How do you keep a parasite-free tank?

Gogol_frag

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So, after going through the many horror stories about fish diseases i have decided on the following process to reduce the possibility of fish diseases:

1. To only buy quarantined fish
2. To only buy fish from one source (in my case Dr. Reef)
3. Introduce all of my fish within the least number of batches - I am going for 6-8 fishes total so likely 2 batches - 5 fishes, and 3 fishes.

My question to y'all is what are these steps still overlookong... how else can fish-parasites reach my DT? Can ich, red-velvet and any other deadly disease travel via coral rocks/frags?

If so, does dipping coral help in killing hitchhiking fish germs? If not, then do you QT the corals as well? What about snails?
 

Ron Reefman

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I keep adding stuff I collect from the wild and I think it helps with the overall health of my tank. In 20 years I've never had a parasite issue!
 

dwest

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I do quarantine inverts now. I usually do about a month which is not perfect but has worked for me. While in quarantine, I usually dip corals a couple of times to help prevent the most common coral pests.

 

NeonRabbit221B

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Dipping coral is not a guarantee. You would need to QT inverts and coral until the free swimming parasites die off without a host. I think the recommended QT time frame was 45 days (given reef conditions) or 72 days (based on one study done in non-standard reefing conditions).

It can also aerosol so nothing non-QT'd within 10' of the tank and it can be transfer through equipment/nets/heaters going tank to tank. I am pretty much on the same side as Mr Reefman and focus on management, a proper diet and observation.
 
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Gogol_frag

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Thanks NeonRabbit, can you help elaborate the diet piece? Which for me seems to be the easiest to control. Will any good quality, diverse, well thought-out diet work, or do you require specific ingredients like Amino Acids, Vitamins etc?
 
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I do quarantine inverts now. I usually do about a month which is not perfect but has worked for me. While in quarantine, I usually dip corals a couple of times to help prevent the most common coral pests.


I do quarantine inverts now. I usually do about a month which is not perfect but has worked for me. While in quarantine, I usually dip corals a couple of times to help prevent the most common coral pests.

Thank you dwest!! I may have to start doing this. During quarantining the inverts, outside of dipping do you use any other chemicals?
 
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Gogol_frag

Gogol_frag

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I keep adding stuff I collect from the wild and I think it helps with the overall health of my tank. In 20 years I've never had a parasite issue!
Thank you RonReefman. So keeping the tank super stable, and providing a balanced diet, things of that nature?
 

NeonRabbit221B

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To me it’s all about freshness, variety and live food options. I feed little necks, marine cuisine, baby brine and keep pod cultures. PaulB here kinda outlines good practices including feeding white worms and other goodies. This will not be a 1 for 1 and any large stress event can leave fish susceptible to infection but seems to help most. A UV can help reduce ich populations
 

N3mo

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the only way to try and have a parasite free system is if you QT everything that goes into your tank for long periods of time.

Parasites can come in frag plugs, fish and even a drop of water form another tank.

QT fish to me is a good process to observe and make sure fish is healthy before adding to DT, also this stage you will pickup if there is any harmfull parasites on fish and treat before it reaches DT.

Most tanks have parasites, its managable, however knowing which ones can swipe out a tank is important.

Feeding the right stuff and keeping the livestock immune system high is very important.
 
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Gogol_frag

Gogol_frag

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To me it’s all about freshness, variety and live food options. I feed little necks, marine cuisine, baby brine and keep pod cultures. PaulB here kinda outlines good practices including feeding white worms and other goodies. This will not be a 1 for 1 and any large stress event can leave fish susceptible to infection but seems to help most. A UV can help reduce ich populations
Thanks Neon Rabbit. Were you alluding to this Probiotics article? Link

- i did a search on the forum by PaulB ... and this was one of the first things that came up.
 
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Gogol_frag

Gogol_frag

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the only way to try and have a parasite free system is if you QT everything that goes into your tank for long periods of time.

Parasites can come in frag plugs, fish and even a drop of water form another tank.

QT fish to me is a good process to observe and make sure fish is healthy before adding to DT, also this stage you will pickup if there is any harmfull parasites on fish and treat before it reaches DT.

Most tanks have parasites, its managable, however knowing which ones can swipe out a tank is important.

Feeding the right stuff and keeping the livestock immune system high is very important.
Thats super helpful to know. Thank you Nemo. I feed mostly live. I grow and feed three phtoplanktons - Nanochloropsis, Isochrisis, Tetraselmis, amd two Zoo Planktons - L,Type Rotifers and Tisbe Pods. Along with these live foods, I plan on feeding TD Chroma Boost by ReefNutrition.

I have posted the question to Dr. Eric Henry from Reef Nutrition as well and let you know if he has any specific food suggestions.
 

NeonRabbit221B

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Thanks Neon Rabbit. Were you alluding to this Probiotics article? Link

- i did a search on the forum by PaulB ... and this was one of the first things that came up.
Not necessarily. He wrote a book (fun read too) that outlines his practices. His build thread and tank reached 50 yrs a few weeks back. Basically just a focus on high quality foods, unique filtration and good observational skills. @Jekyl runs his tank just like @Paul B and I am sure they would be willing to fill in gaps that I missed or incorrect info. QT and fallow has been only repeatable way to ensure velvet and ich are not in the tank.
 

dwest

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Thank you dwest!! I may have to start doing this. During quarantining the inverts, outside of dipping do you use any other chemicals?
I don’t use any chemicals outside of coral dips. As you can see, you will get lots of opinions about invert quarantine. It’s something I didn’t do the first 20 years of reefing but have done the last 5 or so years.
 

Haim

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Thats super helpful to know. Thank you Nemo. I feed mostly live. I grow and feed three phtoplanktons - Nanochloropsis, Isochrisis, Tetraselmis, amd two Zoo Planktons - L,Type Rotifers and Tisbe Pods. Along with these live foods, I plan on feeding TD Chroma Boost by ReefNutrition.

I have posted the question to Dr. Eric Henry from Reef Nutrition as well and let you know if he has any specific food suggestions.
Hello ,
Can you please explain how to prepare food for phytoplankton?
 

vetteguy53081

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Know your source you're buying from
-Inspect for feeding, breathing and imperfections. ALWAYS ASK TO SEE THE FISH EAT
-Quarantine
-Provide optimum water quality
-Feed healthy diet
-Inspect fish and tank daily ( I utilize feeding time for this) to assure no issues
 

M Stein

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I keep adding stuff I collect from the wild and I think it helps with the overall health of my tank. In 20 years I've never had a parasite issue!
That's probably because they're not kept in crowded tanks with recirculating water and many other potentially infected tank mates to increase the chances of them getting the parasite.
Oh, and they're probably not shipped, and then shipped, and then shipped and then...
 

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