Topic of the Week: Quarantine

[jm23]

(I wanted to start discussions on some topics that I have been researching, going through, or just find interesting. I hope to continue these thoughts on a semi weekly basis and hope you all will chime in. I also want to note at the start of this, that many of these ideas have been discussed before and most of my ideas aren't original as I have read them on the forums or reef magazines.)

I think one of the best ways to having a "stress free" tank is having a strict quarantine procedure, both fish, corals, and inverts. I know this costs more upfront having to purchase separate tanks, lights, pumps, heaters, salt, etc., but once you have an ich/marine velvet or aefw outbreak wipe out hundreds or even thousands of dollars of your livestock you will understand that the initial cost isn't that bad. When we buy a dog or cat we make sure they get all their shots, we take them to the vet for check ups, and provide them with medication and vaccines for the rest of their lives so that they are healthy. With fish and coral the time to make sure they are set up to have a healthy life is before they go in our display tanks. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure or so the saying goes. Believe me trying to catch all your fish to quarantine them for an ich outbreak without tearing apart your aquascape is almost impossible and the stress you cause that already weak fish could just push it over the edge. So what are your guys thoughts? Do you play Russian roulette or quarantine? Break it down into the three categories below and tell us what methods/tricks of the trade have been working for you.

Fish:
Do you quarantine?
What do you treat for?
What methods do you use?
Length of quarantine?

Coral:
Do you quarantine or only dip?
What do you treat for?
What methods do you use?
Length of quarantine?

Inverts:
Do you quarantine?
What do you treat for?
What methods do you use?
Length of quarantine?

 

[jm23]

I clicked on making the poll public, but for some reason it is not displaying that. If one of the mods could make that change I would appreciate it.

 

[SkullV]

When I was running QT I only did fish. Always in cupramine. Coral got dipped in Iodine, CoralRX, and Interceptor.

 

[ultimatemj]

I like the idea of the thread, and would suggest dividing coral into SPS, LPS, softies, Zoas and?

I say this because I know some folks use peroxide on some of these but not all.


Tapa

 

[icedearth15324]

Being someone who just recently had to tear down his tank to get all his fish out for an ich outbreak, I am now going on a strict quarantine regiment for fish. I don't quarantine inverts at all. And for coral, I use CoralRX before putting in the tank. I'm 12 days fallow, 60 more to go.

 

[MikeyB]

Just voted.. I dont quarantine at all, but i do dip all my coral in CoralRx before it goes in.

 

[jm23]

Here is what I do now having having lost several fish from ich and almost all my SPS from AEFW:

Fish , I treat for a ich only. I use the tank transfer method, but instead of transferring every 3 days I do every 2 days. I use prime to get rid of the ammonia, and because I transfer every 2 days I don't do a water change in between. For me copper test kits are too hard to read and copper is too hard on some fish. Hypo didn't work for me at all when I tried it. I make sure the fish is healthy and eating and so far have avoided any other problems.

Corals and Inverts, In regards to ich, it is my firm belief that any hard surface can hold ich on it. This mean snail shells, frag plugs, and the base of LPS corals all need to go through a quarantine process. All it takes is one encysted ich parasite to ruin your ich free tank and to me the risk is not worth it. All SPS will be quarantined and given weekly bathes in Bayer (10 ml per cup for 10 to 15 minutes, agitating the water well so all AEFW comes loose) for at least three weeks. LPS and Zoas I did in CoralRX or Revive and have been lucky so far with only the initial dip, but any future purchases will probably go to a longer quarantine procedure. Hydrogen peroxide and furan2 have helped me with zoa problems and are utilized when needed. All inverts are only quarantined to make sure no ich is on them.

My advice would be to quarantine everything you get, no matter who you bought it from. Even after putting the last SPS Coral in my tank, AEFW didn't appear for at least 4 or 5 months. So, while a reefer might think their tank is clean it very well might not be. One advantage to using a strict quarantine method is you avoid impulse buys and don't have to worry about some of the most devastating problems in this hobby.

 

[vasilithegreek]

When buying your fish are you guys setting up a qt the day of purchase or do you have them constantly running. I have always purchased fish from places that qt their fish so I've never had a problem. But now that I'm upgrading and haven't had to buy a fish for a long long long while, I may do a qt since I'm going to add lots more fish. Corals I just dip.

 

[jm23]

When buying your fish are you guys setting up a qt the day of purchase or do you have them constantly running. I have always purchased fish from places that qt their fish so I've never had a problem. But now that I'm upgrading and haven't had to buy a fish for a long long long while, I may do a qt since I'm going to add lots more fish. Corals I just dip.

If your tank is disease/parasite free you can put a sponge filter in the sump or some rock and then use it as an instant filter when setting up a QT. With the tank transfer method you don't need an established QT or any biofilter because you are changing out the water and using prime to keep ammonia in check. If you will be using a QT for a longer period of time you need to have a biofilter of some kind already cycled and ready for use. Most stores that quarantine their fish do not adequately treat for ich in my opinion. LFS that use copper often don't have high enough levels to kill ich completely. I know reefwise uses another method to treat ich, but I am not sure exactly what that method is or if it is proven to work. I do trust LFS that quarantine their fish for IP and other diseases as those are easier to treat, but when it comes to ich I make that my job to treat.

 

[ultimatemj]

Curious how a coral in QT would show ich. Doesn't ich need a fish to host?

Are you tarting the corals with anything that would kill ich cysts?


Tapa

 

[icedearth15324]

Curious how a coral in QT would show ich. Doesn't ich need a fish to host?

Are you tarting the corals with anything that would kill ich cysts?


Tapa

The coral wouldn't show ich, but there could by cysts on it. I know corals can be a potential cause of ich and other issues, but I personally don't have the space to have multiple tanks up and running right now so I don't QT corals or inverts. In the future I'd love to have a frag tank that could house any new corals I buy and grow them out before putting them in my DT. One day.

 

[ultimatemj]

Don't get what that buys you unless you QT it for months (fallow))


Tapa

 

[TangPolice]

When buying your fish are you guys setting up a qt the day of purchase or do you have them constantly running. I have always purchased fish from places that qt their fish so I've never had a problem. But now that I'm upgrading and haven't had to buy a fish for a long long long while, I may do a qt since I'm going to add lots more fish. Corals I just dip.

give your fish store a couple Xtra bucks and leave your fish purchase there for an addtl week or 2 and you'll be fine and try to keep the stress level down in the tank whether its adding rock,adding a few fish, or doing a water change

 

[TangPolice]

Being someone who just recently had to tear down his tank to get all his fish out for an ich outbreak, I am now going on a strict quarantine regiment for fish. I don't quarantine inverts at all. And for coral, I use CoralRX before putting in the tank. I'm 12 days fallow, 60 more to go.

Coral X seems to work very well .GLWT

 

[Triggerdood]

give your fish store a couple Xtra bucks and leave your fish purchase there for an addtl week or 2 and you'll be fine and try to keep the stress level down in the tank whether its adding rock,adding a few fish, or doing a water change

I wouldnt follow this advice. Nothing takes the place of quarentining the fish, and observing/treating on your own. If you have a fowlr, you can get away with it, and treat the tank if need be, but in a reef, I would qt all fish myself first regardless of where you buy, or how long they've held onto it.

 

[Joe5688]

I never qtd and then I got ich. After losing qt'd fish constantly and even after being in Cooper I got ich again I said f it. Now I do the madjoe. Squirt a couple Turkey basters of water into bag. Temp acclimate and drop fish in. I've been unsuccessful with qt and wasted tons of time only to have the fish die within a few months after. Just my personal experience lol

 

[TangPolice]

I never qtd and then I got ich. After losing qt'd fish constantly and even after being in Cooper I got ich again I said f it. Now I do the madjoe. Squirt a couple Turkey basters of water into bag. Temp acclimate and drop fish in. I've been unsuccessful with qt and wasted tons of time only to have the fish die within a few months after. Just my personal experience lol

the Madjoe method just may be on to sumtin , met a few reefers this weekend that temp acclimate only and drop there new fish right in the tank 0 drip acclimation or even turkey baster and claim they haven't lost a fish and 1 tank I seen pics of has 18 yella tangs + many many more . maybe it all just boils down to Luck of the draw

 

[Triggerdood]

So does this mean I can keep your qt setup? Lmao.

 

[TangPolice]

I wouldnt follow this advice. Nothing takes the place of quarentining the fish, and observing/treating on your own. If you have a fowlr, you can get away with it, and treat the tank if need be, but in a reef, I would qt all fish myself first regardless of where you buy, or how long they've held onto it.

Seems to be working great for me I've brought home 15 + fish home in the last 4/ 5 weeks and there all fine and theres another 6 waiting up at Underwater and they'll be ready next Wednesday

 

[Triggerdood]

Good for you! I'm willing to bet your luck runs out at some point, especially buying from where you do. Jmo.