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

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

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. Screwtape

    Screwtape Tonozukai Fairy Wrasse

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2008
    Messages:
    2,289
    Going through and addressing each point is going to get messy so this is what I'll say generally (not feeling particularly form-warriorish today :) ).

    A QT is about mitigating obvious risks. It's not a perfect solution, but it can catch a lot of problems before they are introduced to a tank and there are several benefits to it. Not everything will exhibit itself within a month but a lot of things will.

    It's not terribly difficult or expensive, it's a small fraction of the cost that most people spend on their tanks and some people actually already have all, or most, of the equipment necessary and just don't do it due to impatience/laziness/other reasons etc.

    I do think it's completely different putting a fish into a tank by itself and dumping it in with other fish it has to compete with. Lots of fish are intimidated by other fish, not all obviously, but it could definitely benefit lots of fish by not having to go out and join in the feeding frenzy that happens in a lot of people's tanks or having to find a new spot to sleep when they get kicked out by an established fish. That's stress, and is a lot different coming out of a bag with a couple cups of water in it than being quickly and carefully being transferred from a QT tank after being nice and fat and being coddled for a month.
    Also as a side note I don't think a lot of people really understand what a fat fish looks like, especially because it's different for a lot of different types of fish, a tang will carry fat a little differently than a goby will. I rarely see what I think is a fat fish in any LFS around here, obviously this will vary regionally but just a case in point. All of the posts of people feeding fish with high metabolisms (tangs/wrasses etc) 3 times a week are kind of disturbing to me.

    I still do not agree that a properly setup QT will unduly stress the fish and provides more benefits than it has drawbacks.

    As for having fish held at an LFS, unless they do not introduce any new fish into that system the whole time they're holding the fish for you it's not the same as a quarantine. They can catch something the day before you come and pick it up.

    I think you're taking my arguements a little too literally or are misinterpreting my intention here in suggesting that I'm saying the ONLY way to do it is to QT. I'm saying the safest way to do it is with QT, anything else is not doing everything you can to ensure a healthy system. There are obviously lots of people that don't QT and do so successfully, and I've stated that before, but there are lots of disasters that happen because QT wasn't done, or wasn't done properly and safely.

    Also I was not exaggerating about the statistic of 100s-1000s of dollars of fish lost. GTS's build thread is all you need to see. Also check out ChingChai's 1000 gallon tank on RC, he lost most of his fish due to not quarantining as well. Of course the larger the tank the higher the risk.
    Honestly for a 30g tank with 2-3 fish I'm not sure I would advocate QT'ing as much, it's still a good idea if you can though! Your risk is much lower due to lower number of fish being introduced and you're only putting a few fish at risk.

    In the end I'm not trying to scare people into QT'ing, or take a hardline stance that if you don't QT you're going to lose all your fish, that's ridiculous. I'm just trying to inform people that it's really not that difficult and there are a lot of benefits to doing it.

    Now for my one form-warrioring statement (which means take it with a grin and a bucket of salt please). If anything I think the anti-QT crowd is scaring people away from QT saying that one extra move a month apart from the last move is going to stress the fish out so much that it's going to keel over instantly. ;D
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. Click Here!

  3. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2008
    Messages:
    5,176
    Location:
    Texas

    There's probably a lot of truth in that... for those reading this thread, that is not my intent.


    I think, if anything, screwtape and my biggest disagreement is on where the line is that would make QT worth the effort.

    It's a great thread :)
     
  4. Screwtape

    Screwtape Tonozukai Fairy Wrasse

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2008
    Messages:
    2,289
    True, I think it's easy enough for a 75g tank with <10 fish, some people may not think so.

    Good debate old chap! (no I'm not british)