I have been doing this for way to long I always try to run with no quarantine tank. I have had enough. I never have had the space to set one up. I'm going to break down my sump/fuge and rebuild it with a quarantine under my display tank. My yellow tang died today sucks I'm just glad he was alone and there wasn't more casualties.
Always try to run without a quarantine tank. Anyone else?
- Thread starter Gsxkid
- Start date
reefstarter
Non-member
he died ? that was way too quick for ich . sounds like you had velvet to me
In more than 20 years with Marine fish and corals, the only times I had dead fish with itch/velvet were because I passed the line. I had too many fish or the mix was incorrect (aggressive with peaceful ones). In other words I stressed the tank
I never had a quarantine tank and will never have one.
This is just my personal experience and by any means I want to say it is bad/good to have/not have a quarantine tank.
I never had a quarantine tank and will never have one.
This is just my personal experience and by any means I want to say it is bad/good to have/not have a quarantine tank.
Jim Tansey
Well-Known Member
I've been in the marine hobby since its early days and never had a QT, I'm not saying they don't have advantages but I think for the most part they can do as much harm as good. In all my years at this I have never experienced a serious outbreak adding fish.....Luck???
Jim
Jim
Edward
IG: @ed3aquatics
When I first started in the hobby I never had a QT. I have a small enough tank I don't really have to worry about introducing diseases because my tank can only support 1-2 small fish max being such a small nano. If I were putting any amount of serious money into livestock, I'd be inclined to run a QT. Better safe then sorry.
FWIW, based on the other thread from a day or two ago, that tang was looking pretty thin / weak and the white probably wasn't ick. I suspect that it went down for other reasons.
That said, I've always been a strong advocate of QT and preventitive treatment. It's nice to know that no amount of stress is going to cause a parasite to flare up in your system.
choff
Non-member
When I first got back into the hobby 3 or 4 years ago I went by the book and ran a qt tank for my first few fish, but it never worked out well for various reasons.
Fast forward to a week ago and I currently have a blonde naso tang in a soft qt tank. I say soft because it's plumbed into my system so the main reason for this isolation is to get him to eat before I put him in my DT. I've tried to add 2 blonde nasos in the past year and could not get either to eat and eventually died. I have 2 other tangs, a purple and kole, that are not overly aggressive with the new mate, but its enough to stress the Newby to not eat.
I need the blonde to keep my my lobophora algae in check as it is the only thing that eats it.
I'll probably never qt fish again, but I will ALWAYS replug coral frags. Thats are how I got the lobophora to begin with. I saw it too and didn't know what it was and stupidly ignored it.
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Fast forward to a week ago and I currently have a blonde naso tang in a soft qt tank. I say soft because it's plumbed into my system so the main reason for this isolation is to get him to eat before I put him in my DT. I've tried to add 2 blonde nasos in the past year and could not get either to eat and eventually died. I have 2 other tangs, a purple and kole, that are not overly aggressive with the new mate, but its enough to stress the Newby to not eat.
I need the blonde to keep my my lobophora algae in check as it is the only thing that eats it.
I'll probably never qt fish again, but I will ALWAYS replug coral frags. Thats are how I got the lobophora to begin with. I saw it too and didn't know what it was and stupidly ignored it.
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I was suggesting that it may have been on its way out when you got it regardless of anything you did or did not do. Fish go through hell on their way to our tanks, especially yellow tangs (because they are imported in large numbers and are relatively inexpensive, thus they often handled particularly harshly).
William
Non-member
I had issues when I first started with marine velvet, and crypto.All were LFS fish I did not QT. After 7 weeks of a fallow tank, dosing Brightwell Aquatics Microbacter and feeding the tank a small amount of mysis once a week and doing water changes once a week I bought 6 small fish from a BRS member and have had no issues to date in my 40 gallon tank.
I then started a 150 gallon tank and bought some small fish including a small yellow tang from 2 different LFS. I QT'd for 3 weeks while the tank cycled but once I added them to the tank Crypto showed its ugly face. I hastily yanked the fish out and put them in my QT and started dosing cupramine. The two clowns survived but I lost the yellow tang- my bet being too much Cupramine. After another 7 week fallow period, dosing bacteria, and water changes I added the clownfish to the 150 and all was well. I saw another BRS member breaking down their tang dominant tank and bought them after watching them look super healthy in his mature tank. I took them and put them all in at once that night. All was well for 2 weeks and then crypto showed up again. I decided this time I would do massive 50% or more water changes every few days, feed a couple sheets of Nori each day, feed LRS fish frenzy soaked in Selcon, and also used polyp lab Medic at heavy dose. I lost my purple tang and 2 clownfish but everybody else survived and no signs of ich for several months.
I will QT all fish from now on but feel you can't eradicate crypto completely. I personally think it lives within the fish and is relatively dormant until the fish is stressed and its immune system comes down. Alot will disagree with me in that they feel ich can be eradicated but this is my observation in the short time I have been doing this. I wish you good luck!
I then started a 150 gallon tank and bought some small fish including a small yellow tang from 2 different LFS. I QT'd for 3 weeks while the tank cycled but once I added them to the tank Crypto showed its ugly face. I hastily yanked the fish out and put them in my QT and started dosing cupramine. The two clowns survived but I lost the yellow tang- my bet being too much Cupramine. After another 7 week fallow period, dosing bacteria, and water changes I added the clownfish to the 150 and all was well. I saw another BRS member breaking down their tang dominant tank and bought them after watching them look super healthy in his mature tank. I took them and put them all in at once that night. All was well for 2 weeks and then crypto showed up again. I decided this time I would do massive 50% or more water changes every few days, feed a couple sheets of Nori each day, feed LRS fish frenzy soaked in Selcon, and also used polyp lab Medic at heavy dose. I lost my purple tang and 2 clownfish but everybody else survived and no signs of ich for several months.
I will QT all fish from now on but feel you can't eradicate crypto completely. I personally think it lives within the fish and is relatively dormant until the fish is stressed and its immune system comes down. Alot will disagree with me in that they feel ich can be eradicated but this is my observation in the short time I have been doing this. I wish you good luck!
I went five years without one...until the tank got ich. Now I will never go without one again. Once ich is in your tank, your choice is to let all the fish die, or take them all out and treat them. It is a far larger pain to do that than to set up proper quarantine procedures. Not to mention leaving the tank fallow for months really sucks.
As far as stress causing ich...either the parasite is present, or it isn't. Stress does not cause a parasite to magically appear...the parasite was in your tank.
Proper QT procedures will virtually eliminate any chance of ich, no matter how stressed things get.
As far as stress causing ich...either the parasite is present, or it isn't. Stress does not cause a parasite to magically appear...the parasite was in your tank.
Proper QT procedures will virtually eliminate any chance of ich, no matter how stressed things get.
I am sincerely curious to know how a QT can do as much harm as good. I am guessing you are thinking because of isolation?
I am honestly curious...not trying to be a jerk.
Jim Tansey
Well-Known Member
I say that just because of the stress induced placing a fish (particularly larger free swimming ones) in a small aquarium sometimes 10 gal or less for 6-8 weeks. QT tanks also are often not in regular use and subject to toxic buildup as with a new tank, this is obviously not always the case some people do it better than others.
Jim
Well I guess I would agree that improper QT procedures - which is what you are describing - would likely be worse than none.
