To quarantine, or not to quarantine?

[SMSREEF]

If you quarantine, you will need one for fish and a separate one for snails/live rock crabs.

it’s a pain, but the parasite trophonts can survive on a snail shell for a long time, and if you put snails right into your tank with fish you quarantined, you could be introducing ICH or velvet that way.

I’m setting up my 60 this way. But it does take a lot of room and definitely more time intensive.

I bought a 10 gallon with everything (Heater, HOB filter, top, light) included from petsmart for $50. I just added a small powerhead for more flow.

 

[Qasimja]

I was never a QT person been in reefing for 16+ years then november my new build got velvet and took out all my fish now i QT everything whats my newest build has been up for a year before that i hadnt had a reef tank in 5 years ive noticed now fish in the supply chain have a lot more disease then ever before

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

You could always buy pre-quarantined fish. Let someone else do the work, but they cost a little more.

+1 on that, if your just starting maybe it's worth negotiating something with your LFS. Just buy in advance as u add ur livestock, but for $100 10g tank setup, probably worth doing it yourself and at least u got a hospital tank if u ever need it.

 

[Paul B]

I would never quarantine and I think it is the worst thing us old guys ever invented,
"But" in a new tank I "may" because a new tank started by a Noob will not be healthy no matter what you do and probably 95% of the time, you will lose fish no matter what you do.

After a few years, when your fish are healthy and if you feed correctly, in breeding condition, I would never quarantine again.

I and others have written volumes on this so you have a lot of reading to do.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Arsenix2001]

You could always buy pre-quarantined fish. Let someone else do the work, but they cost a little more.

My uncle did that from tsm aquatics. Paid a mucho premium too and his hippo tang came with ich, so not always a guarantee.

 

[Arabyps]

I don't quarantine but I believe quarantine needs to be done. My primary concern is the quarantine protocol used by the seller. As a result, I usually buy online from TSM Aquatics (30+ day quarantine) or Diver's Den which also has a rigorous quarantine program. I don't want to quarantine at home as I have read so many stories about fish not surviving the home quarantine. I have never had any issues with the 2 suppliers I mentioned above and they provide a guarantee - they stand behind their livestock. Having said that, if the LFS performs a proper quarantine which is at least 3-4 weeks with appropriate remedial medication, it should be OK. Based on my experience, most LFS do not and depend upon you to quarantine.

 

[VJM 21]

I’m also limited to space and I don’t know if I could convince my wife on the need for a second tank when I finally just won the battle of getting the 60g.

I had the same discussion with my wife 4 years ago... “Why do you need another tank?” Lol. She changed her mind after velvet completely wiped out my 75.

Using a reputable vendor like TSM might be a good second option if you’re only planning on a few fish. People who claim to have gotten fish with ich from them...sorry, but I don’t buy it. I’ve been in their facility. It’s state of the art and run by a marine biologist. It’s much more likely that ich was already in that tank.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

tuesdayd said:
"You could always buy pre-quarantined fish. Let someone else do the work, but they cost a little more."
there are a few vendors that sell only pre quarantined fish. quarantinedfish.us and marine collector being couple of them and you can google and r2r search more.

 

[K7BMG]

Marine Collectors is another good source for healthy pre quarantined fish.

 

[JCTReefer]

I would personally never trust a fish store to quarantine anything for me.
One more thing to think about. Whether you purchase fish online or at the lfs, keep in mind these places usually keep fish at sub therapeutic levels of copper. This can mask/suppress symptoms of disease. So a “Healthy looking” fish may display no outward symptoms. It doesn’t matter if it’s eating well or not. A lot of fish stores and online retailers have their tanks plumbed together also. This just adds one more factor in. And then you have some stores that have their coral and fish systems sharing the same water. Bad idea all together. As mentioned earlier, coral skeletons, frag plugs, rocks, snail shells, can all harbor fish diseases. So you bring that healthy fish home and then Boom, a few weeks later ich pops up, or worse velvet. You DO NOT want velvet in your system. Ich can usually be managed with fish that are healthy and have a thicker slime coat. On the other end of the spectrum, fish that have very thin slime coats like your Acanthurus tangs don’t fair well. Not that you’ll be adding fish from that genus to your tank, but it’s just an example. So whether it’s a 10$ damsel fish or a 4,000 interruptus, I’d treat them equally the same. They are our wet pets. It sounds like your leaning in the quarantine direction and I think that’s a smart decision! Here’s a method I’ve used many times with great success if you want to read about it.

Happy Reefing and Happy 4th!

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Regular_Reefer]

As an update, my tank finished its cycle about a week ago, I’ve been letting it continue to run and started breaking in the skimmer. I’ve decide to set up a quarantine tank and have purchased the following:
AquaClear filter
Air pump/air stone
Tubing
Seachem Ammonia alert tab
Small heater
PVC fittings for hiding

I’ve still yet to buy a tank (for some reason can’t find a basic 10gallon as they are sold out)

Am I missing anything and is there anything in particular I should get as far as dosing or preventative medication so on ...?

 

[Regular_Reefer]

Also what’s a good time frame to sit in quarantine before transferring to the display? ( mostly if they are not showing anything unusual)

 

[92Miata]

I quarantine and observe new fish.

I don't treat new fish unless I see a problem. In my experience with small sterile quarantines and copper, it does more damage than good. I have a 10 gallon all-in-one that stays up all the time with a skimmer/couple pounds of rock, etc, and any new fish gets a month or so in there. If I see problems, then they get treated.

 

[K7BMG]

I quarantine and observe new fish.

I don't treat new fish unless I see a problem. In my experience with small sterile quarantines and copper, it does more damage than good. I have a 10 gallon all-in-one that stays up all the time with a skimmer/couple pounds of rock, etc, and any new fish gets a month or so in there. If I see problems, then they get treated.

Exactly! I could not agree more.

 

[K7BMG]

Also what’s a good time frame to sit in quarantine before transferring to the display? ( mostly if they are not showing anything unusual)

30 days minimum.
Its also a good idea to use the water from your main display water changes as the water for your QT.

 

[Regular_Reefer]

I quarantine and observe new fish.

I don't treat new fish unless I see a problem. In my experience with small sterile quarantines and copper, it does more damage than good. I have a 10 gallon all-in-one that stays up all the time with a skimmer/couple pounds of rock, etc, and any new fish gets a month or so in there. If I see problems, then they get treated.

Did you cycle the quarantine? I don’t plan on adding anything other than some ATI QuickStart to help the bacteria and I added some bio media from my cycled display. I’m going to let the quarantine run for about a week before I visit the LFS, is that sufficient time. I’m assuming since it’s a quarantine to just monitor it more closely and do more frequent water changes if needed.

 

[K7BMG]

All tanks need to be properly cycled.

 

[dmh41532]

For me, it depends. I generally do not quarantine, unless I’m getting from an online vendor. I’ve been lucky to have a great lfs, with good healthy fish. Anything that comes online, I put in a tank, and simply watch for anything, only treating as needed.

 

[neiltus]

I usually run a tank as a fowlr for a year or so before I stock it with frags. During this period I am aquascaping, putting the fish that the tank needs into the tank in an order that makes sense. Once my fish load is stable for a few months with no additions and everyone gets along....then I add frags.

If I need to add a fish after I have added corals or inverts I may QT it. Depends on the fish, how much I have observed it prior to purchase and it's chances of being a 'problem'. It's subjective though.

I do use a couple 10 buck 10g tanks in a spare bathroom for this. I don't keep them running all the time, I just pull them out when I need em.