Quarantine for the clean-up crew

[DiamondDog1030]

Hi,

My first attempt at the hobby and my 15-gallon tank just finished cycling, getting diatoms and all that good stuff. I was going to get CUC from an LFS, but was wondering if getting them from a quarantine vendor is worth an extra hour drive. That quarantine vendor does not have cerith snails, so I wanted to ask if there was a way to quarantine them without a separate hospital tank? Or is it not worth it for the first batch?

Any advice is welcome, and thank you for your time.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Ordering online can save you the drive. Vendors like reefcleaners.org use fishless systems to prevent transmitting fish parasites.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Ordering online can save you the drive. Vendors like reefcleaners.org use fishless systems to prevent transmitting fish parasites.

I was recommended in my thread, too. Heard some bad stories about DOA, and depending on the weather. California is on a bit of a hot streak compared to its usual weather right now.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

To reframe the question, the LFS that quarantines livestock has trochus and nassarius snails. I also wanted to add cerith snails to my CUC. Since the ceriths don't have any known quarantine on them, is there a way to do it without a separate tank?

Also, is it too early to get a shrimp?

I also tried Reef Cleaners and got this for step 4.

 

[Fish Fan]

To reframe the question, the LFS that quarantines livestock has trochus and nassarius snails. I also wanted to add cerith snails to my CUC. Since the ceriths don't have any known quarantine on them, is there a way to do it without a separate tank?

Also, is it too early to get a shrimp?

I also tried Reef Cleaners and got this for step 4.

With ReefCleaners you would need to purchase $50 worth of livestock minimum, like mentioned in your error above.

My new go-to for CUC guys is from @coralmonsters.judy from CoralMonsters in Florida. She has great prices and service, and nice, big CUC snails. She should have all the snails you're looking for, and I believe they are also kept in fish-less systems, though if not 100% sure. I'd reach out to Judy here at R2R and see what she can do for you.

You could also get the snails you want locally, add them to your tank now, and then wait at least 45 days (60 is better) before adding fish to the tank, and in that time any fish parasites the snails may have on them will die off without a fish to complete their lifecycle. At that time you can safely add fish.

It should go without saying that if you are concerned with biosecurity that you will also be either purchasing pre-quarantined fish, or QT'ing your fish yourself

Good luck!

 

[DiamondDog1030]

With ReefCleaners you would need to purchase $50 worth of livestock minimum, like mentioned in your error above.

My new go-to for CUC guys is from @coralmonsters.judy from CoralMonsters in Florida. She has great prices and service, and nice, big CUC snails. She should have all the snails you're looking for, and I believe they are also kept in fish-less systems, though if not 100% sure. I'd reach out to Judy here at R2R and see what she can do for you.

You could also get the snails you want locally, add them to your tank now, and then wait at least 45 days (60 is better) before adding fish to the tank, and in that time any fish parasites the snails may have on them will die off without a fish to complete their lifecycle. At that time you can safely add fish.

It should go without saying that if you are concerned with biosecurity that you will also be either purchasing pre-quarantined fish, or QT'ing your fish yourself

Good luck!

I see, that makes more sense. I don't think a fresh cycled 15 gallon would need enough clean-up crew to warrant $50. I will have a look at CoralMonsters, though just buying them here and waiting is sounding more appealing (No shipping costs and controlling when I get to do it). Didn't think about playing the waiting game with fish parasites.

There is a store in Oakland that pre-quarantines fish so I will probably go there when it finally comes time for fish.

Thanks for the advice @Fish Fan @Dread Pirate Dave