To QT or not to QT

So I guess where I was going with my original thought was that on forums the majority posters seem to be pro QT, but I think it is only because the pro QTers are louder than the non QTers.

 

Kind of like people against illegal activities, vs. those who participate

Besides the obvious reason to QT to avoid bringing diseased fish into your DT, I really think the best reason to QT is to be able to monitor the new fish; what they are eating, how much, how their behavior is, and obviously inspect for disease. These are things not easily done if they are put into a large DT with live rock for them to hide right in. I have 10-15 different kinds of foods 'in stock', so by being in a small QT I can easily tell if a fish will actually eat it or not. It can take a fish a few times before they will actually try something new anyways. If you can get them to like different foods in the QT, then getting them to eat in the DT will be no problem.

On the other hand, if there are a number of other fish (and CUC) who already like the food you are putting in the DT, the new fish may not even be able to try it before it is gone. This would leave you trying to overfeed the tank to see if they will eat it. All of this is my opinion of course, but I really see this as the big reason to QT new fish.

 

Everything seems to be opinion in this hobby. That's why it gets so frustrating sometimes, especially as a newbie, to find a straight answer. I can ask five experts in the field about a topic and get at least three, sometimes five, different responses.

I'm not sure what was meant by the illegal activity comment.

 

I hear you there! This most certainly is a hobby of opinion. I can tell you that I have not found one expert against QT's; just some that advise against a bare bones QT for certain fish. But you will find hundreds of successful aquarists that never QT. So there you go.

Sorry for being vague! I meant that those doing something illegal won't go telling everyone about it, for obvious reasons. Seemed an appropriate comparison at the time anyways.