- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
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I QT EVERYTHING. Even snails.
I've been at this a long time, and I haven't always quarantined. I've paid the price many times over too. I always have to learn the hard way. LOL
While I agree that fish can build a much stronger immune system if provided with a proper diet, and stress free environment, we can not create a fish that is immune to parasites, like ICH, by simply using these methods. This would be like feeding your dog well and expecting it to be immune to fleas. It doesn't work that way.
There are many factors that can influence how well a parasite does in a tank. Water volume, number and size of fish, filtration, and even temperature. Often, we simply don't know why a parasite flourishes in one system, and not another. Myself and many others have maintained tanks were ICH was present, but due to the conditions of the system, the parasite was not able to reach plaque proportions. In these systems, it's not uncommon for something to change in the parasites' favor. Addition of more host fish, temperature change, filtration malfunction............ It doesn't need to be a large change. Just anything to slightly tip the scales in favor of the parasite, and they can bloom, killing every fish in the tank. It's happened countless times.
This isn't a case of two sides, where we either QT, or feed our fish well to build strong immune systems. We can do both. In fact, I do both. I have somewhere around 75 fish in my home, not counting babies. My wife jokes about the fish eating better than we do, and they've all been through QT.
It's nice to have the peace of mind, knowing that my fish won't come down with ICH, brook, velvet, or many other ailments, not simply because they have the energy to fight off these ailments, but because these ailments do not exist in my systems. It's impossible for my fish to suffer from ICH because that parasite doesn't exist in their environment. They can use the nutrition and energy from their diet for things like growth, reproduction, and to produce beautiful colors. They don't have to go through the stress, and burn energy and resources, fighting parasites.
JMHO
Peace
EC
I've been at this a long time, and I haven't always quarantined. I've paid the price many times over too. I always have to learn the hard way. LOL
While I agree that fish can build a much stronger immune system if provided with a proper diet, and stress free environment, we can not create a fish that is immune to parasites, like ICH, by simply using these methods. This would be like feeding your dog well and expecting it to be immune to fleas. It doesn't work that way.
There are many factors that can influence how well a parasite does in a tank. Water volume, number and size of fish, filtration, and even temperature. Often, we simply don't know why a parasite flourishes in one system, and not another. Myself and many others have maintained tanks were ICH was present, but due to the conditions of the system, the parasite was not able to reach plaque proportions. In these systems, it's not uncommon for something to change in the parasites' favor. Addition of more host fish, temperature change, filtration malfunction............ It doesn't need to be a large change. Just anything to slightly tip the scales in favor of the parasite, and they can bloom, killing every fish in the tank. It's happened countless times.
This isn't a case of two sides, where we either QT, or feed our fish well to build strong immune systems. We can do both. In fact, I do both. I have somewhere around 75 fish in my home, not counting babies. My wife jokes about the fish eating better than we do, and they've all been through QT.
It's nice to have the peace of mind, knowing that my fish won't come down with ICH, brook, velvet, or many other ailments, not simply because they have the energy to fight off these ailments, but because these ailments do not exist in my systems. It's impossible for my fish to suffer from ICH because that parasite doesn't exist in their environment. They can use the nutrition and energy from their diet for things like growth, reproduction, and to produce beautiful colors. They don't have to go through the stress, and burn energy and resources, fighting parasites.
JMHO
Peace
EC