The Drop and Watch Method: Realistic or destined for disaster?

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

Patience is a virtue, or so says everyone who's been in reefing for more than a few years. But sometimes, that box on your front porch that reads, "LIVE ANIMAL" or that insane sale on your favorite vendor's website makes you think wild thoughts. So let's talk about the "Drop and Watch" method for introducing livestock. And I'm not just talking in terms of quarantining, but taking a chance on fish who are known for aggression or munching on other lifeforms in the tank, etc. Is it a realistic way to approach reefing, or will it ultimately result in disaster? Let's discuss!

 

[Idoc]

Impulse buying is a real problem. People are setting themselves up for failure if they don't do a little research prior to making a purchase at a local fish store. A quick look at liveaquaria (or another fish sales website) while looking at that pretty fish, crab, etc... at the fish store would save so much grief for many people.

But, local fish store owners should be asking the appropriate questions to buyers prior to bagging that fish up for a quick sale. If someone doesn't have puffers but wants one spontaneously, it wouldn't hurt to let the buyer know that this puffer is going to clean out any snails or shrimp they may have in their tank already!

 

[Isaac Alves]

This is a question of whether good 'husbandry' habits should be part of reef keeping. Or is brazen "fish look pretty, me want" mentality acceptable and we just want to be the first to say that I found an organism that bucks it's instinctive behavior AND I don't know why.

What's the fable-but-not-a-fable about the Mongoose and Rats in Hawaii?
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/mongoose-urva-auropunctata/

Even if it doesn't result in disaster are we doing right by the animal's potential well-being?


Have we learned nothing from the Alien franchise?!

 

[NanoSteam]

Both...

If I buy from local spot then I drop acclimate. If it's an online order it's temp acclimate and plop right in as to avoid an ammonia spike from PH rising to fast.

 

[vlangel]

I checked a little bit of both. I am not an impulse buyer when it comes to fish and inverts. I did some of that in my younger days and prefer to avoid those painful outcomes. I don't even go to look at fish/inverts unless I have already researched what is a good fit for my aquarium and inhabitants.

However, I am not a fan of QT. I have tried it in the past but have the most success keeping new inhabitants in an acclimation enclosure in the tank with macroalgae in the enclosure. I watch them for a few days and if they are adjusting and eating, then I release them. That has worked really well for me.

 

[BryanM]

Other:

I really try now to research my fish. I take chances with reef safe with caution fish if I can see they are already in a tank with corals and are known not to munch... Not perfect, but it has served me well thusfar.

Was told a red coris wrasse was reef safe, i don't know in what world they are, that fish cost me $50, was gorgeous, killed at least $1000 in livestock, and cost me $200 to hire a company to get it out of my tank.

Research, research, research.

I never dump unknown tank water in my tank, I always acclimate, and usually dump the new fish in a bowl and scoop them out in to my tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Patience is a virtue, or so says everyone who's been in reefing for more than a few years. But sometimes, that box on your front porch that reads, "LIVE ANIMAL" or that insane sale on your favorite vendor's website makes you think wild thoughts. So let's talk about the "Drop and Watch" method for introducing livestock. And I'm not just talking in terms of quarantining, but taking a chance on fish who are known for aggression or munching on other lifeforms in the tank, etc. Is it a realistic way to approach reefing, or will it ultimately result in disaster? Let's discuss!

I didn't know this was a thing! Not quarantining new fish carries with it a HUGE risk. Dropping in new fish that have just been shipped to you is also very risky as they are stressed and possibly in shock, leaving them vulnerable to attack by the existing fish. Many LFS hold their fish at low salinity, so even those fish, moved up to higher salinity in your DT, are going to be stressed (even with careful acclimation).

So, let's say the fish have been fully quarantined and now you want to add them to your tank. The question then becomes - do you use an acclimation box, or just put them in the tank and hope for the best? IMO - these small acclimation boxes are overused - fish get very stressed out when they are held in a clear box at the surface of a tank, and can beat their snouts up, etc. A tank divider is a much better option if you can rig one; the new fish on one side, the other fish on the other, wait a few days and pull the divider. Another trick is to add a number of new fish at once - that defuses the aggression and spreads it across a number of fish, not just one. However, in some cases, all that results in is massive mayhem (if you chose really poor tankmates).