Quarantine or not to quarantine?

[bgilson]

I dont understand quarantining. Buy new fish, put in qt, 14 days later with no issues, put in dt, get ich. So what is the point.

 

[Jekyl]

I dont understand quarantining. Buy new fish, put in qt, 14 days later with no issues, put in dt, get ich. So what is the point.

That's not proper QT. You can find the correct method here.

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[bgilson]

That's not proper QT. You can find the correct method here.

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

So im suppose to give fish without any sign of sickness meds for up to 9 weeks?

 

[Jekyl]

So im suppose to give fish without any sign of sickness meds for up to 9 weeks?

@Jay Hemdal put that together and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to make the article. I am not the person to speak on quarantine as I don't do it. I've tagged him now so hopefully he can pop back in to have a better discussion.

 

[nereefpat]

Quarantining without any meds is an option. However, 14 days isn't long enough for that method. Ich, like in your example, can show up after that if copper isn't present.

There's also the possibility of the new fish being fine and the display harboring disease.

There are lots of different ways to QT, but quick with no meds is pretty risky.

 

[bgilson]

Quarantining without any meds is an option. However, 14 days isn't long enough for that method. Ich, like in your example, can show up after that if copper isn't present.

There's also the possibility of the new fish being fine and the display harboring disease.

There are lots of different ways to QT, but quick with no meds is pretty risky.

I had all my dt fish for about 6 months. Decided to add two. No issues in qt. Moved to dt 2 days later a couple spots. Stress caused im assuming.

 

[nereefpat]

I had all my dt fish for about 6 months. Decided to add two. No issues in qt. Moved to dt 2 days later a couple spots. Stress caused im assuming.

A couple spots might not even be ich.

What kind of fish? Are they behaving okay? Eating well? Any pics?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So im suppose to give fish without any sign of sickness meds for up to 9 weeks?

The short answer is YES. The long answer has to do with your risk aversion. Short observational quarantine is useless for diseases like Neobenedenia that don’t even show up for a month or more. You can have a subacute case of ich that lasts for months, then you move the fish to your DT and they all get sick - OR nothing bad happens, you’re just rolling the dice.
Even ourquarantine method isn’t 100%, but it is much better than any observational period.

Jay

 

[bgilson]

A couple spots might not even be ich.

What kind of fish? Are they behaving okay? Eating well? Any pics?

Convict tang, naso tang, sailfin tang, and scribble box fish. Dont have pics at the moment.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I dont understand quarantining. Buy new fish, put in qt, 14 days later with no issues, put in dt, get ich. So what is the point.

Risk Management is the point.

No one forces you to do anything.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Convict tang, naso tang, sailfin tang, and scribble box fish. Dont have pics at the moment.

Invest in a good UV and run it 24 hours a day. It's not a fix all, but will go a long way to stopping ich period.

 

[Tamberav]

I dont understand quarantining. Buy new fish, put in qt, 14 days later with no issues, put in dt, get ich. So what is the point.

14 days isn’t long enough.

I had ich show up in an observation tank on week 5. Fish appeared fine before that.

 

[HomebroodExotics]

Quarantine is mostly to prevent disease but there's so many more reasons to quarantine. This is the time to get your new fish that is probably emaciated and scared to get acclimated to tank life. During the quarantine process you teach your fish what to eat and who you are. Get them healthy before introducing them to the real world.

2 months in their own tank these fish went from skinny petco fish to spawning. If I introduce them into another tank I have no concerns for these fish now. They started out extremely skittish and hiding. Now I feed them by hand while they beg and have babies. So anyway quarantine is about a lot more than preventing disease but it will prevent disease if you do it correctly.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

14 days isn’t long enough.

I had ich show up in an observation tank on week 5. Fish appeared fine before that.

14 days can be long enough to ensure the fish is eating and appears healthy. I'm in the camp of "many tanks have ich" (not "most") and that keeping the fish fat and happy can keep them healthy regardless.

 

[Tamberav]

14 days can be long enough to ensure the fish is eating and appears healthy. I'm in the camp of "many tanks have ich" (not "most") and that keeping the fish fat and happy can keep them healthy regardless.

Many fish already check those boxes off at the LFS.

OP specifically mentioned ich and 14 days. 14 isn’t enough to rule out ich. That is all my comment means.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

2 biggest fear are ich and velvet, if you wanna avoid just those 2, one can observe without meds in a tank for 45 days and move to main if nothing shows up.