Of course we are getting along. We are talking about fish, not space shuttles or Supermodels. I eat fish almost every day. Besides, Humble can probably take me in a fair fight because I am older then dirt.
Most Noobs (I am not really talking about you Humble, but your still a Noob
) make too much out of this. It doesn't matter what strain of parasites you have or how long their life cycle is or what books they read. All creatures have an immune system, even parasites, and they need to be in contact occasionally to become immune from them. I don't know if any of you SCUBA dive but if you do, bring a microscope with you the next time you do and you will see the sea is filled with parasites and fish encounter them every 17" they swim. (I guessed at that distance, it could be 19")
Also in the sea fish eat mostly smaller fish or pieces of smaller fish after a larger fish chops them up for the,. Those prey fish are filled with parasites in their gut. (cleaner fish "live" on parasites) Fish are designed to deal with those parasites because they get them at every meal. A fishes kidney is huge and that's where most of it's immunity occurs unlike us who have bone marrow, lymph nodes and emergency medical rooms.
Fish are better suited to process parasites then us because they live in water and parasites can swim better then they can fly so we don't encounter as many parasites and the diet of most Americans is potato chips and beer so they have little to be concerned about when it comes to parasites.
But if you eat fresh fish a lot, not Mrs Pauls Fish Sticks you can see the parasites and worms very often in freshly caught fish. The guy in the fish market cuts them out if he sees them but they are there in most fish. They are a normal, natural part of fish and don't harm them. They enhance their immunity.
Fish are not delicate but reading these forums you would think we would have to go to church and make a Novena every time we put one in our tank.
Fish just want to be in a natural setting, I know as I can read their mind. They do not like pristine, crystal clear water with nothing floating in it especially small fish who are planktonfores. (I can't spell that and spell check has no Idea)
My smaller fish sit all day watching for tiny particles and they sample the ones that look like Tator Tots.
They want meaty food with bacteria in it, preferably something that was in the sea this century and not something dry, processed, pasteurized flattened and put in a can that reads "Dolphin Safe" with a shelf live in four years.
Fish also do not want to be in fake seawater that is changed every week. Older water is much better and healthier because all the things in seawater add substances to water, especially algae that everyone thinks is a curse. When this hobby started we used to treasure our old, green water and never change too much of it.
Look at fish in a new tank with all new water. Do they look healthy? Look harder. No, they don't. If new water was so good why do the fish look so bad, why do their colors fade? Why don't we change 100% of our water all the time? Try it and see if your fish keep texting you. ;Wideyed
Just a passing thought on QT, if the fish you have bought looks fine and you want to qt it then why not just put it in a separate tank and leave it alone for a period to see if it does develope something then treat as necessary? Just some ramblings, not approved by anyone..
