Do you quarantine Invertebrates ?

[Aussie_Saltwater]

Hi Team,

I am intersted in adding some inverts to my tank including hermits, snails, starfish and possibly a cucumber.

Do inverts present the same risk as fish do in introducing parasites ?

How exactly do you quarantine inverts that can't survive a system with copper in it ?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I collect 99% of my inverts in the wild. I snorkel in the Florida Keys a couple of times a years.

I used to quarantine everything I brought home. But I never had any issues with anything but sponges and spaghetti worms. I collect several different types of snails, clams, urchins, serpent stars, sea cucumbers, chitons and more. They all go in a holding tank when I get home, just to make sure the holding time in the Keys and the trip home (a 5 hour drive) hasn't caused any of them deadly harm. After a day or two in holding, I start introducing them to the main tank. I'd say I lose less than 1% to 2% of all that I collect. And none of them have caused any kind of issues to the main tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi Team,

I am intersted in adding some inverts to my tank including hermits, snails, starfish and possibly a cucumber.

Do inverts present the same risk as fish do in introducing parasites ?

How exactly do you quarantine inverts that can't survive a system with copper in it ?

Thanks for any help.

Anything wet moving from tank to tank has the potential of moving diseases with it. Of course, there are a lot of variables - if the source tank has no fish in it, the risk is very small. I once saw a dealer who would put their sick fish in their coral system to "help cure them". Can you imagine what happened when people bought corals from that tank and took them home?

Corals and invertebrates can also transfer pests like hidden Aiptasia anemones, flatworms, etc. What I like to do is to hold all new invertebrates/corals in a fishless coral system for 30 days prior to moving them into a display tank.

Here is an article I wrote on "bio security":

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/biosecurity.812/