Quarantining snails/starfish/crabs

julianp · 10/17/2007, 09:28 PM

Forgive me if this has been answered before, but I've searched and can't seem to find good information.

I'm a firm believer of quarantining every incoming fish in hyposaline conditions, but have never done any sort of quarantione on inverts like snails/starfish/crabs.

I can't seem to wrap my head around this one:
How do you quarantine inverts like snails, starfish and crabs? If they eat algae and fish waste, how can they survive in a tank without fish that is barren of algae like a quarantine?

chk4tix · 10/17/2007, 09:35 PM

When I quarantine mine, I just drop in some shopped up shrimp or something and they do just fine

kevin2000 · 10/17/2007, 09:36 PM

The tomont stage of ich can attach to just about anything .. as such the purist would argue you should QT everything that goes into your tank. In reality many people who QT all fish do not QT snails, crabs etc or do so for a very limited period of time.

Since ich only survives in a tank that has fish .. find a vendor that keeps inverts like corals, snails, crabs etc separate from fish .. that should significantly reduce the risk.

bk_market · 10/17/2007, 10:28 PM

i dont think u need to QT invert because they dont carry ick. to make sure they eat fish waste or algea then just drop some algea in to make sure

kevin2000 · 10/17/2007, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bk_market
i dont think u need to QT invert because they dont carry ick.

While its true the parasitic stage of ich won't attach to an invert the tomont (reproductive stage) stag of it will attach to just about anything including corals, snails, crabs, substrate, live rock and tank walls. Heres an article with a good diagram of the ich life cycle which may help illustrate the point.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/tr...marineich.html

julianp · 10/18/2007, 01:56 PM

Alright, thanks a lot for all the replies.

Kevin: that link is awesome! I've never seen such a detailed, yet clear description of the disease.

I have a tank that has no inverts in it now so I think I'll play it safe and only add inverts that have been in invert-only systems from online vendors.

10/17/2007, 09:28 PM	#1
julianp Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 190	Quarantining snails/starfish/crabs Forgive me if this has been answered before, but I've searched and can't seem to find good information. I'm a firm believer of quarantining every incoming fish in hyposaline conditions, but have never done any sort of quarantione on inverts like snails/starfish/crabs. I can't seem to wrap my head around this one: How do you quarantine inverts like snails, starfish and crabs? If they eat algae and fish waste, how can they survive in a tank without fish that is barren of algae like a quarantine?

10/17/2007, 09:35 PM	#2
chk4tix Moved On Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Utah Posts: 53	When I quarantine mine, I just drop in some shopped up shrimp or something and they do just fine

10/17/2007, 09:36 PM	#3
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	The tomont stage of ich can attach to just about anything .. as such the purist would argue you should QT everything that goes into your tank. In reality many people who QT all fish do not QT snails, crabs etc or do so for a very limited period of time. Since ich only survives in a tank that has fish .. find a vendor that keeps inverts like corals, snails, crabs etc separate from fish .. that should significantly reduce the risk.

10/17/2007, 10:28 PM	#4
bk_market Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bethesda MD / Arlington VA Posts: 203	i dont think u need to QT invert because they dont carry ick. to make sure they eat fish waste or algea then just drop some algea in to make sure

10/18/2007, 01:56 PM	#6
julianp Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 190	Alright, thanks a lot for all the replies. Kevin: that link is awesome! I've never seen such a detailed, yet clear description of the disease. I have a tank that has no inverts in it now so I think I'll play it safe and only add inverts that have been in invert-only systems from online vendors.