Do you always quarantine? Sometimes quarantine? Do you medicate? How do you decide?

[memorywrangler]

How do you decide when and if to quarantine fish?  How do you decide when to use the med trio?  

I think quarantine is kind of a hassle, and it doesn’t seem to be necessary and all cases.  But I’m curious how other people think about when to do it.

I’ve heard Dean say that he doesn’t quarantine fish from aquarium co-op. And I’ve watched the videos about Dan Fish and now he supposedly quarantines all his fish before he sells them.

for instance, I got some toothpick fish from Dan’s Fish. They’re a little bit delicate, and putting them through fasting and another round of medication seems like it might be hard on them.

Another instance, these are my new shell dwellers.  I can’t get them out of the shells, the shells are covered with organic material, so I’m worried about an ammonia spike when I do the med trio.  They seem healthy, but they came from some random guys tank down the street, so who knows?  On the other hand, they’re going into a tank with no other fish, so worst case I’d have to tear down the tank.

 

[lefty o]

coming from a guy down the street, and going into a tank with no other fish, i would just observe them. if you see an issue, then you can treat for it.

[Woowala]

Quarantine is less of a hassle than dealing with sick fish or invasive pests or algae.  You don't need to medicate if they look fine, just keep them separate from all your other stuff.  Maybe you'll decide to medicate anyway after a couple weeks, just to be safer, but some period of isolation and observation is a must imo.  The more tanks you already have, the more of an absolute necessity it is.

[ange]

My quarantine choices depend on the risk associated with not quarantining. At home? Observation, no meds unless presenting symptoms. If the fish is the only species that will live in that tank I'll likely dump them in immediately and leave a note in dry erase about using a different siphon for the first month. At work? Different ballgame. All new arrivals quarantine for 3 weeks in a separate building and undergo one course of flubendazole. If symptoms of other illness present, treatment ensues. Regardless of how new the tank is, all tanks undergo 2 courses of fenbendazole annually. That's honestly overkill but I inherited a high parasitic load from the previous manager and swore "never again." Aside from the effects on the fish, there are few consequences for the fish being ill at work but doing a little bit of up-front work to keep them healthy saves me so much energy in the long-term and I feel that it's a lot better for my peace of mind so that I can focus on other aspects of the job.

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 4:14 PM, memorywrangler said:

I can’t get them out of the shells

Put the shells in an elevated position. Like on a plate sitting on a terracotta pot. So that the shells are 4-6 inches above the bottom. They hate that and will leave the shells. 
 

[Guppysnail]

I usually put mine in a species only tank for 3-6 months or until I have fry survive in the tank.  
QT is essential because stress of move can also cause a latent illness to present strongly that you would not notice until they are in the tank. 
I never medicate unless I see something I know I specifically need to medicate for.  Medication is very hard on fish, moves are hard on fish. I see no need to waste money and stress fish just to say I did it.  As hobbyists we have time to watch our fish.  I tend to buy from only trusted sources so 1 ich/epistylus case and 1 injury with fungus are the only issues I’ve had in 3 years. I buy a lot of fish since I rotate my breeding stock every 6 months so I think that’s a really good ratio. 

 

[Whitecloud09]

On 9/7/2024 at 6:19 PM, Guppysnail said:

I usually put mine in a species only tank for 3-6 months or until I have fry survive in the tank.  
QT is essential because stress of move can also cause a latent illness to present strongly that you would not notice until they are in the tank. 
I never medicate unless I see something I know I specifically need to medicate for.  Medication is very hard on fish, moves are hard on fish. I see no need to waste money and stress fish just to say I did it.  As hobbyists we have time to watch our fish.  I tend to buy from only trusted sources so 1 ich/epistylus case and 1 injury with fungus are the only issues I’ve had in 3 years. I buy a lot of fish since I rotate my breeding stock every 6 months so I think that’s a really good ratio. 

 

What size quarantine aquarium size do you think is best? Maybe a little off topic but very curious.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/7/2024 at 6:22 PM, Whitecloud09 said:

What size quarantine aquarium size do you think is best? Maybe a little off topic but very curious.

Entirely depends on what I’m working with. 10 g is my preferred size for qt unless I plan on keeping them in a species only tank. I do not like to go smaller because smaller tanks are to hard to keep stable.  10 g are also easy to break down if my incoming fish do end up with illness I possibly can’t treat. It also gives smaller fish plenty of room to relax and display normal behaviors so I know if they are acting off it’s not due to stress from to small of a tank.  
 

want to add 10 g are perfect fry tanks and more often than not with egg scatterers just letting the tank empty and feeding sera micron after I move adults I  end up with babies 😉 
 

[johnnyxxl]

My whole thing with quarantine is dependent upon where the fish come from.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

The only time I haven't (QT'd) is when I get a fish from another fish keeper that I trust and has had no illnesses in their tanks. However, 99% of the time even in that case I will QT for at least 2 weeks and up to 4, as long as there are no issues then I put them in my tank. If one dies 2 weeks into a QT, the time is reset for me until there are no further problems, it is then I would consider medicating - if no issues, no meds are used during the QT process.

I have smaller tanks and typically only house 1-6 fish at a time, so I use 3 gallon tubs I get from Petco (critter keepers they call them). I don't medicate unless they need to be. I put in some plants from an established tank (something small and sacrificial like guppy grass), an airstone or small sponge filter and 1 dried Indian Almond Leaf. I keep a towel on top of the tank (the critter keepers are highly vented but it also keeps the lights lower and therefore stress down theoretically). I also keep some aquarium hides around for some fish that I can make certain species more comfortable by providing somewhere for them to hide.

[TAB]

i cant say always, but 99% they go into a QT.  I dont medicate unless I see a reason too.   I do deworm.