quarantine

[tidefanjam]

when starting a new tank, should i quarantine the first critters I'm going to put in it?

 

[TheEngineer]

If they are just inverts, not necessarily if you aren't going to add fish for 76 days. Wouldn't hurt to get into the habit now though

 

[Mike_J]

I agree, developing best practices now will only serve you well down the road.

 

[tidefanjam]

i have a biocube 14 that i got used and was gonna be my DT until i decided to go bigger with my 65, should make a perfect quarantine tank.

 

[malira]

The issue is if you put in fish that are infected you can't treat them properly in you DT. They will have to be put into a quarantine tank anyway. But now your DT must go fallow for 76 or 78 days. So 5 weeks QT is better than 11 weeks QT and fallow.

 

[mcarroll]

when starting a new tank, should i quarantine the first critters I'm going to put in it?

Probably, but can depend on other things.

Firstly, if you're a beginner, you should not be buying livestock online/sight-unseen. That livestock is likely to require more rehabilitation than livestock you might acquire locally. As a beginner, there's no good reason to go that route if you don't have to.

Can you buy locally?

Second, beware of the concept of keeping a sterile tank. None of the biosecurity methods we use are likely to be foolproof at all. (Look in the threads here for proof....failed qt's, failed ttm's, et al get reported more or less all the time. They aren't foolproof.) If this is your whole strategy, you will eventually be very disappointed.

The purpose of QT that is generally overlooked or glossed over is to allow and foster the recovery of the fish and their immune system. Also to allow shedding of any parasites during that process.

Ideally, a fish (or fishes) that comes down with something should have separate treatment facilities....a hospital tank. Using one tank for QT and hospital is limiting....again not something a beginner should sign up for it they don't have to.

And please only consider 10 Gallon tanks for tiny nano-fish. A 15 Gallon would be a much nicer minimum and 20 Gallons works even better. If you're dealing with typical reef fish like Tangs, I'd suggest at least a 30-40 Gallon. The hospital tank can be smaller since the fish are not usually in the tank for a long time, but I've never used smaller than a 20 gallon so there's at least some capacity to treat larger fish. Use your judgement.

The title is intimidating, but don't let that stop you from clicking!! This guide is awesome and really only a dozen pages or so (over three parts). I think everyone should read it:
Fish Health Management Considerations in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems series

They go over QT's and the rest of the concerns (stres, nitrition, et al), including links to other more specific disease guides.

To quote the introductory paragraph of Part 1 (remember: you are a fish manager!):

"Any manager of fish health seeks to achieve two goals:

• to maximize immunocompetence in fish populations; and
• to reduce or eliminate potential pathogens (i.e., parasites, bacteria, viruses and fungi) in culture systems.

These two goals are best achieved through understanding and following the principles of preventative medicine."

Preventive medicine means before disease presents.