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Coral Vue Hydros

Do you guys quarantine your fish?


heero

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Just wondering if you guys quarantine your fish for a few weeks to make sure it doesn't have any diseases especially ich before you put them in the tank.

 

I know that tangs are very prone to ich but they're not really suitable for nanos. So I was just wondering if the other smaller fishes like clowns, gobies, blennies and what not should be quarantined before putting it into a new tank.

I've read on RC and heard both sides of the stories with most people preferring to quaranting their new fishes but I haven't heard too much about it for nano/smaller type fishes.

 

I'm gonna be putting in a fish to my tank in about a week or two.

Good idea?

Bad idea?

Any input on this guys?

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Smokey Joe

I don't bother, and in general don't think it's as important in a nano.  I only keep two fish, if I introduced a parasite through one of the fish I added the most I could lose is the other one.  I can replace the fish for far cheaper than it would cost to set up and maintain a quarantine system.  If I kept more fish, or had a larger and more elaborate set-up, I would use one.

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I don't. Like Smokey said, I don't think its as important either. In a nano you only have like 1 or 2 fish to lose but in a community tank I definetly would. It can't hurt to do it for a nano though.

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My Alife 7

I don't either. All I can put in my tank is 1 fish so it's not going to hurt any other fish basically because there is none.

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They all have a point regarding nanos, but the truth of a quarantine tank being costly to maintain is crap. A simple 5 0r 10 gallon, with pvc hiding places, a sponge filter (or cheap HOB) and a cheap heater is about all you need. Ok, so this costs a little, so why get one if you only have one or two fish? Well if you already got attached to one of the fish inthere, you would likely hate to see it die and would like to do your part to see it well. Additionally, (and perhaps most importantly) if you introduce any species that leads to a disease outbreak in your tank you cannot add another fish to your nano for at least one month!! IN OTHER WORDS, YOU MOST GO FISHLESS FOR AT LEAST A MONTH TO STARVE OUT ANY REMAINING PARASITES, which is a miraculous feat to many impatient hobbyists. Lastly, a quarantine tank is very handy for emergencies like when your tank craps out from an ammonia spike from a dead animal, or when you have 2 fish that are not getting along and one is taking serious punishment. Hey, did I forget to mention that this is probably the ONLY way to safely revive already afflicted animals in your tank without compromising inverts? It is just plain good sense and good planning to have a quarantine/hospital tank handy.

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i dont use one..but i do have one where i work so if i have a problem i can take my fish there. ive never had to do this though and generally if two fish arent gettign along are you really going to want to keep it in a quarantine tank forever? i doubt it. a quarantine tank is not somehwere i would want a fish of mine to live. i would rather return it to the lfs than have it live in an ugly quarantine/medication tank. for a nano i do agree that quaranine is somewhat pointless.

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my quarantine tank is really just a hospital tank for emergencies, bc i trust my source for fish.  if i was ever skeptical to a fishes health, i would use it, but i probably wouldn't buy a fish i was skeptical of either.  it is nice to have on standby though...

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pulpsmack: I gotta agree with you that it's not about the fact that you waste a couple dollars on a fish. It's the fact that you get attached to it and you don't want to see it die. I hate to see a fish die when there can be something done about it.

A quarantine tank probably wouldn't cost that much as somebody already mentioned. So why not protect your fishes in case of an emergency and so you can closely monitor his eating habits and see if he has any diseases before you put it in your tank.

I believe there's positive and negatives to quaranting your fish before you put him into your tank but if you skip it then I think you should keep a close eye on the fish and make he's doing well. Moving him and putting him into a new environment can be stressful on the fish.

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I agree with what Pulpsmack is saying.

 

However, in most cases with freshwater fish, I have very good sources and the LFS's will always tell me if a fish I am trying to buy from them is ill, or they suspect its ill.

 

So even though I have gone through many kinds of freshwater setups, I have never bough a sick fish.  I have been lucky.

 

The only real fish illness I got was my oscar got finrot due to fighting with a Jack Dempsey cichlid.

 

As for saltwater,and quaranteening in general, I think its a much better idea to have such a tsnk setup.

 

I think another small nano even a 5G would be suitable.

Its much wiser and better on the main tank if the fish being introduced has been quaratined for at least 2 weeks.

 

Then again, I dont do it. And I plan to only keep one fish in my nano anyway.

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