The Other Way to Run a Reef Tank (no Quarantine)

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Paul B

Paul B

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good to know i thought it soaked up with the frozen cubes for some reason
Nope, not at all. Selcon is an oil and oils just float off wet things. If you really feel the need to feed Selcon, you can put it on some dry pellets or freeze dried foods, but I wouldn't bother as it is not needed.

Maybe if you keep live worms in it they will suck some up, but I think that will just make the worms healthier or maybe make them dance better. I really don't know
 

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Jason, first of all, you have to shave your head. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

If your tank is fully quarantined you can of course keep it like that if you like and many people run tanks like that. It isn't easy to get a quarantined tank to a natural tank and I never did one.

I think you should just feed live food like worms at least a few times a week. It doesn't have to be every day and shouldn't be their entire meal. Don't use any dry foods, not even "Quality pellets".

But you can if you are going away and someone is watching your tank. I doubt your fish will eat it if they have been eating real food but all fish are different and some pellets certainly won't hurt them.

IMO clams are the best all around food but not from an LFS which may have been irradiated to kill microorganisms and frozen during the last Ice Age. If you can get fresh or freshly frozen clams, thats best, by far.

Your fish should get very healthy and start to fill with eggs.

Hiding places need to be natural looking and tight so the fish feels secure. They really need to be out of your sight and they can see you just as you can see them.

They also may not like what you are watching on TV so watch a lot of National Geographic but not where the penguins are eating fish. Fish hate that. :oops:

Don't clean the substrate to much, leave a little mulm or detritus and don't clean the back glass. Let grow anything that wants to grow.

Never add chemicals. You shouldn't need bacteria in a bottle, Vibrant, Roaphas, Chemi Clean etc.

Just seawater and the correct food.

Good Luck
Paul
Hi pual, I have tried to find white worm starter cultures but haven’t found any accessible to me here in Australia. However i did find grindal worms that I got a few days ago but they seem to have died in shipping as they didn’t seem to be moving and haven’t eaten any food. I am waiting for lfs to get black worms in and will try culture those. I have a new tank with 2 two clowns that I didn’t quarantine and I have been using natural sea water. I have been feeding mostly frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp but what would the next best thing besides the live worms be to stop my fish getting diseases.
Thanks.
 

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Hi pual, I have tried to find white worm starter cultures but haven’t found any accessible to me here in Australia. However i did find grindal worms that I got a few days ago but they seem to have died in shipping as they didn’t seem to be moving and haven’t eaten any food. I am waiting for lfs to get black worms in and will try culture those. I have a new tank with 2 two clowns that I didn’t quarantine and I have been using natural sea water. I have been feeding mostly frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp but what would the next best thing besides the live worms be to stop my fish getting diseases.
Thanks.

my bet is clams from the market
 

Dom

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Thank you Paul for sharing your experiences.

I am a firm believer in QT. And after reading your post, I find your reasoning sound.

But I would also say that once you travel down the road of QT, you cannot switch over to your method as the existing fish population in the tank would be decimated.
 
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I have been feeding mostly frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp but what would the next best thing besides the live worms be to stop my fish getting diseases.
Thanks.
Shellfish like clams, mussels, or oysters. Fresh would be great but you can freeze them and slice off paper thin slices.

But I would also say that once you travel down the road of QT, you cannot switch over to your method as the existing fish population in the tank would be decimated.
That is true.

Would whole frozen white clams from the sea food market be good?
It would be better if you froze them yourself because you don't know how long they have been frozen, but it is better than nothing if that is all you could get.
 

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Hi pual, I have tried to find white worm starter cultures but haven’t found any accessible to me here in Australia. However i did find grindal worms that I got a few days ago but they seem to have died in shipping as they didn’t seem to be moving and haven’t eaten any food. I am waiting for lfs to get black worms in and will try culture those. I have a new tank with 2 two clowns that I didn’t quarantine and I have been using natural sea water. I have been feeding mostly frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp but what would the next best thing besides the live worms be to stop my fish getting diseases.
Thanks.
You can try eBay or Etsy or anything else. Maybe contact the seller to see what they can do.
I think this seller doesn’t have Australia in their non shipping countries. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3038566743...MIzpiT8e7E-QIVacLCBB3HOAMSEAQYAyABEgIlmfD_BwE
 

Miami Reef

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I love quarantining,

But I still have ich. I’ve accepted that it’s going to be a normal part of owning a reef tank for me.

Yes, eradication is possible, but the devil is in the details. Meaning you can do everything right and still get it. Even the pre quarantined vendors can one day have a slip up. It’s just not feasible to break down a tank every time to try eradication.

I’d never suggest management to a reefer though, nor eradication. I am deciding this for myself and I’ll let others decide for themselves.

So I still QT my fish for the bad things that aren’t as prevalent (velvet, brook, flukes) but ich is something that I won’t tear a tank over.

Let’s see how this works for me… :)
 

Stigigemla

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As a boy i found Enchytrae when i was looking for worms to use to catch fish.
They wore between the leaves and grass in a compost and it was about 100 worms to one Enchytrae.
I am pretty sure You can start a culture from a few Australian similarities.
 

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As a boy i found Enchytrae when i was looking for worms to use to catch fish.
They wore between the leaves and grass in a compost and it was about 100 worms to one Enchytrae.
I am pretty sure You can start a culture from a few Australian similarities.
So should I find these worms myself? I live in the rainforest would it be worth a try trying to find some and starting a culture?
 

Stigigemla

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In a rainforest it maybe will be diificult. With a lot of rain all the rests of old leaves will be washed away but if someone has a compost for old grass cuttings from their lawn it could be a chance there.
I found and started a culture. Why shouldn´t You?
 

CB06

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In a rainforest it maybe will be diificult. With a lot of rain all the rests of old leaves will be washed away but if someone has a compost for old grass cuttings from their lawn it could be a chance there.
I found and started a culture. Why shouldn´t You?
Ok I will try and find some. I have a compost bin full of worms that are fed fruit scraps has anyone ever fed fed worms out of compost bins to fish?
 

Stigigemla

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When I had cichlids i sometimes used worms to feed the biggest. It was great in order to get them to spawn.
But in this case they are clear to white 1 millimeter thick and 10 to 20 millimeter long.
 

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When I had cichlids i sometimes used worms to feed the biggest. It was great in order to get them to spawn.
But in this case they are clear to white 1 millimeter thick and 10 to 20 millimeter long.
Sorry bit confused are the ones I’m looking for clear to white 1 millimeter think and 10 to 20 millimeters long. And also do u think I could feed one’s from my compost bin?
 

Stigigemla

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I don´t know what kind of fishes you have. It is of course possible to feed Predators of 8 inch or more with usual worms.
I believe Paul B has written about how he chopped up worms to feed fishes.
I would not feed the fishes white worms from the compost bin. It is just way to much work.
But maybe you can find 4 - 6 individuals and propagate them and feed the fishes when you have hundreds.
 

CB06

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I don´t know what kind of fishes you have. It is of course possible to feed Predators of 8 inch or more with usual worms.
I believe Paul B has written about how he chopped up worms to feed fishes.
I would not feed the fishes white worms from the compost bin. It is just way to much work.
But maybe you can find 4 - 6 individuals and propagate them and feed the fishes when you have hundreds.
Ok so I should grab some worms out of the compost and set up a little container and makes a culture with those?
 
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