observation tank. I didn't realize how shy they were or I probably would have passed on it.

yeah, they are SUPER shy... this is why i want him in my tank as a first fish.... my plan is to have a very chill tank. But i also love to get a leopard wrasse? are those 2 guys compatible?

 

[lostgaurd]

I order from QT Reef now and I personally would +1 the Humblefish approved vendor list. There needs to be some level of oversight for me to want to take the status of "qted fish" seriously. And even still, I wouldnt treat it as gospel because all it takes for a quarantine at a vendor to technically be compromised is a single employee that is undertrained/doesnt care using the wrong net or not washing his hand. A single drop of water (sometimes aerosolized particles) are enough theoretically.

I have quarantined fish arriving tomorrow, but they will still go into at minimum an observation tank. I moreso treat QT fish as an extra assurance or to make sure I dont have to work with formalin myself. Same things with captive bred fish like from Biota

okay yes, that is something i am understanding/learning now. not only you need a QT tank, but also an OB tank.
thanks yall!

 

[lostgaurd]

I'm a big fan of Dr. Reef.
I've made 3 orders from him.
Had 1 doa and he replaced it immediately.

my i ask what did you order?

 

[Ian_B]

I got a clownfish pair, bicolor blenny and pistol shrimp/goby pair from Dr. Reef. I was happy to spend the extra money to have the quarantining done for me, but the Blenny came with flukes and the clownfish may have internal parasites based on the white, stringy poop they have. I treated them for flukes and they're ok now, but I wouldn’t go that route again.

 

[jabberkaycee]

@jabberkaycee has experience with them from Dr reef

I’m a wrasse lover and Leopards are my favorite - I currently have 2 Leopards and 3 other wrasse. I’ve never had an issue with internal parasites. @Dr. Reef puts them through a complete quarantine treatment process, longer than 14 days, then an observation period afterwards (so be prepared to wait, and wait). You do not need to re-quarantine them. It is definitely worth the extra cost. There is no guarantee that they could not develop internal parasites afterwards from other fish though.

Having said that, I do not recommend adding them to a newly established tank. The biome is not yet fully developed, nor is the pod population, and water parameters are not yet stable. 6 months would be the minimum time I recommend.

They are not a feed-twice-a-day-and-forget fish. Their metabolic rate is set for grazing all day so a heavy pod population is a must. DRF makes sure they are healthy eaters before shipping. The ones I purchased from them were even eating pellet and flaked food, which is rare for most leopards, but that is just to supplement their normal pod diet.

LOTS of matured live rock is a must for them to graze. In fact, a refugium is also a must unless you are cultivating your own pods. Restocking pods will get very costly otherwise. They require a minimum of a 3” fine-grain mature sand bed (6+ months). Some people just keep a small area of the tank deeper, but sand moves overtime, so that is not something I recommend. It also seems cruel to me - like keeping a dog chained to a tree.

I hope this helps!

 

[cryingrn]

okay yes, that is something i am understanding/learning now. not only you need a QT tank, but also an OB tank.
thanks yall!

My personal system is that I just have a collection of empty tanks and they are what I need them to be. Some people have dedicated permanent observation tanks, which makes maintaining water quality and feeding difficult/shy fish easier. I just dont have the space for that as I would rather use it to operate a fishless invert tank to fallow/QT inverts in before adding them to the DT.

So you don't necessarily *need* to have an entirely separate observation system although many people find that helpful. The distinction for me is generally whether I am just running medications prophylactically or not