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

Kyl

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Fish quality, IMO, has dropped quite drastically over the past four years. We've gotten double boned up North with the crack down on all OTC medications, including copper. Not a good combination for the future.
 

Singspot

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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.
Hi There, Could you share your QT approach details? How long do you QT, what medicine you put in there, how big is your QT tank? What equipments do you use in QT? how do you introduce your fishes to DT? How often do you change the DT water and by what %?
 
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Marco S

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Hi There, Could you share your QT approach details? How long do you QT, what medicine you put in there, how big is your QT tank? What equipments do you use in QT? how do you introduce your fishes to DT? How often do you change the DT water and by what %?
I posted this specifically to find out others experience with disease in the fish they purchase, not to discuss quarantine itself. There are many links to articles, posts, tutorials and examples of quarantine already written on this Forum by experts in the quarantine process that I would highly recommend you read and follow.

If you still have questions concerning quarantine after reading the material already provided here, please post your own thread.

Thank you,
 
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Marco S

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Your experience appears par for the course these days, friend. The good news is you seem to be doing a good job with the treatment of fish :)
Thanks. I just did a ton of research and followed directions from those that are way more experienced and knowledgeable than me. :)
 
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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.
I have done FW Dips to diagnose Flukes and for the temporary relief of Ich and Velvet, (only when the fish were covered and suffering already).

I do want to point out that FW Dips are only a "Temporary" treatment and fish still need to be treated with medication to actually cure Ich, Velvet, Flukes or whatever other problem the FW Dip was used for. I just say that because your post makes it sound like FW Dips are a cure, and to be clear, they are not.
 

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2 weeks ago I order 6 Anthias from LA(4 Randall’s, 2 lyretails). 3 of the Randall’s were DOA. The 2 lyretails both died within 24 hours. LA refunded my money but what the heck, I started my quarantine process with half my order dead. Then 2/3 of what’s left die over the next 24 hours! I ended up picking up another lyretail and kole tang from my LFS the following day. The lyretail from the LFS died within 24 hours showing signs of uronema. I had already started dosing copper before it died. So when they tested my water ammonia popped up and they tried blaming that. However I’ve come to find out ammonia tests will show results when dosing copper.

Anyways, the one Randall’s and kole tang seem to be doing well. Both eating and currently on day 8 of therapeutic levels of copper (copper power 2.0ish ppm). Definitely Leery of purchasing from LA again. I may try their DD section next time if I see some fish I like.
 

GoatmealJones

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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.

Got my mini blue tang from Live Aquaria (1 inch juvinile). It is healthy with no signs of illness (3 mo). I didnt QT it and luckily it is thriving and it doesnt seem like it was ever infected. I think that, being a large supplier, LA probably keeps all fish lightly medicated to prevent a nightmare of, say, hundreds of Tangs dieing in one tank if one fish was infected. They have a lot to lose if vast numbers of fish die, which is why I assume that they are super cautious about illness.
 

Reefthedayaway

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I would suggest its something to do with your tank once the disease/parasite is in there, it will stay in there as long as there are fish to infect. A stressed fish is susceptible to infection. You QT your fish (I don't) and your still getting diseases or parasites. Can't blame the LFS if it's something that's happened after you've quarantined. I would suggest you set up another cheap tank you can put everything into, and put your tank into hyposalinity or leave it fallow for 3 months. I don't know a lot about the different dieseses or parasites in our tanks but that would get rid of the dreaded ich.
 

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Is hard to said .. bcoz large fish supply like the ones we all use to buy fish on line . We don’t really know if they just got the fish and sold to us with out any quarantine..so my guess is yes they all have something. Not like when you buy from the lfs .. in my lfs they have different sections.. one with copper .. one with medication. And one with clean good water .. in my opinion QT everything the you want in your DT even when I buy from the lfs I still put in QT. I hope this help .. good luck
 
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I would suggest its something to do with your tank once the disease/parasite is in there, it will stay in there as long as there are fish to infect. A stressed fish is susceptible to infection. You QT your fish (I don't) and your still getting diseases or parasites. Can't blame the LFS if it's something that's happened after you've quarantined. I would suggest you set up another cheap tank you can put everything into, and put your tank into hyposalinity or leave it fallow for 3 months. I don't know a lot about the different dieseses or parasites in our tanks but that would get rid of the dreaded ich.
You misunderstood the problem. I am not, (knock on wood) having any problems with disease in my DT. I am having problems with the fish I buy having disease when I purchase them, but not showing signs until a day or two after i have them in my QT. I have successfully treated and cured a large majority of them and have only lost 2 fish to disease, but I am getting sick of dealing with disease and was just asking if this is a problem with others or am I particularly unlucky?

I do sterilize my QT tanks with bleach and or vinegar after every batch and have several different QT tanks going all in different rooms that are way more than 10 feet apart. I have followed all the rules outlines in the QT processes on this Forums so I do not believe it is my tanks that are the problem.
 
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Reefthedayaway

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You misunderstood the problem. I am not, (knock on wood) having any problems with disease in my DT. I am having problems with the fish I buy having disease when I purchase them, but not showing signs until a day or two after i have them in my QT. I have successfully treated and cured a large majority of them and have only lost 2 fish to disease, but I am getting sick of dealing with disease and was just asking if this is a problem with others or am I particularly unlucky?

I do sterilize my QT tanks with bleach and or vinegar after every batch and have several different QT tanks going all in different rooms that are way more than 10 feet apart. I have followed all the rules outlines in the QT processes on this Forums so I do not believe it is my tanks that are the problem.
Ohh get ye now. I've never quarantined my fish. Have payed the price once or twice when I've got of private sellers but from my main LFS never any problem. I had got fish of another supplier a bit further out from my main LFS, for this set up and the 2 of them both came with parasites. They got taken back. Havnt got fish of them since.
 

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I’ve noticed that most (not all)the fish coming in to the hobby & we purchase, be it LFS or online, is infected with bugs( flukes, ich, oodinium, brook, etc). The reason is when they’re ship from country of origin to LFS or holding facility, the amount of time that the importer/ wholesaler keeps them isn’t that long before being shipped out to be sold. The fish & inverts are being mixed with infected ones & that’s how we get diseased animals. The LFS usually don’t qt them, some might prophylactilly treat their animals, which is good, some don’t. I usually watch the fish I want for a week or 2, then get it. If it doesn’t eat, I don’t get or if any fish in the system(tank) doesn’t look good, I don’t get or I have them order one for me & I take it in the shipping bag & take care of it from there.
 
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Ohh get ye now. I've never quarantined my fish. Have payed the price once or twice when I've got of private sellers but from my main LFS never any problem. I had got fish of another supplier a bit further out from my main LFS, for this set up and the 2 of them both came with parasites. They got taken back. Havnt got fish of them since.
Does your LFS QT the fish? I wish I could find an LFS that does, but here in Tucson there is only a couple stores that sell saltwater fish and none of them offer that service. That is why I decided to give Divers Den a shot and I was shocked to get Ich and internal parasites on my first order. :(
 

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Does your LFS QT the fish? I wish I could find an LFS that does, but here in Tucson there is only a couple stores that sell saltwater fish and none of them offer that service. That is why I decided to give Divers Den a shot and I was shocked to get Ich and internal parasites on my first order. :(
Apparently, but some users of local FB groups disagree. The other 1 I went too definitely doesn't. I've seen them dump their delivery straight in the tanks. They do keep a tank with a copper in it.
 

Daniel@R2R

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I know our fish disease and treatment experts have been saying for a while that disease was up pretty much industry wide
 

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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.

I know our fish disease and treatment experts have been saying for a while that disease was up pretty much industry wide

Yea it seems worse since the Hawaii closing down too.. I always said if Hawaii closed the quality of fish would drop.. so instead of them saving fish with the ban more fish would just end up dying instead.



I noticed some LFS are now running therapeutic levels of copper which just hides the disease.

There are now more online places drop shipping fish from the wholesalers. We know the wholesalers only want them to live long enough to get out the door..

LFS stores all their systems are tied together so they get one fish infected they are all infected. They are weak from all the transportation so they can not fight off these diseases.

The problem is getting worse.

I think our hobby is going to come under-fire if something doesn't happen soon so there are not so many deaths.

A few more bans and prices are going to go way up and maybe people will start to care. More are coming too..
 
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I know our fish disease and treatment experts have been saying for a while that disease was up pretty much industry wide
That is sad to hear, but looking on the bright side...at least I have gained a ton of knowledge on the QT process and fish disease diagnostic and treatment in general. I would not say I am anywhere near an expert at this point, but I have gotten pretty good at dealing with a variety of different diseases thanks to this site and the great people on here.
 
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Yea it seems worse since the Hawaii closing down too.. I always said if Hawaii closed the quality of fish would drop.. so instead of them saving fish with the ban more fish would just end up dying instead.



I noticed some LFS are now running therapeutic levels of copper which just hides the disease.

There are now more online places drop shipping fish from the wholesalers. We know the wholesalers only want them to live long enough to get out the door..

LFS stores all their systems are tied together so they get one fish infected they are all infected. They are weak from all the transportation so they can not fight off these diseases.

The problem is getting worse.

I think our hobby is going to come under-fire if something doesn't happen soon so there are not so many deaths.

A few more bans and prices are going to go way up and maybe people will start to care. More are coming too..
I am just glad that I am pretty much done with my fish stock at this point. I will have to go through this again in a couple years when I setup a 300+ gallon FOWLR tank so hopefully the prices don't go to far up.
 

HotRocks

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Does your LFS QT the fish? I wish I could find an LFS that does, but here in Tucson there is only a couple stores that sell saltwater fish and none of them offer that service. That is why I decided to give Divers Den a shot and I was shocked to get Ich and internal parasites on my first order. :(
Ive said this many times, DD is not completely safe. Frequency of additions, type of fish, etc will depend on the chance of contracting a disease with your new additions.

Personally, in the past I ordered several fish from them, I always QTd them my way before adding them to my systems. I have seen velvet on a DD fish. The type of fish I like to order from them (Back when I used to order from them) were expert level fish, difficult to feed or acclimate to aquaria etc. While they are not a parasite free guarantee, usually the fish would at least arrive healthy and already eating frozen foods. Huge plus. Yes you pay a premium for it, but worth it IMO.

Here is the deal, they probably do everything they can to QT these fish properly. On large scale, several employees, etc. it is very very difficult to keep from cross contamination and maintain completely disease free systems within a single facility (meaning having inbound fish that go into treatment, as well as clean fish ready to ship). Also, I know they list their protocol online but I have no idea how long they "condition" these fish after treatment. Certain types of fish can live in the presence of parasites without any symptoms as well. So fish with thick slime coats may be carrying ich but appear disease free, so they are deemed good to ship.
 

shred5

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I want to add this too.. I know a few LFS owners and employees. Hard not to being in the hobby this long.

Anyway some are saying that tank raised fish at this point maybe the only thing worth bringing in anymore.
I know one LFS carries probably 50 percent less wild fish and far more designer clownfish.
One LFS built a hole new coral system and saltwater fish system and they have very few fish and coral in them.
I heard of a few saltwater stores just closing up shop and others thinking of dropping saltwater altogether and just doing fresh.
 

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