New to the hobby, kinda scared by the discussions here

roccomorra

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I am just getting ready to setup my 40 gallon breeder AIO. I have a 10 gallon tank for qt purposes. It kinda feels a little scary to face the fact that any fish or coral I purchase must be assumed to be diseased in some way and in need of immediate treatment. I am prepared to do this and hope I can do it properly. I will follow the guidelines set here, any other insight or help is greatly appreciated.
 

Isopod80

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Don't assume you have to automatically treat everything. Quarantine can simply be a period where you monitor animals for signs of problems and treat if necessary. Some prefer to treat fish with therapeutic levels of copper, for example, during quarantine others only do so if necessary. Corals should also be dipped prior to placement in the display tank.
 
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SPR1968

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It depends on the source of your livestock, Ive never quarantined as I trust the LFS and they’ve always said I don’t need to

If you can’t trust your source then of course it’s a good idea, but there must be more fish killed by doing quarantine procedures than anything else.
 

Isopod80

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It depends on the source of your livestock, Ive never quarantined as I trust the LFS and they’ve always said I don’t need to

If you can’t trust your source then of course it’s a good idea, but there must be more fish killed by doing quarantine procedures than anything else.
I agree but unfortunately the number of truly trustworthy lfs with legitimate qt procedures are few and far between. I can't remember the last time I walked into a lfs without being able to easily point out at least a handful of obviously sick fish. Unfortunately, the supply chain in this hobby is filthy. Always has been.
 

Miami Reef

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I vouch for treating ALL fish before entering tank as if they were infected. Why? Because some fish can develop an immunity to parasites. That doesn’t mean they won’t get infected, but it does mean they can carry the parasites without showing symptoms.

It’s not as common, but it can happen. Especially with mandarin gobies. You’ll almost never ever see ich on the outside.
 

Sean Clark

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Don't be intimidated. The fact that you came into this with a QT tank puts you in the higher end of the hobby. The scary part is not that you are assuming that everything is infested or disseized, but realizing that you put something into your tank without QT and now the rest of your livestock is at risk. Some people skip QT and have great luck for a while and then "Pop n Drop" person no longer post because they won't post their fails.

Yes, you could pop n drop and hope that everything is ok. Personally, I would rather know that everything is ok than hope that it is.
 

Isopod80

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I vouch for treating ALL fish before entering tank as if they were infected. Why? Because some fish can develop an immunity to parasites. That doesn’t mean they won’t get infected, but it does mean they can carry the parasites without showing symptoms.

It’s not as common, but it can happen. Especially with mandarin gobies. You’ll almost never ever see ich on the outside.
Yeah, I understand your point as well. It's one of those debates that's been going on for decades. Some treat automatically and have success others simply monitor and have success. I also agree with SPR1968 that many fish don't survive some qt processes that quite possibly would have at least if they weren't treated during qt. I guess it's a matter of preference but I think at least some form of qt is important.
 

Sean Clark

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The problem with QT tanks is that they are treated as temporary or that you can insta-tank your QT. Think about it. You need a solid foundation before you add fish to your reef tank. Why would you change your standards for you QT tank? A QT tank should be as stable as the reef that you plan on adding the livestock into.
 
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Isopod80

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The problem with QT tanks is that they are treated as temporary or that you can insta-tank your QT. Think about it. You need a solid foundation before your add fish to your reef tank. Why would you change your standards for you QT tank? A QT tank should be as stable as the reef that you plan on adding the livestock into.
You're right. I think that's a big part of it as well. People not giving the QT tank enough time to mature and stabilize after the initial cycle.
 

Sean Clark

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You're right. I think that's a big part of it as well. People not giving the QT tank enough time to mature and stabilize after the initial cycle.
I see this as a large part of why people have negative QT experiences. This is very similar to new immature tank experiences.
 

MarshallB

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I am just getting ready to setup my 40 gallon breeder AIO. I have a 10 gallon tank for qt purposes. It kinda feels a little scary to face the fact that any fish or coral I purchase must be assumed to be diseased in some way and in need of immediate treatment. I am prepared to do this and hope I can do it properly. I will follow the guidelines set here, any other insight or help is greatly appreciated.
Think of it more like insurance. Depending on where you buy your fish and coral your risk may be low, however there is still a risk. The more money you put into your tank, the great impact that small risk may have. Just take it slow. Take your time. If you are going to QT then make sure your QT tank is cycled and ready to hold life for an extended period. Many, including myself, end up killing otherwise healthy fish due to a immature QT system.
 

Sean Clark

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Think of it more like insurance. Depending on where you buy your fish and coral your risk may be low, however there is still a risk. The more money you put into your tank, the great impact that small risk may have. Just take it slow. Take your time. If you are going to QT then make sure your QT tank is cycled and ready to hold life for an extended period. Many, including myself, end up killing otherwise healthy fish due to a immature QT system.
This is such a perfect analogy. Well stated MarshallB
 

Miami Reef

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The problem with QT tanks is that they are treated as temporary or that you can insta-tank your QT. Think about it. You need a solid foundation before you add fish to your reef tank. Why would you change your standards for you QT tank? A QT tank should be as stable as the reef that you plan on adding the livestock into.
I don’t see my QT like this. I need my QT to be as sterile as possible. Dirty water can interfere with fish’s immune system and some medications degrade with biofilm, rendering them ineffective.

If I was only observing fish in QT I would still sterilize, but after 3 batches because as I said above, some medications (prazipro and metronidazole) don’t work well in established tanks. I need my QT ready in action for the event I get an outbreak (which is more likely than not).
 

Squidward

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Actually that is real good that you're scared. If you qurantine your livestock you will have less problems in the future. Most hobbyists never learn about qurantine or don't even practice it. That's something this hobby doesn't promote enough. I believe it's as important as cycling your tank. Having a disease free tank is well worth it and then some.
 

MabuyaQ

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Don't be afraid or you will never learn. Qt procedures are necessary in this hobby no matter the source. The difference is to what extend as this is very dependant on the source. Being Dutch we clearly have a very different supplychain than the US so most fish only need to be monitored for 30-60 days in a qt without any treatment (yet I prefer to freshwaterdip most new fish on arrival) and corals need to be dipped and if clean can be placed in sight in the tank. Occasionaly a fish or coral may need treatment in qt though.
 

Zionas

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Even if I wanted to do a full QT, a lot of the treatments aren’t readily available in my part of the world. I live in Asia (China). For example, if something like uronema gets in my tank I won’t be able to find Methylene Blue easily to treat it. Anything SeaChem has to be acquired through importers on Taobao.

This makes me extra keen on getting CB livestock (I’d go that route anyway, disease or not), avoiding certain species altogether, and using UV. In this regard, breeders like Bali Aquarich are really a boon to me. There’s a dealer in Hong Kong that sells Rod’s Food, so I can cross the border and get it but I’ll have to buy large quantities at a time. The logistics of constant back and forth trips is exhausting.

I also avoid fish that are hard to get trained to eat pellets and flakes, because my frozen food options are basically anything Hikari, which has to be sourced online at times. If I have to go for periods without frozen food (or even access to fresh seafood from the supermarket), my fish have to eat something.

There’s also so many different schools of QTing ranging from the full HumbleFish protocol to an observational QT with the main purpose of fattening the fish up before going to the DT.
 
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For your first fish you can get captive bred from live aquaria they’re quarantined which means a little bit extra $ for corals though you have to trust your LFS. I bought some corals from live aquaria and my LFS the difference is crazy due to live aquaria corals having magnitude of hitchhikers and aiptasia on them compared to my LFS. So I wouldn’t recommend corals from them.
 

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