QT and disease prevention: A poll

I do QT everyghting prior to placing into display. I also treat with copper right off the start. I know that some will say that I should not do this but I do and it seems to work for me. I dip all corals prior to adding them to the DT as well. I did not have a ton of fish in my tank when I decided to go fallow for 72 days but my Hippo had ICH and after doing my research I decided that I wanted to try this out. That is also the point when I decided to QT all new fish going forward. I have lost a ton of money on fish by not being more deligent. One of the reasons I have a mixed reef today I will attibute to not QT'ing fish in the predator setup I had previously. They all died. I have seen the benefits so far in the past 6 months. Just my take on the issue.

 

It isn't all about Ich.

Consider this: he fish is stressed from travel, probably not eating, and tired. First thing you do is throw it in a tank where it has no holes to hide, and everyone in the tank is after him. And you expect the fish to find shelter, relax, rest up, eat, protect itself, etc. That is expecting a lot.

QT allows the fish to relax, get strong, begin eating, show signs of disease, and allows a place for treatment if needed.

 

I now QT everything living that goes into my DT's...fish, corals, CUC, live rock, etc, but I didn't always...my methods have evolved over the last 15 years. As eager as I am to move things to the DT, I have learned that this method is best for me. I have also discovered that I enjoy giving a little extra attention to newcomers. I tend to observe them very closely and develop a deeper appreciateion of their behavior and needs. I also dip corals before and after QT.

 

I should....but I don't, and I don't really have the space for it. I've def had some rough patches because of it. But when I move in to a home with a BASEMENT! I will most certainly, without exception.

 

I'm in the same boat as Andy here, should but do not. Although I havent had any problems from it yet.... (knock on wood)

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php



The good, the bad, and the ugly about QT. Thats just one article about QT and the authers whom are mentioned aren't just little people in this industry.

Sorry after losing a whole 300g tank of corals and a few fish expensive fish along my travels in SW, its QT or the specimen will not be in my DT. There's some nasty **** out there and it can/will wipe a tank out. I choose to err on the side of caution anymore.
IMHO the gain surely outwieghs the minimal cost of setting up a small QT system. My current QT setup consists of a used 55g/29g tanks, HoB filter, heater and air pump/stone for less than 100 bucks. I do understand that not all aquarists have the space,time, and or cash to accomplish said QT practices, but seriously a 29g tank doesn't take up that much room. I do believe that setting up a QT regimen is a good idea, doesn't have to be stringent or hardcore, just enough to cover the minimal needs for QT.

A parting thought:

"Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others.[/i]" - Anthony Calfo

 

I always dip stony coral with one of the dips made for them. I do a quick, 15 second FW dip of softies, and I do a thorough visual inspection of whatever I'm putting into a tank. I will usually put new fish into a 5g bucket with a heater and small pump for 5-7 days to watch them, let them relax a little etc, then if they seem fine, I add them into the display tank after the lights are off. It has worked for me.......I think things like ich and probably most of the parasites fish *get* are already in the fish or the rock or ? and its stress that allows it an opportunity to surface.

 

Interesting thoughts and I like the 5 gallon bucket idea, inexpensive and easy to set up and take down. It also makes for a quiet secluded home for a fish that is probably scared.

 

I never QT anything I put in my tank simply because I did not have the room. I got lucky, so did you.

 

There is no question about whether or not quarentining is nessesary or not. It is. If I had the space, the time/money is no question. You will be far ahead of the game in terms of time and money if you QT.


Keep in mind, in addition to all the detectable nasties out there, there are also facualtative parasites/viruses/bacterias too. That is, pathogens which under one set of conditions are harmless, and under another set of conditions (when the pathogen is facing stress) the pathogen will switch to preying/parasitizing a fish/coral host in order to survive. Which is why I suggest pre-treatment as well as QT. I am able to execute pretreatment in the absence of space for QT system. I do this with 120ppm formalin baths for 5-10 minutes, and a dietary regime of garlic and metronidazole soaked foods for 3 weeks with fish. With corals I always use Coral RX for dips.


I think a 5 gallon QT tank is a horrible idea. There is hardly enough space to make a fish comfortable, let alone a healthy culture of nitrifying bacteria to reduce ammonia to non-toxic levels quickly, or space/capacity to equip a 5 gallon bucket with filter support components. Fish suffer, even small fish, an enormous amount of visual stress which occurs when a human visitor appears suddenly without the ability for the fish to observe the persons approach from a far. Additionally a 5 gallon bucket does not provide an appropriate vantage point from which to assess the animals health condition. What's more, is that anybody using a 5 gallon bucket to QT is usually a makeshift setup, not usually set up and allowed to be prepared ahead of time. And perhaps most imporatnatly, an appropriate observational QT should last for at least 35 days. I would suggest that the minimum effective size for a QT system is 30 gallons, preferablly a 55 should be used.

 

I always QT'ed, what a PITA! But I believed in it.
I was shocked to see the poll was dead even after I voted, I really thought more people QT'ed.

 

I should but havent. I tried last time then something came up. Its hard to keep a close eye on a qt tank.

 

So I never used a QT tank, even voted no. Then this week I got an ich outbreak from a new fish, so I have a hospital tank going with cupramine treatment right now. I will be using QT tank now! I caught it early and the fish seem pretty good atm, so I am hopefully for recovery.