quarantine
 

just wondering about quarantineing and who does it. what techniques used? methods? setups? lengths? ect.

I was honest and voted no but I should. :redface: It seems every tank that I set up as a quarentine I end up with "stuff" in it and it is no longer a quarentine.
I have one now as a spare that I will use in future.

do u treeat with pizine or something like that in order to get rid of worms?

I chose the last option, but I don't always keep corals and such for that long. Just long enough to verify that ther are no nasty hitchhikers. Fish get the full 4 weeks.

Chose Fish Only.
20g.
Bare Bottom.
AquaClear 150 filter. Foam only. No carbon.
Start with 50% main tank water, 50% new water.
Medicate with Coppersafe.
Change 20% water daily, with water from main tank.
Additional Coppersafe daily to replenish that removed with the 20% water changes.
Light off.
QT at least two weeks, ideally three.

do u use hypo salinity treatment?? or formaline baths for fish which are susseptable to certain diseases such as clowns and brook??

I dont understand the use of the daily 20% water change.
What purpose does this serve?

I currently have a bicolor blenny in my QT, I have not medicated this tank. I use it mostly to observe the fish. A black clown I picked up last week just got moved into my 25gal as he was showing no ill signs and is doing well in the 25.
The last time I QT'd a pair of clowns I used Seachems Cupramine with horrible results, I lost both fish. I believe this was due to the panic use of the QT. I had added the fish to my 10gal and within a day they developed white dots, knee jerk reaction was to dump both into a QT and add cupramine. I believe there was an ammonia spike and both fish died within 2days. I feel that if I had left the fish as they where in the 10gal, they would still be alive.
Several people have told me they do not use a QT.

I know most people won't like this, but I have never quarantined a fish, coral or other thing, never will. Oh wait thats a lie, I did perform a quarantine on a fish once, and it DIED. Part of buying a fish is watching it for a good while to make sure it is healthy. I was going to buy a regal from the LFS and I watched it for over 20 mins then I noticed it scratching itself on rocks etc. Good sign of illness, didnt buy it. Same goes for corals, watch them for critters crawling out. Just my three cents

I voted no but I should.

Lately anytime I add a new fish (im up to my limit now) I feed with garlic for the first couple weeks just to build a good immune system...

gizmo how do u monitor for parasites and such do u treat in the display??

I've had a reef for 3 years this november, Never treated for anything other than Cyano and thats cause of crappy tap water.
I use a red filtered flashlight to look for critters I dont want, maybe once a week, but usually, unless something looks horribly out of place, I let my reef live like a reef.

The only fish I ever lost were fish I quarantined. I do NOT quarantine any more. :eek:

To be honest I have heard of more fatalities and horror stories from quarentine than I have heard from fish etc. intoduced into the display. I do know that a fish that is stressed stands a far better chance in my display that is stable and has good water quality maintained on a daily basis.
Even with that said I still know I should quarentine.

You just answered your own question. :smile:
Doing a daily 20% water change helps keep ammonia levels in check.

Cheers,

With an established bacterial culture in your filter media, an ammonia spike will never happen.
The only reason I had an ammonia spike was that I was so worried about the Ich that I forgot all about the nitrogen cycle.

I'm talkin' about a QT tank that is used only when it's needed.
In other words, it sits cleaned, empty and idle when it is not used.
Thus, when I get it going for QT I get ammonia spikes immediately.
Having said that, I would think the same thing might happen to an established QT tank, depending on its size and the number and size of specimens put in for quarantine.

many peopel keep spare sponges in there sumps which populate with bacterian then when the qt is needed u just pop one of those in the filter and u already have the backteria to help reduce these level s and no cycle .

That's exactly how I keep mine ready. I usually try to fill the QT with half new water and the other half from my tank. I like to plan my purchases and have the QT tank set up a few days or a week ahead to help avoid amonia spikes.

I had my current QT setup a week before I bought my fish. I had a bunch of live rock rubble from my sump in the QT for bacteria and even a few pods.

Heres another question which I never really have got a straight answer for: Does any one quarentine shrimps and crabs? What about snails?

If your dealer tank has aiptasia, and you buy a frag, could you potentially get aiptasia even with out any sign of them on the frag?

heres a good thread on qting fish http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

I voted # 2 I bought all my fish and put them in my display tanks if I had bigger tanks where it would almost impossible to catch with out ripping down a tank I WOULD quarantine but only a couple weeks. I think quarantine puts more stress on a fish going from a reef setting to a bare glass box IMO

they are in a glass box at the fish store and it would be less stressfull for a fish to be alone rather than have other fish harassing the new fish untill it has regained its strength.