Who do you trust / when to skip quarantine

[pseudorand]

AlgaeBarn raises live stock in tanks that have had nothing wild for years and should therefore be clean. Reef cleaners has fish free systems, so their inverts shouldn't be carrying fish diseases.

Do folks who follows the "QT anything wet" philosophy trust those vendors enough to make exceptions when restocking CUC? Any other vendors folks trust?

I'm asking because I usually buy from AlgaeBarn, but they've been out of the inverts I want for a while, so I'm shopping around.

What about BIOTA and ORA tank bred fish? Does anyone who usually QTs stuff from the LFS skip QT for those?

 

[Jilly92]

I dont trust anyone anymore after what I've dealt with the past couple months. Its stressful and expensive. I also lost a clownfish

 

[pseudorand]

I dont trust anyone anymore after what I've dealt with the past couple months. Its stressful and expensive. I also lost a clownfish

I understand if you don't want to rat out a vendor, especially if you can't be sure where a problem started, but who did you buy from, what did you buy, how did you introduce it and what happened to your tank?

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Just sharing....

https://quarantinedfish.us/

 

[Homebrewer]

Just a comment that people mean different things when they say “Quarantine” - isolation vs pre-treatment of some sort vs a defined regimen (many threads on that).

Anyway, I just ordered two new additions from TSM Aquatics. May not meet the standards of some on here, but it is at least a layer of assurance beyond the typical zero QT I do (or don’t do).

 

[Jilly92]

I understand if you don't want to rat out a vendor, especially if you can't be sure where a problem started, but who did you buy from, what did you buy, how did you introduce it and what happened to your tank?

My clownfish was one of the first things to go in my tank once it was cycled. I noticed some coloration missing off the white in his pattern, almost like little divet holes. I didnt think any thing of it really just some birth defect. So in he went. I got some zoas from lfs and they had green little what I thought to be sweepers hahaha so in they went, they were covered pretty good in aptasia that someone had clipped real short. Got some more corals and 2 firefish, all from lfs so far. Got some live rock also from lfs it was green and covered in green hair algae, I thought that meant it was a good rock to have so much life on it haha. So I got some clean up crew, a lawnmower blenny and some hermit crabs, some snails, a banded coral shrimp. Things are going good just some residual diatom outbreak and now the hair algae. The clownfish starts scratching in the sand, then the firefish follow. Went on vacation picked up a tube anemone and rockflower nem get them in the tank and a couple days later I see red goo in the sand all around my tube anemone, which I thought could be some war slime from the tube nem fighting frogspawn and other aggressive corals in the tank bahaha and a few more days the slime is about a 4 inch circle around and spreading, im still dealing with it, cyanobacteria. So then my clown starts getting these red bumps under his lip and becoming sluggish, theyre all still scratching in the sand and my firefish are yawning so I post a thread on here asking for help and someone suggested it might be flukes. So I did a freshwater dip until I made my mind up to use chemicals or not. I end up getting api general cure. Dosed and followed directions accordingly. The next day my clown seems braindead and doesn't eat the following days staying hid in the rocks. My firefish are fine as is everything else. My clown passes in about a week, didnt eat until the day before he died and under blue light I could see a faint white glow line from his lip to his gill.

 

[flampton]

AlgaeBarn raises live stock in tanks that have had nothing wild for years and should therefore be clean. Reef cleaners has fish free systems, so their inverts shouldn't be carrying fish diseases.

Do folks who follows the "QT anything wet" philosophy trust those vendors enough to make exceptions when restocking CUC? Any other vendors folks trust?

I'm asking because I usually buy from AlgaeBarn, but they've been out of the inverts I want for a while, so I'm shopping around.

What about BIOTA and ORA tank bred fish? Does anyone who usually QTs stuff from the LFS skip QT for those?

If I could buy a fish directly from ora or biota id skip QT however once that fish goes some place else it's no longer clean imo

I trust reef cleaners and ipsf as both run fallow for inverts

 

[lakai]

Quarrantine everything wet and Only trust yourself. No exceptions.

 

[shew]

is it true that liveaquaria diver's den does quarantining before shipping out?

If I could buy a fish directly from ora or biota id skip QT however once that fish goes some place else it's no longer clean imo

I trust reef cleaners and ipsf as both run fallow for inverts

Planning to get my first clownfish directly from ora!

 

[Jilly92]

My clownfish was one of the first things to go in my tank once it was cycled. I noticed some coloration missing off the white in his pattern, almost like little divet holes. I didnt think any thing of it really just some birth defect. So in he went. I got some zoas from lfs and they had green little what I thought to be sweepers hahaha so in they went, they were covered pretty good in aptasia that someone had clipped real short. Got some more corals and 2 firefish, all from lfs so far. Got some live rock also from lfs it was green and covered in green hair algae, I thought that meant it was a good rock to have so much life on it haha. So I got some clean up crew, a lawnmower blenny and some hermit crabs, some snails, a banded coral shrimp. Things are going good just some residual diatom outbreak and now the hair algae. The clownfish starts scratching in the sand, then the firefish follow. Went on vacation picked up a tube anemone and rockflower nem get them in the tank and a couple days later I see red goo in the sand all around my tube anemone, which I thought could be some war slime from the tube nem fighting frogspawn and other aggressive corals in the tank bahaha and a few more days the slime is about a 4 inch circle around and spreading, im still dealing with it, cyanobacteria. So then my clown starts getting these red bumps under his lip and becoming sluggish, theyre all still scratching in the sand and my firefish are yawning so I post a thread on here asking for help and someone suggested it might be flukes. So I did a freshwater dip until I made my mind up to use chemicals or not. I end up getting api general cure. Dosed and followed directions accordingly. The next day my clown seems braindead and doesn't eat the following days staying hid in the rocks. My firefish are fine as is everything else. My clown passes in about a week, didnt eat until the day before he died and under blue light I could see a faint white glow line from his lip to his gill.

So a big thing is do your research. Know algaes and common disease and behaviors before you go out buying. Dont trust anyone lol

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I trust Elliot from Marine Collectors and New Wave Aquaria (mpls MN)

 

[CelestEel]

I quarantine before adding anything. If something goes wrong I can get ahead of it before it becomes a problem.

 

[thewalkingdad]

If I could buy a fish directly from ora or biota id skip QT however once that fish goes some place else it's no longer clean imo

I trust reef cleaners and ipsf as both run fallow for inverts

Some fish that LiveAquaria sells come directly from ORA.

 

[mike550]

I think it’s always better to put fish into a quarantine tank if you can. The bigger debate is whether to just observe the fish or do you pro-actively treat.

 

[Billldg]

Corals, no one, Fish, no one.

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

I live in an area with high quality specialty LFS for marine fish and coral. Some of them have a 2 week treatment QT prior to fish sale, a couple dont. I’m in most of them often and know the owners and employees. I observe, discuss what they have seen etc... then I wait. I watch the fish eat. Then I wait. If it’s gone, oh well. After a couple weeks in a tank with no issues and solid reports, I’ll buy it, float for 30 minutes, into the display tank. It’s definitely a gamble. I’ve been lucky but have taken calculated risks and been patient, and I buy no livestock online ever. I have to see the fish and see it again, and see it again. Quarantine is still the safest route, but if you develop a system and know what to look for and what questions to ask than your risk goes down..... some. If I had to get fish online based on my area I would definitely QT all fish. Sometimes I don’t even dip my coral if it’s from someone with a great tank in my club. If it’s from a shop, I do a quick dip 80% of the time. Inverts get the float and drop.

I’ve lost 2 fish. One jumper on an older tank before I knew better and had a screen, and one died during drip acclimation which was the last drip I’ll ever do.

Lots of opinions , most of us aren’t marine biologists, and just find a routine that works.

Quarantine is never a bad idea. But I’m not gonna lie and say I do it. I am in a situation where it’s not super high risk, but definitely not 0 risk.

Happy reefing to all!

 

[Coralsdaily]

I'm happy with my recent purchase from TSM, and their policy is 30 day quarantine in medicated water.

Why TSM?

TSM operates a large aquatic super store, with over 6,000 sq. ft of saltwater fish and coral. The facility was built to receive, quarantine, and house the highest quality marine life. Here at TSM we understand that the key to a successful aquarium begins with healthy livestock, and we pride...

tsmaquatics.com

 

[Coralsdaily]

But outside of TSM, yes I quarantine anything wet.

 

[flampton]

The logistics of my situation is unfortunately can’t maintain a QT. So buying inverts from fallow tanks, dipping corals and scrubbing plugs, and buying fish from quarantidfish with the prophylactic treatment.

 

[kpoj9]

TSM is the only source I trust. I wish I had space/energy to setup QT for invertebrates and coral. Only QT fish.