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Why would you want to keep it sterile. Fish and coral are exposed to many nasties in the wild, and its that that makes them strong, as it does for human beings. Take this away and you get weak livestockI have watched a bazillion videos about keeping my display pest and contaminant-free, but how practical is it?
I do what I can to mitigate issues, but is it realistic for most hobbyists to keep a “sterile” marine tank? How many aquarists believe they have a strict protocol that supports a pest-free tank vs.. I do what I can.
- Live rock from the ocean or gulf?
- No Coral quarantine? Dip and slip it in the tank?
- One set of tools and tubs for water changes?
Just wondering if I am on an Island of 1.
I am with you, but IMO, that is not what the industry promotes as the standard. Those who have not been in the hobby for any length of time chase something unobtainable.Why would you want to keep it sterile. Fish and coral are exposed to many nasties in the wild, and its that that makes them strong, as it does for human beings. Take this away and you get weak livestock
Curious, if that is so - how are the tank-raised fish supposedly 'more healthy' than wild fish? FWIW, there are numerous diseases that science has/is trying to eradicate (polio, smallpox, malaria, etc etc) - doing so will not make humanity 'weak' Or?Why would you want to keep it sterile. Fish and coral are exposed to many nasties in the wild, and its that that makes them strong, as it does for human beings. Take this away and you get weak livestock
Really depends on how you define "pest"... you can quarantine/treat every new addition to possibly keep out most diseases/common parasites, but algae will happen regardless. And there are so many "pests" that are actually beneficial and add diversity to the system, I'm not sure why anyone would want a "sterile" tank. The majority of us can't come close to providing a true natural environment for our critters so limiting things intentionally seems silly (aside from obvious diseases/parasites, etc)I have watched a bazillion videos about keeping my display pest and contaminant-free, but how practical is it?
I do what I can to mitigate issues, but is it realistic for most hobbyists to keep a “sterile” marine tank? How many aquarists believe they have a strict protocol that supports a pest-free tank vs.. I do what I can.
- Live rock from the ocean or gulf?
- No Coral quarantine? Dip and slip it in the tank?
- One set of tools and tubs for water changes?
Just wondering if I am on an Island of 1.
Curious, if that is so - how are the tank-raised fish supposedly 'more healthy' than wild fish? FWIW, there are numerous diseases that science has/is trying to eradicate (polio, smallpox, malaria, etc etc) - doing so will not make humanity 'weak' Or?
I disagree. First, Ich can be deadly depending on stocking density as well as other reasons in an aquarium situation - thats why people had/have been trying to develop a vaccine in aquaculture situations.I don’t think this is a fair comparison. You are comparing a routine fish illness such as ich to the worst of the worst human illnesses.
A good diet, reduced stress, and exercise will not make a person more resilient to malaria (at least… I don’t think it will)
But all those things will help a person fend off a lesser illness, such as a cold.
I tend to think of ich along the lines of a cold for humans
uhhhh I think we might actually be on the same page here. What I was alleging is that fish health, like human health, will help you fight off something routine like a cold or flu (or ich, for that matter)I disagree. First, Ich can be deadly depending on stocking density as well as other reasons in an aquarium situation - thats why people had/have been trying to develop a vaccine in aquaculture situations.
However, I didn't say anything about ich, there are numerous illnesses that are deadly to fish. As to malaria, you're incorrect (not that it matters to the point of the thread) - nearly every disease from Influenza to smallpox to malaria will affect a poorly nourished human more aggressively than an extremely healthy person - look at the covid analogy - which people were at 'high risk'. I believe the same process works for fish.
Yes - but I think you might have missed my main point which was that I wasn't referring to Ich. I was referring to other fish diseases which may be more dangerous, and the goal of not having those 'things' in your tank is an advantage, and will not make livestock 'weaker'.uhhhh I think we might actually be on the same page here. What I was alleging is that fish health, like human health, will help you fight off something routine like a cold or flu (or ich, for that matter)
I wasn’t stating that being healthy can’t help you with malaria. My point was that being healthy can’t stop you from getting malaria. I may also be wrong on this.
Yes, fish do often die with ich. The question is, do healthy fish die with ich. I don’t believe so. I think ich kills fish all the time, what I don’t think is that those fish were healthy enough to defend it on their own.
I think people are too quick to point the finger at ich being the killer. A lot of these people ignore the fact that they have aggression in the tank, ignore the fact that the fish are competing for hiding spaces, ignore the fact that they feed sparingly to keep nutrients down, and ignore the fact that they go yank the fish out of the tank when it shows signs of ich and put it in a 20 gallon with nothing but a PVC elbow (stressing it much further) and then blaming ich as the killer.