How to introduce fish without quarantine

JasonK84 · Dec 8, 2018

joec said:
Per the mentoring of Hotrocks, I also use General Cure and Seachem focus mixed with food for 14 days (t0 cover internal parasites and worms) as part of my prophylactic treatment along with copper power for 30 days and two rounds of Prazi. You should consider it.

@HotRocks is very knowledgeable in fish disease treatment. IMO the must haves are copper and Prazi. Those are the basics and a good foundation to build on. Meds can be overwhelming when starting out. You will still have losses due to infections but it's not something that will wipe out your tank population like ich, velvet, uronema, or worms/flukes. Once you are comfortable with the copper and Prazi treatments then start exploring antibiotics for further success.

Also, a benefit of Live Aquaria is the 14 day guarantee. If the fish dies in that 14 day period they will credit you the cost of the fish. If an infection is present it will most likely be known within that period of time. That has been my experience anyway.

Be102 · Dec 8, 2018

JasonK84 said:
@HotRocks is very knowledgeable in fish disease treatment. IMO the must haves are copper and Prazi. Those are the basics and a good foundation to build on. Meds can be overwhelming when starting out. You will still have losses due to infections but it's not something that will wipe out your tank population like ich, velvet, uronema, or worms/flukes. Once you are comfortable with the copper and Prazi treatments then start exploring antibiotics for further success.

Also, a benefit of Live Aquaria is the 14 day guarantee. If the fish dies in that 14 day period they will credit you the cost of the fish. If an infection is present it will most likely be known within that period of time. That has been my experience anyway.

I guess the biggest concern with this is if you skip a qt then the disease will be transmitted to your tank regardless of the benefit on saving money on a newly purchased fish.

Do people qt but not add medicine during it and just say maintain a qt tank with a new fish without dosing anything at all? Or do all just start a dosing schedule soon as they can just for precautionary sake?

JasonK84 · Dec 8, 2018

Be102 said:
I guess the biggest concern with this is if you skip a qt then the disease will be transmitted to your tank regardless of the benefit on saving money on a newly purchased fish.

Do people qt but not add medicine during it and just say maintain a qt tank with a new fish without dosing anything at all? Or do all just start a dosing schedule soon as they can just for precautionary sake?

Both, some observe and don't medicate unless there are symptoms. This is ok if you know exactly what to look for and lots of time each day to observe.

Most I have encountered here that do QT medicate all fish regardless of symptoms because some fish can carry the parasite and show no symptoms but once the parasite is in the DT the more susceptible fish get the parasite and parish.

Fin · Dec 8, 2018

Dilan Patel said:
I use the fish quarentine dip its methlyn blue and i forgot the name of the green one.

I believe this is what you are referring to - "Safety Stop." I have started using this as a pre-quarantine dip with new fish. After dipping them, I will still keep them in QT, at least for observation. It is Formalin & Methylene Blue.

I get mine through Melev's Reef - http://www.melevsreef.com/product/safety-stop

http://www.melevsreef.com/product/safety-stop

Be102 · Dec 9, 2018

Fin said:
I believe this is what you are referring to - "Safety Stop." I have started using this as a pre-quarantine dip with new fish. After dipping them, I will still keep them in QT, at least for observation. It is Formalin & Methylene Blue.

I get mine through Melev's Reef - http://www.melevsreef.com/product/safety-stop

http://www.melevsreef.com/product/safety-stop

Do you have any experience with fish still harboring any sort of disease post dip of this formula?

Fin · Dec 9, 2018

Be102 said:
Do you have any experience with fish still harboring any sort of disease post dip of this formula?

Only a couple of fish through the process so far, but no. However, it is entirely possible that the fish in question were disease free when I got them. I use it prior to going into QT, not in my display.

Be102 · Dec 9, 2018

Fin said:
Only a couple of fish through the process so far, but no. However, it is entirely possible that the fish in question were disease free when I got them. I use it prior to going into QT, not in my display.

Do you dose anything since using this pre- qt or just have done this pre-qt and have not had anything of bad experiences.

Fin · Dec 9, 2018

Be102 said:
Do you dose anything since using this pre- qt or just have done this pre-qt and have not had anything of bad experiences.

I didn't QT for many years. I don't add that many fish either. A couple of the fish I had in my 140 before I tore it down are 10-12 years old. They are in another tank until I get my new one finished. So, only the last couple of years have I not just dumped new fish in my display. I have been lucky, no doubt. But now I will be more careful. The couple of fish that I did use the Safety Stop on needed no further treatment, but they appeared to be in good health when I brought them home.

I don't believe that Safety Stop is a cure all to prevent all diseases, but if it helps even a little, it is worth the minimal cost of doing it to me..

HotRocks · Dec 9, 2018

The problem is this day and age, there are so many things coming in on the fish. It "used" to be a fish here or there. It's only worsening with time. Now we are seeing fish come in with parasites + bacterial issues. It's tough to deal with.

Highly recommend QT with minimum prophylactic treatment of copper and prazi. Also treat for internal parasites. Here is a more detailed version of what I do. It's a good idea at a minimum to keep a couple antibiotics on hand as well.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/

scuzy · Dec 9, 2018

HotRocks said:
The problem is this day and age, there are so many things coming in on the fish. It "used" to be a fish here or there. It's only worsening with time. Now we are seeing fish come in with parasites + bacterial issues. It's tough to deal with.

Highly recommend QT with minimum prophylactic treatment of copper and prazi. Also treat for internal parasites. Here is a more detailed version of what I do. It's a good idea at a minimum to keep a couple antibiotics on hand as well.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/

I say if you don't quarantine it's Russian roulette. You may get lucky but one day you'll get the bullet.

As the price of each fish get more expensive for me the more I have vested.

Gem tangs, interruptus Angels, bandit angel and multiple high end fairy wrasses prices goes up. A slack in protocol could mean dead fishes. It's not worth it for me.

joec · Dec 9, 2018

Be102 said:
So am I a bad / un-educated/ lazy reefer to think that having a total of like 7 different medications for my fish tank a lot?

It seems very overwhelming and a lot of information to even begin to understand all of the medications. How common are other diseases other than the common ich/ occasional velvet outbreak?

What would even be the beginning step for someone like me? Other than having a 10 gallon tank with an extra heater / power head / random PVC elbow/ hang on back filter and a handful of different medicines

10G, heater, HOB, power head or airstone for prazi treatment, PVC, hanna copper checker, meds, thats what I have.

Copper treats ich and velvet, prazi external parasaites, GC with Seachem focus in food for internal parasites and worms. If you cover these bases, you should be pretty good. Nothing is absolute.

It can seem a bit overhwhelming at first, but once you get the process figured out, its easy.

Be102 · Dec 9, 2018

joec said:
10G, heater, HOB, power head or airstone for prazi treatment, PVC, hanna copper checker, meds, thats what I have.

Copper treats ich and velvet, prazi external parasaites, GC with Seachem focus in food for internal parasites and worms. If you cover these bases, you should be pretty good. Nothing is absolute.

It can seem a bit overhwhelming at first, but once you get the process figured out, its easy.

Would an air stone be a bad idea Incase of lingering medicine that’s left behind since they are hard to dry out ? I guess I should have one on hand for freshwater dips tho

joec · Dec 9, 2018

Be102 said:
Would an air stone be a bad idea Incase of lingering medicine that’s left behind since they are hard to dry out ? I guess I should have one on hand for freshwater dips tho

Prazipro can cause oxygen depletion. An air stone or a PH aimed at the surface counteracts this effect. Many people have used prazi with no air stone or PH with no issues

Be102 · Dec 9, 2018

joec said:
Prazipro can cause oxygen depletion. An air stone or a PH aimed at the surface counteracts this effect. Many people have used prazi with no air stone or PH with no issues

What is the use of a power head / air stone in a freshwater dip? How does a fish survive fresh water?

joec · Dec 9, 2018

Be102 said:
What is the use of a power head / air stone in a freshwater dip? How does a fish survive fresh water?

It keeps the water highly oxygenated. They survive just fine

Geebs19 · Dec 9, 2018

BitFix said:
I am planning my first reef tank, and plan on introducing 4 or 5 fish, but honestly have no space for a quarantine tank in my house. So,what's the best way to avoid any type of illnes in my tank without a quarantine? Just I freshwater dip or just drip acclimate and hope for the best?

Let me tell you about my last experience buying fish from a trusted LFS. I quarantined all of my fish prior to my lack Friday purchases. I purchased a royal gramma and a yellow watchman goby on Black Friday and knew they only sell fish that have looked good and have been eating so I threw them in my DT. Well that night I started noticing white spots on the royal gramma and since then haven’t seen him. Later that week the watchman goby disappeared. And now my prized clowns have ich from this royal gramma that I did not qt. Not worth it. Just find a qt and do it. I’m basically going to have to go fallow and restart my tank now. Not worth it and wish I could go back and qt the new fish.

jtl · Dec 10, 2018

I use the tank transfer method and Prazi Pro.

Dilan Patel · Dec 11, 2018

Fin said:
I believe this is what you are referring to - "Safety Stop." I have started using this as a pre-quarantine dip with new fish. After dipping them, I will still keep them in QT, at least for observation. It is Formalin & Methylene Blue.

I get mine through Melev's Reef - http://www.melevsreef.com/product/safety-stop

http://www.melevsreef.com/product/safety-stop

Exactly what I use. Been suing it for a year and a half and I won't jinx myself but I have had great success. I use it on all types of fish such as tangs(purple,clown and many more), clownfish,I just recently added a neon dottyback when I was home couple weeks ago and from what I hear he is doing really well, I have used it on multiple copperbands, wrasses and plenty of other fish. I can't say that I didn't see any lingering parasites as I had fish in my systems before I used safety stop but I can say that my fish usually don't show any signs of parasites. If This is a topic that you guys are interested I wouldn't mind doing a write-up on the product of my experience and what makes it effective vs regular quarantine(not trying to derail the thread at all just was asking

.

Cruz Mc5 · Dec 11, 2018

Dilan Patel said:
Exactly what I use. Been suing it for a year and a half and I won't jinx myself but I have had great success. I use it on all types of fish such as tangs(purple,clown and many more), clownfish,I just recently added a neon dottyback when I was home couple weeks ago and from what I hear he is doing really well, I have used it on multiple copperbands, wrasses and plenty of other fish. I can't say that I didn't see any lingering parasites as I had fish in my systems before I used safety stop but I can say that my fish usually don't show any signs of parasites. If This is a topic that you guys are interested I wouldn't mind doing a write-up on the product of my experience and what makes it effective vs regular quarantine(not trying to derail the thread at all just was asking .

I'd like to see that. I'm in the process of figuring out exactly what I'm going to do for my quarantine/fish introduction process.