Do I Just Have Very Bad Luck Or Are A Majority Of Fish Infected?

Marco S

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I have QT'd everything I have put into my DT over the last 6 months and so far have not had one batch of fish that did not have something. I have dealt with Ich three times, (now four actually) Velvet twice, Flukes three times, two bacterial diseases and two internal parasites. The good news is that I have gotten very good at treating my fish, (thanks to R2R and all the great people here) and have only lost two fish to disease. I have lost others due to not eating and others with absolutely no signs of disease and plenty of Blue/Green Chromis just disappeared on me, but only two fish have been killed by disease on my watch. :)

I got most of those fish from two different LFS's in AZ and a few at Petco, (and the Petco fish are all still alive). I decided to give Divers Den a try since I heard they put their fish through QT for a couple weeks and I was really sick of dealing with diseases. I paid a pretty penny for fish thinking they would be disease free and guess what...my new Whitetail Bristletooth Tang has Ich and at least one other fish has internal parasites! I am soooooooo sick of this and was just wondering if I am the most unlucky guy here or if others have had this experience? Please let me know your personal experiences and if this is normal or I just have bad luck.

Thanks for any input on this! :)
 

AiKkz

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I’ve recently gotten 5 fish from live aquaria (2 clowns, sailfin , hippo, foxface) and all went through 30 days of qt with no signs of illness. I was shocked being they came from such a large supplier. I have 3 more tangs in qt that I got today so fingers crossed it goes as smooth as the last 5.
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Mjrenz

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I have QT'd everything I have put into my DT over the last 6 months and so far have not had one batch of fish that did not have something. I have dealt with Ich three times, (now four actually) Velvet twice, Flukes three times, two bacterial diseases and two internal parasites. The good news is that I have gotten very good at treating my fish, (thanks to R2R and all the great people here) and have only lost two fish to disease. I have lost others due to not eating and others with absolutely no signs of disease and plenty of Blue/Green Chromis just disappeared on me, but only two fish have been killed by disease on my watch. :)

I got most of those fish from two different LFS's in AZ and a few at Petco, (and the Petco fish are all still alive). I decided to give Divers Den a try since I heard they put their fish through QT for a couple weeks and I was really sick of dealing with diseases. I paid a pretty penny for fish thinking they would be disease free and guess what...my new Whitetail Bristletooth Tang has Ich and at least one other fish has internal parasites! I am soooooooo sick of this and was just wondering if I am the most unlucky guy here or if others have had this experience? Please let me know your personal experiences and if this is normal or I just have bad luck.

Thanks for any input on this! :)
I would honestly be surprised to see a disease free fish that wasn't qtd I've seen at least one disease in a tank at every lfs I've been to lately
 
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Marco S

Marco S

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I’ve recently gotten 5 fish from live aquaria (2 clowns, sailfin , hippo, foxface) and all went through 30 days of qt with no signs of illness. I was shocked being they came from such a large supplier. I have 3 more tangs in qt that I got today so fingers crossed it goes as smooth as the last 5.
36E8B993-7261-47A5-B751-53CC7ADD7492.jpeg
E5ACA1E2-F588-4CB6-B8EF-4BBBFA6B7333.jpeg
I need some of your luck! Send some my way please. :)
 
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Marco S

Marco S

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I would honestly be surprised to see a disease free fish that wasn't qtd I've seen at least one disease in a tank at every lfs I've been to lately
How do all the people that do not QT still have thriving tanks? I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I did not QT. I would have probably went back to freshwater tanks by now.
 

AiKkz

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I need some of your luck! Send some my way please. :)
Lol I know!! I used to buy from LA couple years ago and didn’t have a good survival rate, but they’ve changed something up recently!! But as for snails I bought 50 Trochus and 25 were dead on arrival!! I blame it on the Florida heat!!
 

Mjrenz

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How do all the people that do not QT still have thriving tanks? I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I did not QT. I would have probably went back to freshwater tanks by now.
I've seen several successful systems where diseases are managed, mine used to be one until it wasn't anymore
 

rkpetersen

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But as for snails I bought 50 Trochus and 25 were dead on arrival!! I blame it on the Florida heat!!

This is typical for trochus snails, they ship very poorly.
It's not uncommon for an entire shipment of a couple hundred to your LFS to be DOA.
 

AiKkz

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This is typical for trochus snails, they ship very poorly.
It's not uncommon for an entire shipment of a couple hundred to your LFS to be DOA.
Good to know, the bag smelled like sewage, I assume a few die then that kills the rest in the bag!
 

HotRocks

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How do all the people that do not QT still have thriving tanks? I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I did not QT. I would have probably went back to freshwater tanks by now.
Diseases are pretty prevalent today. Many fish can live in tanks with parasites. The type of fish and the length of time the fish will tolerate it will depend upon several factors. Obviously nutrition, husbandry, chemistry, all play a role in the success. You can also run additional equipment to help control the free swimming population etc.

I see something in every LFS I walk into, I also see something on every single batch of fish I get in.

This is why I choose to prophylactically treat all of my fish.
 

Wick

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I’ve recently gotten 5 fish from live aquaria (2 clowns, sailfin , hippo, foxface) and all went through 30 days of qt with no signs of illness. I was shocked being they came from such a large supplier. I have 3 more tangs in qt that I got today so fingers crossed it goes as smooth as the last 5.
36E8B993-7261-47A5-B751-53CC7ADD7492.jpeg
E5ACA1E2-F588-4CB6-B8EF-4BBBFA6B7333.jpeg
How big is your qt?
 

Jettareefer223

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I haven’t purchased fish at the LFS in years (18 years in saltwater). I buy from Live Aquaria/within the hobby. I have very little lose I typically order higher level more demanding fish(tangs, wrasses, Angels, hogs, betta’s, etc). 1/20 doesn’t make it. Buying from stores is a risk at any rate due the amount stuff that’s introduced to systems typically sharing the same water. It’s really surprising with the amount of exposure any fish make it past the stores lol.
 
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AiKkz

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If I may ask how many times do you do a water change on it while treating?
I don't have to do a water change within the 14/17 days they are in qt. I always have sponge filters and media in my sump cycling, so when its time to sterilize the qt I throw all the media and sponge filter away and use new. I also feed lite (medicated) food in copper. for the 2nd qt (dosed with general cure) I do a water change (20%/30%) after 7 days, then redose gc.
If I had to do a wc during copper I would pre-dose the water going into the qt and do a small maybe 10%/15% wc.
 

SnakeCharmer

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Yes, the majority of fish are infected. IMO, all of them are infected.

You've got to go through a screening process before you even take a fish home.

Know what to look for:
*identify diseases, illnesses
*is the fish swimming and acting normal
*have the salesman feed it and watch how it eats/reacts to food

For me, nothing is more effective for common parasitic issues than a fresh water bath. Wait, A FRESHWATER BATH?! NO, YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!! Yeah, we will probably see some responses like that here...

I treat all of my quarantine fish with a F/W bath before they even go into my quarantine tank. It's absolutely effective but it can damage the fish if you overdo it. Plus, some fish are more sensitive to it than others. Those get a shorter bath.

Sensitive fish like Cardinals, wrasses,... bathe them for 1 to 1.5 minutes max. The rest, 3 minutes max and be prepared to bathe them again 48 hours later, but not before that.

Simply prepare a F/W bathing solution in an adequate sized container (large enough for the fish to rest upright and swim around in circles. First, make sure that the temp is close to where they are coming from as possible. Next, use PH buffer to raise the PH to the level that the quarantine tank is kept at. I use tap water with no ill effects. The fish are not in it long enough to hurt them but if you are concerned, use a simple declor agent before you place the fish in.

The reaction to the lower density F/W is alarming so be ready for that. They usually sink down and lay on their side as though they are dying but they are actually just adapting. Within several seconds, they are usually up and swimming around. Don't leave them in too long. Be careful.

Been doing this for over 30 years.
 

Jettareefer223

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EXACT reason why I'm scared to add a single fish after my tank has been established and disease free for 2.5 years
After QT’ing/dipping all my acros I still got black bugs, same here my fish healthy for years. At this point with on going treatments for my acros I refuse to introduce new to my display ever again, just enjoy what’s currently there haha.
 
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