To quarantine or to not quarantine?

AlexTheReef"Pro" · Jan 23, 2015

Hey everyone!! I've had my 24 gal for about two months going on three. I have had 1 flame angel pass away from ich, and 1 of 2 clowns die from brooklynella (and I know because he had heavy slime coating him). On the other hand I treated 1 clown and now he's better than ever, but is currently in QT being treated while another clown & chromis reside with him. While I was treating the fish, my impatient bro made me buy 4 chromis & 1 clown and 1 cleaner wrasse (so in total I have 7 small fish, (3 in QT & 4 in DT)) my question is...is my bio load too much for the nano? And also, should I release my fish from the QT to the DT now? They've been there for like 3 weeks & my siblings are actually telling me that they have to "get down on one knee" so I can finally let em' go to the DT. I'm not too fond of that as I've learned that cryptocaryon is a mean deceiving parasite that takes 8 weeks for it to die for sure with no fish in the DT. What should I do? The chromis don't seem to get it, but I'm afraid they are carriers too. Should I catch them & treat them too? Any replies greatly appreciated. Thank y'all!!

rayn · Jan 23, 2015

Any fish that is in the DT and has been exposed to ich is a carrier. If not in the visible form on the outside body, maybe on the inside of the gills. Once ich starts going through its life cycle it can become impossible to stop without a fallow DT.

One...QT all your fish and wait it out. This is the best method in my opinion.
Two...Go ahead and put all your fish in the DT and hope for the best. Remember here though you are risking them and may loose some or all.

Personally I think you are maxed out or over your bio load for a 24. Even if they are small fish, they are crowded to me. This will only add to the stress in the tank and the onset of ich if it isn't dealt with ahead of time.

AlexTheReef"Pro" · Jan 23, 2015

Thank you for this! I'll have to be firm and tell them it'll be another two months. They want to throw me out of the house. I'll get my net to get them all set up. Not gonna be fun but I don't want my reef to crash due to overcrowding & disease. It's just not right for the DT to be contaminated already. I'll keep up the post see how it'll do.

ca1ore · Jan 24, 2015

I simply do not understand why anyone would oppose quarantining their fish. To me it's a no brainer.

AlexTheReef"Pro" · Jan 24, 2015

Hmm, all very helpful answers. The hardest part is convincing my siblings honestly. They just "need to see" a fish in a fish tank that's their problem, not mine.QT is an essential part to any successful & broad reef IMO & I have no problem letting the tank run without fish. But I think they're gonna win I can't convince them they are pretty set on buying even more fish. I'm just sitting here burning alive man. Even the questionable LFS assistant guy may sell it to them (not the owner he won't he knows his stuff). Idk how much maintenance I'll have to do if they go through with it :/ I need a bigger tank to avoid disaster.

rayn · Jan 24, 2015

Actually a bigger tank invites more disaster. More fish, more stress, more disease, more death. Sounds to me like you need your own tank and let them run with this, if thy won't be a bit more patient. Then you can QT and have healthy fish, while they wonder why theirs keep dying off.

kgk · Jan 24, 2015

I put two unquarantined angel fish in my DT, and am now dealing with a nasty fluke infestation. Flukes are nasty. You don't want flukes.
Quarantine.

WindeyD · Jan 24, 2015

I feel it is our responsibility to do the best we can to insure the best care of our livestock and there is no arguing that proper quarentine provides just that. Doing things quickly/impulsively is never good for the animals or the long term success of your system.