Hobby grade “quarantine” probably kills more fish than it saves.

[Michael E.]

Another example. Again I would bet more fish die in QT than in the actual tank....

All you guys arguing with me might have excellent QT setups (I doubt it) but the average reefer has a 20 Gal tank with nothing but a heater, biobrick and piece of PVC in the

I definitely don’t disagree with you. Very few fish made it to my DT until I started regulating properly. On the flip side I’ve wiped out my entire DT by just dropping fish directly in. However, that’s only happened once in the 10 years I’ve been in the hobby

 

[Spare time]

This is likely to be an unpopular opinion but here it goes:

It is my sincere belief that “hobby grade” quarantine causes more harm than good.

The fish you just got is stressed from travel, probably stressed from being caught in the wild recently and instead of dropping it into your large display tank with plenty of rocks to hide and established chemistry, pods and tank mates you drop it into a tiny tank with freshly made saltwater, possibly no biological filter and a tiny piece of PVC…

I truly believe that more fish have been killed by this process than saved.

If the fish looks healthy I just drop it straight into the display, preferably at dusk, have had zero issues with this method in the last 16 years.

I believe one of the old school reefers was also in this camp, can’t remember his name at this time.

Any one else agree with this?

Having worked at an LFS for years, this is just not true. The most common cause of death in this hobby is disease. This kills more than anything else by a landslide.

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

Pete don’t feel bad most of my cycling threads go over about this well rec’d

Hahahaha Thanks @brandon429 I'm getting killed here only @ninjamyst has seen the light lol.

 

[sante21079]

Yes

You should try that and then get back to us on how it works.

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

Having worked at an LFS for years, this is just not true. The most common cause of death in this hobby is disease. This kills more than anything else by a landslide.

Right but the disease is brought on by stress, most likely from being in a crappy QT tanks rather than a nice display.

 

[Miami Reef]

No,

But as I stated earlier his fish would have a much better chance at surviving if he puts them directly in the "6 feet" display tank rather than having 6 tangs and an emperor Angle in a 30 gal QT tank...

Eh. I don’t think either method will grant long-term success. But for this discussion, yes. Ammonia poisoning from overstocking a 30 gallon tank is likely to kill fish faster than any parasites.

I think the better alternative to giving up QT altogether is to just inform the person. Buying less fish at a time seems like the best approach. If he’s really desperate to adding all those fish at once, then he’ll need more tanks. Plain and simple.

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

You should try that and then get back to us on how it works.

I've had a number of Tangs over the years, including powder blue, never had Ich.

 

[Miami Reef]

I've had a number of Tangs over the years, including powder blue, never had Ich.

How long did it last? Do you still have the fish?

 

[brandon429]

..

 

[Miami Reef]

We need to get a petco powder blue into Paul’s tank for tracking.

It won’t last. Even Paul B himself thinks it probably wouldn’t.

 

[Jekyl]

Proper quarantine as per the one @Jay Hemdal was kind enough to write up is proven to work. Can't be disputed on the outcome. I'm guessing the majority of fish lost were most likely too far gone when starting the procedure. Something I would be interested in seeing is the effect on fish illness using dry rock vs rock from KP or or any of the ocean rock dealers. If using established, diverse ocean rock is an effective measure against illness. The things older tanks have that most don't is that diversity and age. These seem to be the standard for being able to subvert quarantine measures with success

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

How long did it last? Do you still have the fish?

They lasted until the tank was taken down and they were returned to LFS. I had a PBT in my current 140g but he died after a dinoflagellate outbreak, was in tank and healthy for 2 years. Have a Naso and yellow tang currently. Am more than happy to re-introduce a PBT with no QT although an N=1 is unlikely to prove or disprove my point. I'd be more worried at this point about aggression from the two established tangs.

 

[dwair]

Public aquariums have the resources to set up proper QT tanks, the average reefer does not.

I wish we could somehow get data on this, I know its impossible but I would bet 100$ that more fish are killed by being dumped into tiny sterile tanks for weeks (average QT) than whatever disease we were trying to prevent.

Do you realize how much it actually costs to setup a proper QT? It really isn't all that much. You need a 40b, filter, heater, air stone and a couple pieces of PVC. Quite cheap tbh. Its not the cost that prevents people from doing it. Its the wait.

 

[Jekyl]

Should add that I don't quarantine. When starting my tank the majority was dry rock. I did however add live rock and substrate from 4 different LFS in my area. I did drop a tang directly into my tank. I have seen Ich on my fish before. My tank is over 3 years old now. Fish are all at least 2 years old. Only fish I have lost was a clown due to skydiving.

 

[Michael E.]

Should add that I don't quarantine. When starting my tank the majority was dry rock. I did however add live rock and substrate from 4 different LFS in my area. I did drop a tang directly into my tank. I have seen Ich on my fish before. My tank is over 3 years old now. Fish are all at least 2 years old. Only fish I have lost was a clown due to skydiving.

Like the clown I love skydiving. Fortunately it worked out much better for me…so far

 

[DaddyFish]

I did. Read the first post on about 15-20 threads. It seems by far the most common story is: Bought the fish, fish was fine, put it in QT, now a few days later fish is dying, help.

That's actually a fairly common occurrence for a disease/parasite carrying fish that has been running in sub-therapeutic copper. The low-level copper tends to suppress the infestation and then within hours or a couple days of transfer to normal water conditions, along with a healthy dose of transfer stress, the fish quickly succumbs to what it's carrying.

I'll add that a lot of LFS I've dealt with have this smoke-n-mirrors copper thing down to a science. You learn a lot about today's supply chain and LFS practices if you do some careful water analysis on the bags you bring home. Especially when you buy a fish on Tuesday or Thursday.

 

[burningmime]

I'm not sure I agree, but thanks for sharing your opinion. Things like this absolutely should be discussed; we should be willing to question our strongly-held beliefs in order to progress as a hobby.

I'd say "bad quarantine is worse than no quarantine" but that's like saying "bad medicine is worse than no medicine"

 

[burningmime]

Especially when you buy a fish on Tuesday or Thursday.

I HATE Thursdays. Tuesday's not so bad. But umm... what does this have to do with fish water quality?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Right but the disease is brought on by stress, most likely from being in a crappy QT tanks rather than a nice display.

I think if the QT thing had more losses then survivors, it wouldn’t be as popular as it is here.

 

[DaddyFish]

I HATE Thursdays. Tuesday's not so bad. But umm... what does this have to do with fish water quality?

Most LFS that I have visited receive their stock on Tuesday-Thursday, a few on Fridays. You'd be amazed at how their Tuesday water tests compared to their Saturday water. Some will show copper on Tuesday and it's gone by Saturday. Many will be running 1.010 on Tuesday and be 1.020 by Saturday.
It's a business and I get it, but hyposalinity and sub-therapeutic copper hides A LOT for a short time. Often hides it just long enough to make the sale of a seemingly healthy and hungry fish.