Do you agree with Paul B's method (no QT) ?

[i cant think]

I don't know. My Latin is a little rusty. What is the common name of E bimaculatus?

My dragonette is much fatter now as that picture was a couple of weeks ago. I have two of them pregnant like that along with a Mandarin. Those things are always pregnant.

E. bimaculatus is the Twinspot Blenny

Great to hear about the dragonets! Hopefully someday my spotted mandarin gets that fat.

 

[To(meany)Tang]

If you look at what you buy why QT? If the thing looks not healthy it is not healthy.

This can be misleading because I actually just had that experience. Went and bought a clownfish from the lfs and it was swimming super healthy with 10 other clownfish in the tank and none of them were showing any symptoms or lethargic.. after bringing the clown home and qt a few days later he broke out with brooklynella. Every sign at the store pointed to a healthy fish but as mentioned in other posts. Diseases can lay dormant. My worst fear would be if something ended up in my DT with a hidden velvet or something worse.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I agree with him, I have not quarantined and so far so good.

 

[Troylee]

This can be misleading because I actually just had that experience. Went and bought a clownfish from the lfs and it was swimming super healthy with 10 other clownfish in the tank and none of them were showing any symptoms or lethargic.. after bringing the clown home and qt a few days later he broke out with brooklynella. Every sign at the store pointed to a healthy fish but as mentioned in other posts. Diseases can lay dormant. My worst fear would be if something ended up in my DT with a hidden velvet or something worse.

Were you just observing him or treating the tank with chemicals and copper?!?

 

[i cant think]

Honestly, I don’t bother with QT and in my 10+ years never have. I’ve never faced a disease badly as any healthy and non-stressed fish WILL fight off a disease. My tanks have risky fish but I’ve never QTed and never will.
I’ve found QT to kill more fish than it helps and I really avoid it as often as I can even when I work in the LFS I avoid it as a thriving fish wI’ll take on a disease and most tanks will have Atleast 1 fish disease/parasite if not several yet look how many people are keeping them thriving. You’ll never have a sterile tank unless you QT sand, rocks, fish, inverts and coral. A dip does nothing to fish diseases on corals.

For anyone wondering, this is an FTS of my iffy tank. I have fish that are known for being parasite magnets and having problems in this tank. None of them have given me issues and the reason why is I’ve made sure they are healthy in the LFS. If it looks like it’s doing badly then I do ignore the fish.

 

[Tamberav]

@Paul B does your LFS get the fish trans shipped in to them and not from a wholesaler?

They have the best prices.

 

[zoomonster]

Interesting and old thread. Short answer is no I have not quarantined in 30+ years. Have there sometimes been issues yes. I do try and pick healthy fish although most come from mail order these days and lately latched onto a quality drop shipper. Just like dipping all my corals in iodine and/or CoralRx I take precautions with fish too and have employed a variety of fish dips/soaks (copper, freshwater, malachite blue, paraguard etc.) over the years. Beyond that point it's up to natural selection. Yes, I have lost a few fish, but I ended up with strong specimens that have lived years. Like some MD's on here have said people are playing a dangerous game with some of the antibiotics people advocate these days. And copper, especially in fish shops, is way overused and does little more than suppress.

 

[Tamberav]

Were you just observing him or treating the tank with chemicals and copper?!?

how do we know the LFS wasn’t treating then with chemicals and copper?

Treating with low levels of medications is a LFS tactic to make fish appear healthy to sell them.

So the whole of “it looks healthy” is completely LFS dependent.

 

[atoll]

how do we know the LFS wasn’t treating then with chemicals and copper?

Treating with low levels of medications is a LFS tactic to make fish appear healthy to sell them.

So the whole of “it looks healthy” is completely LFS dependent.

Even when an LFS uses UV the likes of itch is still there.

 

[52728299]

I've had a close call with velvet, it took out a lemonpeel and midas blenny, I was able to save a melanarus wrasse and 2 ocellaris with copper treated qt. Ever since then I qt my fish and no disease outbreaks since. For me its more about protecting the tank from disease and disease being brought in infecting the other, healthy fish. My tank is still less than a yr old but my experience so far has been no qt, disease outbreak, with qt zero outbreaks. I wont risk it ever again. I have a naokos wrasse 10 days into copper treated qt right now and hes doing so good, not the easiest fish to run through copper but i believe this will give him the best chance at a healthy life.

Pretty sure Paul buys pre-qt'd fish these days tho (fishotel).. he can correct me if I'm wrong..

 

[Tamberav]

I've had a close call with velvet, it took out a lemonpeel and midas blenny, I was able to save a melanarus wrasse and 2 ocellaris with copper treated qt. Ever since then I qt my fish and no disease outbreaks since. For me its more about protecting the tank from disease and disease being brought in infecting the other, healthy fish. My tank is still less than a yr old but my experience so far has been no qt, disease outbreak, with qt zero outbreaks. I wont risk it ever again. I have a naokos wrasse 10 days into copper treated qt right now and hes doing so good, not the easiest fish to run through copper but i believe this will give him the best chance at a healthy life.

Pretty sure Paul buys pre-qt'd fish these days tho (fishotel).. he can correct me if I'm wrong..

those fish from Fishotel were not QT, they came from that vender but Paul asked that they simply be sent to him without QT. He could not find the pipefish local and Fishotel was able to get them

 

[vlangel]

I agree with Paul B and now do not QT. I have tried it in the past and lost more fish that way than I ever did with just reducing stress and feeding them well in my reef system. The way I reduce stress is to put them in my 30 gallon sump tank, which only has a clownfish and pistol shrimp. There they can acclimate to my water and I can observe them and get them eating well before they go into the more competitive display. That has worked well for me.

 

[Paul B]

Like some MD's on here have said people are playing a dangerous game with some of the antibiotics people advocate these days. And copper, especially in fish shops, is way overused and does little more than suppress.

Zoomonster, antibiotics are of course very dangerous and I believe just about all stores medicate fish. They have to because they want to sell them, not keep them alive very long.
There is a reason you can find no old tanks where the fish were medicated or quarantined for a long time.
Us Geezers found out a long time ago how to keep fish from getting any disease and we don't have to worry about it.

I only get involved in fish diseases on these forums.

Pretty sure Paul buys pre-qt'd fish these days tho (fishotel).. he can correct me if I'm wrong..

Actually, I will pay more for un-quarantined fish and do not want to put any quarantined or medicated fish in my tank as I feel they are not very healthy and certainly have lowered if any immunity.

 

[To(meany)Tang]

Were you just observing him or treating the tank with chemicals and copper?!?

Just observing. Then I started to treat when the symptoms showed. Idk if it had to do with the lfs having established tanks and me only having a bare bottom with the essentials or the fact it got separated from its group and stressed out but. I feel like a parasites or disease will show easier if they are a hit stressed. I like to use that opportunity to figure out exactly what's wrong so I can treat with the proper meds.

 

[Paul B]

Diseases can lay dormant. My worst fear would be if something ended up in my DT with a hidden velvet or something worse.

My worst fear is varicose veins, kidney stones, world hunger, global warming, Justin Beiber,
Taylor Swift getting old, male pattern baldness and the heartbreak of psoriasis.

 

[To(meany)Tang]

My worst fear is varicose veins, kidney stones, world hunger, global warming, Justin Beiber,
Taylor Swift getting old, male pattern baldness and the heartbreak of psoriasis.

I love that dry humor of yours haha. Everything is preventable with the right treatment

 

[GarrettT]

I don’t believe in quarantining. Observation, sure. People just need to stop

1. Opening up their rock work
2. Overstocking (limiting space)
3. Mixing incompatible fish
4. Feeding low quality foods less frequently

 

[Paul B]

I love that dry humor of yours haha.

It's only dry when I don't have my hands in my tank.

 

[To(meany)Tang]

It's only dry when I don't have my hands in my tank.

Or when your psoriasis is acting up lol

 

[mckinney0171]

Never quarantined a single fish. Never had an out break. I don’t have the room or patience to deal with a quarantine tank.