Do you quarantine fish after purchasing from online quarantine vendors?

[REEFTIDE]

Always QT everything

 

[biggie4jets]

If you any of you have bought from TSM, do you quarantine the inverts too?

 

[infinite0180]

I have bought 3 orders from Dr Reef and i put them right in the DT. Thats why i paid extra! An observation tank is not a bad idea though! I had no idea about TSM, good to know there is another reputable option!

 

[Crashjack]

I'm handicapped and operate out of a wheelchair. I used to quarantine my own fish until a groin injury made it too difficult (gets aggravated when I bend over too far and my QT was on the floor). I started buying from quarantining vendors so I could avoid the process and the aggravation to my injury and now just temperature acclimate and then drop in my DT.

 

[MnFish1]

Hey everyone,

I am curious to see what people do if they're buying (spending premium) on already quarantined fish. I know there are a few online options out there that sell quarantined fish at a premium and all you have to do realistically is acclimate them to your tank and put them in.

I am wondering, because I just placed my first order on TSM today (some preordered fish) they had and was wondering if I should QT them for a week or so or if I could really just acclimate and put in my DT. I do QT all my fish, corals, and inverts but getting tired of it and all the tanks so I read a lot about vendors who do it online, so I wanted to give TSM a try (heard awesome things).

Thanks!

You have to define what you mean by QT. If you mean 'copper, prazipro, 6 weeks', IMHO no - if you mean observe, etc - sure - if you have the space. But - I would base part of my decision on what the guarantee is on the fish. I.e. none, 14 days, etc. If I remember you are putting the fish into a totally empty (fish-wise) - tank - I dont see a reason to QT with medication at all - observation QT is up to you IMHO I would put them in the display - its less stressful, etc. when/if you get new fish in the future - even if from a 'good source' - I would probably QT them. Again JMO.

 

[MnFish1]

BTW - if you look at - and believe - the polls here - most people don't QT at all in any sense. I dont want to start that debate. But if you are buying from a reputable source - I dont see the point.

 

[MnFish1]

QT is not defined by whether one administers meds or not .... it is simply about isolating animals from the display. As a matter of routine, I observe all new fish in my QT system .... regardless of the source. I only use meds if disease symptoms present.

I've also made the point countless times that isolating a new fish in QT is not just about disease, it’s also about getting the animal eating and/or to a healthy body weight.

This is a good point... BUT - many people believe that QT means 'medications' and 'observation'. Of course the definition of Quarantine is simple isolation. But - some (famous) posters here believe Quarantine itself - is 'bad' (even observation) - and others put every fish through a cycle of medications. So - IMHO its important to define when a person asks 'should I QT' - what their definition of QT is?

 

[MnFish1]

Cleaner shrimp do not eat ich.

This is not true..... at least according to science. Whether they can 'clean enough' in an individual fish is another question...

Cleaner shrimp are a sustainable option to treat parasitic disease in farmed fish - Scientific Reports

Chemical use is widespread in aquaculture to treat parasitic diseases in farmed fish. Cleaner fish biocontrols are increasingly used in fish farming as an alternative to medicines. However, cleaner fish are susceptible to some of their clients’ parasites and their supply is largely dependent on...

www.nature.com

 

[MnFish1]

Parasite is a broad term. There are internal parasites, can they remove them? Of coarse not. A quick search will give you the answer to why they cant remove ich.

I did a quick search - they can and do remove cryptokaryon....

 

[Fezbearer]

I only buy quarantined fish, but I still put them in my QT tank for a couple of reasons. I keep my tank at 1.025 and my fish are shipped at 1.021. I prefer to raise the salinity level over the course of a few days. This also lets me make sure they are eating/fatten them up before they go into the DT. Finally, as my QT is on the other end of the table I'm usually teaching my classes from, I can observe how the new guys are doing and show off the new fish to the kids.

 

[shred5]

I did a quick search - they can and do remove cryptokaryon....

Almost everything I have read says once it burrows under the skin and can not be removed.

Are Skunk Cleaner Shrimp right for you

The Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is in my opinion the most personable of all invertebrates you can add to your tank. You can hand feed these guys and they will even crawl around on your hand cleaning them…

www.underwaterpets.com

 

[MnFish1]

Almost everything I have read says once it burrows under the skin and can not be removed.

Are Skunk Cleaner Shrimp right for you

The Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is in my opinion the most personable of all invertebrates you can add to your tank. You can hand feed these guys and they will even crawl around on your hand cleaning them…

www.underwaterpets.com

but - it eats it before burrowing - and cleans the wound after. Lets put it this way - if I had CI in my tank - I wouldn't buy 50 cleaner shrimp - but they can help keep things 'under control' IMHO

 

[ca1ore]

This is a good point... BUT - many people believe that QT means 'medications' and 'observation'. Of course the definition of Quarantine is simple isolation. But - some (famous) posters here believe Quarantine itself - is 'bad' (even observation) - and others put every fish through a cycle of medications. So - IMHO its important to define when a person asks 'should I QT' - what their definition of QT is?

Fair point! Though as the last four years have shown, lots of people 'believe' lots of things. Some logical and rational, others .... well .... not. I've mostly given up on the latter .... I can just feel my brain cells dying as I have the debate.

 

[biggie4jets]

Well my first order from @tsmaquatics arrived today. In total I ordered 2 lyretail anthias, one orange diamond goby, 5 torches snails, 5 turbo snails, 2 cleaner shrimp, and 1 fighting conch. One of the cleaner shrimp didn't make it unfortunately but I sent them in an email and a picture of it and within (legit no lie) 20 minutes (around 4:30 pm est) they responded and refunded me. That is exceptional customer service right there. Everything else looks amazing and are doing great! The packaging and the amount ofwater in each bag was exceptional too. I think the package was around 28 pounds if that helps you gauge how big the bags were (everything was individually bagged).

I did put everything in my DT after observation in a QT tank for a few hours and then they were finally acclimated. I was going back and forth about adding them directly in my DT, but after talking to a lot of people and taking a tiny bit of risk I said the hell with it. I am glad I did. I would 100% buy from them again.

 

[Crashjack]

This is not true..... at least according to science. Whether they can 'clean enough' in an individual fish is another question...

Cleaner shrimp are a sustainable option to treat parasitic disease in farmed fish - Scientific Reports

Chemical use is widespread in aquaculture to treat parasitic diseases in farmed fish. Cleaner fish biocontrols are increasingly used in fish farming as an alternative to medicines. However, cleaner fish are susceptible to some of their clients’ parasites and their supply is largely dependent on...

www.nature.com

Though I don't know how much difference this might make in an aquarium, especially if the inhabitants were known to eat shrimp, this is still very interesting, Maybe @Jay Hemdal could shed some light or any experiences with using cleaner shrimp to try to manage ich or other parasites.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I dont quarantine anything, simply because I have a 20g tank and I buy all my fish from places that pre quarantine, and I dont have the budget/space for extra QT. When I graduate HS/university/med school, I am going to get a bigger tank, and then QT will be mandatory for all fish entering.

 

[MnFish1]

Though I don't know how much difference this might make in an aquarium, especially if the inhabitants were known to eat shrimp, this is still very interesting, Maybe @Jay Hemdal could shed some light or any experiences with using cleaner shrimp to to try to manage ich or other parasites.

Yes - that will be interesting - I think that the goal is to keep it in check - as compared to 'curing' it

 

[FishTruck]

Yes - even though I am not much worried about parasites. The fish I get online often arrive with SG of 1.017 or less. For me... raising that faster than about .003 per day max... and faster than .001 per hour can kill the fish. Currently, I am doing just observational QT for a month and the critical point seems to be right when the SG hits about 1.023 - this is when some of the fish seem to do great, and other seems to get brain damage and croak (if I am even the slightest bit impatient and raise the SG too fast).

Maybe it's just me or my tank... but there is no way I can acclimate online fish to a reef tank environment in a day or afternoon.

 

[MnFish1]

Yes - even though I am not much worried about parasites. The fish I get online often arrive with SG of 1.017 or less. For me... raising that faster than about .003 per day max... and faster than .001 per hour can kill the fish. Currently, I am doing just observational QT for a month and the critical point seems to be right when the SG hits about 1.023 - this is when some of the fish seem to do great, and other seems to get brain damage and croak (if I am even the slightest bit impatient and raise the SG too fast).

Maybe it's just me or my tank... but there is no way I can acclimate online fish to a reef tank environment in a day or afternoon.

If I knew a supplier was keeping their fish routinely at 1.017 (or less) I would not buy from that supplier. I do not (think) - the major suppliers do this. -and since most reef tanks are between 1.024 and 1.026 - I would go with what the supplier says - which is usually drip acclimate.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Though I don't know how much difference this might make in an aquarium, especially if the inhabitants were known to eat shrimp, this is still very interesting, Maybe @Jay Hemdal could shed some light or any experiences with using cleaner shrimp to try to manage ich or other parasites.

I’ve read and reread that paper. It sure offers some tantalizing data. Trouble is, we know that casual use of cleaner shrimp in aquariums do not control Cryptocaryon or flukes. The fish posture for the cleaners and it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling to see them at work, but the diseases still progress.
Jay