No QT = RIP? Do you quarantine your new fish?

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

We care a lot about our little slices of salty heaven, and adding a new member to the reef is always exciting! But we all do it a little differently. Maybe you believe you should always quarantine new fish to reduce the risk of a mass fishy flushing, or maybe you feel confident enough that your fish supplier is taking care of business before you receive your plastic bag of joy that you don't even think twice before introducing your new friend. Wherever you fall on this spectrum, I'm curious to know:

Do you quarantine your fish? Why or why not? Share your experience!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I always proactively quarantine unless the fish is delicate "one off" and won't be mixed with existing fish. Essentially then, those fish are "quarantined" by virtue of being isolated from other fish. As a public aquarium administrator (partially retired), for decades, I had to meet Association of Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) accreditation requirements that all new animals MUST be quarantined unless exempted by a veterinarian (which they almost never do).

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

 

[PNWoffroader]

I have 10 gallon tank plumbed into my sump its a sort of a refugium setup, Normally I have macro algae with some rock ruble. So when I buy a new fish I throw them in there with super slow flow so I can watch them and make sure they are feeding. The fish stay in there for a few weeks maybe a month or 2 until they get fattened up and happy then I move them to the main display.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I learned this lesson the hard way. I have a qt tank ready to go at all times now. Even fish that have been qt’d at the store can get stressed and breakout with ich or velvet weeks later. Tank bred fish may be an option to not having to qt.

 

[LPS Bum]

After losing an entire tank to Velvet many years ago, I’ve QTd every single fish I’ve purchased since. And while it’s not foolproof, it has worked, as I’ve never had a disease outbreak since.

Plus it gives the new fish a chance to settle in and fatten up before having to integrate to the main displays.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I qt every fish myself now. I learned the value of quarantining early on after an ich outbreak. I also don't really trust LFS quarantine. I had a bad experience buying quarantined fish from an LFS and I got velvet. It wiped out most of my tank in a couple days, many fish I had for several years.

 

[Cool tangs]

High quality UV, after too many failures with QT, I won't QT again. Have personally had great success with UV. But as I say got to be high quality and rated for marine... Not cheap!

Got to do what works for you though, some have success with QT others don't. I'd also say buy from a reputable supplier. Not the supplier infested with diseases. In Australia it's a requirement for vendors to QT fish anyway for at least 2 weeks, so most the time fish here are pretty clean.

I've definitely had a big outbreak in the past though and UV helped the fish survive.

I found even with hard work of QT copper and TTM that it was easy to also introduce parasites from live rock or corals. So if you go down the QT path only, QT your corals, rock, fish, inverts, anything that touches your main display. Yes you'll most likely have more success just QTing your fish, but it ain't bullet proof. I'd still run UV even if I QT'd.

Sadly as home aquarists we are not all able to do things on a commercial scale or have the expertise.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

If I had the space for a QT tank, I would set one up.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I have 10 gallon tank plumbed into my sump its a sort of a refugium setup, Normally I have macro algae with some rock ruble. So when I buy a new fish I throw them in there with super slow flow so I can watch them and make sure they are feeding. The fish stay in there for a few weeks maybe a month or 2 until they get fattened up and happy then I move them to the main display.

So the system isn't actually separated from the main display?

 

[corosato]

I only buy fish that ship directly from Biota or ORA at this point so I do not quarantine. if I was going to buy something I cannot get that route I would buy it pre-quarantined, I don't have the spousal approved space for a QT tank right now lol

 

[rhitee93]

I QT fish, but don't have a way to do that to coral, so there is a significant hole in my disease fence.

 

[Paul B]

I never quarantine and have not in about 45 or so years. (I may be off either way 5 years) :anguished-face:

My fish almost always die of old age and a couple of them are over 30 years old. I keep all my fish immune from seemingly everything and none have died of a communicable disease in decades.

I also don't buy quarantined fish on purpose as I believe quarantining and medication shortens their life span.

Of course if I get a fish for free that is near death, it may die.
My reef will be 54 years old in March. (give or take a year) :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Dburr1014]

Years ago I didn't QT.
I added a few fish and the whole tank had ich. It was I nightmare for me and the fish. I lost the new additions and the rest were crammed in a 20 tall. This is including my purple tang.

Since, I QT everything. How I do it is different depending where or what it is.

The shortest I've done was 2 week observation.

The longest were my bellus angels, a failed copper(fish were not eating and had uronema) and went the TTM method. That was 8ish weeks. They are healthy and in the display I'm happy to report.

 

[josh57]

I purchase pre quarantined fish from Dr. Reefs. Also shout out to them. Fish always come healthy. And if there’s any issues they take awesome care of you. Might be cheating a bit since I’m in the same town and don’t have to have them shipped.

I don’t quarantine corals which I know is a risk. I just don’t have the time or ability to have a second coral only tank. I’m strongly considering adding UV to help mitigate the risk some on my new tank.

Mostly worried about velvet/brook as I’ve had two complete wipeouts from this. Learned my lesson after the second time.

 

[goosemans]

If I had a huge tank with 30+ fish I’d probably quarantine.
I’ve never quarantined and never had a sick fish.
I will never buy a fish
1. Not from a reputable vendor
2. Known ich magnet
3. Difficult care/feeding requirements
4. Fish that will outgrow my current tank

I think those four things has helped me minimize risk for not quarantining.

 

[sc50964]

QT is a must for me. Otherwise it’s just a big gamble. These marine animals are delicate and expensive. If QT is done right, it will give them the best chance to live out their lives in captivity IMO.

 

[Narideth]

I QT corals, especially if the frag plug they came in on is absolutely filthy - even after I've moved them to a new plug. I've caught several nasties that survived dips - including aiptasia which is of course the number one. I take sometimes brutal steps to keep that one out. :face-with-head-bandage:

Fish, even though I've had an entire freshwater tank lost from new fish before (a very sad few days) I do not QT. Mostly because my tanks are small and if a new fish is being added, it's to an empty tank or an existing 1-2 fish.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Nope, tried QT and had more losses than not doing QT. Spent nearly 20 years not qting, got out of it for a few years and started to QT off and on between 2018-2020, higher losses during the process turned me off to it.

I just stick to know good fish sourcing anymore.

 

[JayM]

I didn't up until all hell broke loose and half of them died. So it's now a "must do" for me even though I'm not totally convinced that it's absolutely necessary.

I used to think like many others - "I don't have room", but have found that to be very untrue (most of the time). A 10 gallon tank takes up less than 2 square feet of space, and I've successfully used it to treat 6 fish at once. Certainly not ideal, but very doable.

 

[threebuoys]

I always QT with copper for 30 days, then prazi pro for a couple of weeks. Prior to the medications, I observe the fish in QT until I am comfortable they are eating. Very easy to do. I have not encountered any problems. I do it to condition the new fish in case it has ich, and, just as importantly, to protect the fish in my DT. Not only would they be expensive to replace, but the replacements would also need years of growth to catch up to the ones I have now. Not worth the risk to not QT.