who here quarantines their fish first??? and who doesnt??

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by crystal, Mar 4, 2010.

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  1. pgoodsell

    pgoodsell Horrid Stonefish

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    I have never QT anything in any of my tanks. I had 1 fish with ich in my current tank, none of the other fish got it, and a couple of days feeding food soaked in garlic and it got better too. So Im not afraid of Ich. I have had it a couple of times in other tanks and never treated and have not lost one fish to it yet. I agree with Peredhil if you get healthy live stock there really is no need to QT.
     
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  3. Screwtape

    Screwtape Tonozukai Fairy Wrasse

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    I hate to seem like the forum warrior on this one but there are lots of other diseases and parasites that can kill fish besides ich. You've been lucky so far but there's no guarantee your luck won't run out some day.

    How can you be sure you're getting healthy livestock unless you purchase them and watch them long enough for all diseases and parasites to manifest themselves? Anything less and it's just a guess, and a risk.

    Obviously lots of people are successful playing the guessing game but some people are going to get burned and lose a lot of livestock and cash. Just browse this forum long enough and watch the tank build threads, you'll see even in the last month or two hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of fish died due to not quarantining and a disease wiping out most of the tank.
     
  4. pgoodsell

    pgoodsell Horrid Stonefish

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    Very true. I try to watch the fish at the store for a day or two, so I guess they are QT'ing it for me. And yes I have been lucky with some fish I just bought and put in. But in 2 years and 2 different tanks, so far so good.
     
  5. sharkyshark

    sharkyshark Spaghetti Worm

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    after seeing my 150 crash (not b/c of not QT)

    i'll always qt from now on

    tanks (30g) are so cheap, a filter's like $15, then just a jug or 2 of salt water..

    they are still your fish, you can still look at them and feed them, dont be so selfish as to risk killing everyone else

    after waking up each morning to pull hundreds of dollars of deadness out of my tank every day for an entire week, you get smart real quick.. .

    ($ for QT $$$$$ DT)
     
  6. pgoodsell

    pgoodsell Horrid Stonefish

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    Sorry to hear about your loss Sharkyshark. That sucks.
     
  7. crystal

    crystal Skunk Shrimp

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    well i have decided not to quarintine my fish before i buy them but i will buy a hopsital tank in case they get ill.
     
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  9. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    my forum warrior response ;D

    There are a few topics in the forum that some folks seem to think you will fail if you don't follow the way they do it. QT, RO/DI, WC, sump are some examples I've seen around here. Some swear by using chemicals as the only way to achieve success, adament views on how to cycle, etc. That's all fine and fun. But for anyone to act like any particular method is the only way of achieving success makes me question every other bit of advise they have. No one way. And to suggest only one way can work is extremely narrow minded IMO.

    Anyway, my final piece on this, QT's are good advise and beneficial and in some situations necessary. But not across the board and if you don't use one, there are other things you should do (like monitoring before you buy and not ordering fish from the net for example). But they are absolutely not necessary to keep your DT from crashing.
     
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  10. greysoul

    greysoul Stylophora

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    I only buy from one trusted LFS.

    They get fish on Tuesdays. I go in and see what's new. If I see something I like they will hold it for a week - 10 days to make sure it's over shipping shock.

    They acclimate the fish to their tanks, which are treated with copper, anti-fungal meds, and anything else they think they're gonna need.

    I keep my tank as close to the exact parameters as the LFS, so other than some temperature adjustment, a 10-15 minute drip acclimation has worked find so far.


    I also don't buy fish that look unhealthy or are not eating at the LFS.

    The only exception has been the Mandarin I just got because there's no pods in the LFS water... as soon as he was in my tank he gorged himself on pods.

    -Doug
     
  11. boostindoo

    boostindoo Astrea Snail

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    ive thought about this a lot before and read and read and read.....soooo.... my first fish, a clown, my cycle was almost over and i decided he was gonna help finish the cycle. so i didnt qt him, i bought him from an awesome lfs. clowns are pretty hardy also.

    my second fish, a y tang, ive read they are ick prone and i guess are pretty sensitive. i didnt qt him. i felt that having him in a qt that would of been 10-20g would of stressed him further. i asked the lfs to hold him for 3weeks. looked good and was eating, grazing so i picked him up and acclimated him.

    my third fish, an african cleaner wrasse, didnt put him on hold but watched him the same period of time was also put in without qt. acclimated him and put him in. the moment he went in, the tang was buggin him for cleanings which was really cool.

    i asked my lfs if i should quarantine and they said most of the time it is good to qt. i wouldnt buy fish without looking at them for atleast two weeks and if i did buy something of the internet or on impulse, i think i would definitely qt....great thread btw
     
  12. veedubshafer

    veedubshafer Banned

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    No QT for me. Have considered setting up a QT and will probably do so in the future.