is quarantined fish worth it?

AquAttila · Feb 27, 2021

No fish goes into my DT without going into my QT tank first for about 8 - 10 weeks. 2 weeks observe fish, make sure it eats, then Prazi 2x treatment (about 2 weeks) then start 6 weeks copper treatment. The one thing I wish I knew about this hobby is how quickly things can go south fast when you put a sick fish in an established tank. There is only one place I trust to quarantine their fish and worth the extra money, that is TSM. I am lucky to have them fairly driving distance so I see how well they take of fish and strictly quarantine.

My advice... if you have the room, set up a QT. It is so worth it! it's a pain yes, just another tank to take care of but when you put that fish in your DT you will be confident that it doesn't have any parasites. A few months ago I purchased a Gem tang, 4 days in my QT it broke out with Ich - immediately treated - now it is doing great in my DT. I have a regal in my QT now - noticed it was acting strange (twitching head), sign of flukes. I started treating with Prazi and already showing improvement. Just some examples. I think most fish you buy these days will have something.

Klyle · Feb 28, 2021

I'm in the process of setting up a qt tank in my basement. My dt is a year old, I have 4 fish and a handful of corals. So far I haven't quarantined anything that's went in my tank and have been lucky as far as my fish go. I haven't dipped any corals either. I have micro brittle stars, asterinas, a mushroom coral, and branching hydroids that have all hitch hiked into my system. (I started with dry rock) At this point, after seeing the things that have managed to find their way into my tank, I refuse to put anything else in there that hasn't been properly qt'd, observed, and treated / dipped or whatever. I've rolled enough dice with this tank, I'm quitting while I can still break even.