Introducing fish without quarantine?!?

Ryand63 · 04/12/2012, 05:49 PM

Hey everyone I am just setting up a 29 gallon fowler and had a quick question. I do not have a quarantine tank and was just looking for advice on how to safely introduce fish?? Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!

kingevil · 04/12/2012, 05:53 PM

add everything at once and hope nothing dies.

Humuhumunuku · 04/12/2012, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryand63

Hey everyone I am just setting up a 29 gallon fowler and had a quick question. I do not have a quarantine tank and was just looking for advice on how to safely introduce fish?? Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!

Buy fish from diversden.

With no QT, there is no safe, only safer.

cloak · 04/12/2012, 06:08 PM

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/ft/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

HTH.

Andrew · 04/12/2012, 06:10 PM

If you're going to chance it and hope for the best I would personally want to view the fish for at least 10-20 minutes to watch for any strange behaviors. Just make sure you are buying from a good source and keep them on a very healthy and enriched diet. It can be done without an issue but just have to be careful.

ken55 · 04/12/2012, 06:11 PM

[QUOTE=Humuhumunuku;201304

With no QT, there is no safe, only safer.[/QUOTE]

Well said. Without a QT you are taking a chance everytime you add a fish. Some people get away with it for years. Others get burned the very first time.

Ryand63 · 04/12/2012, 06:18 PM

Wow thanks for the responses! The last tank I had I got lucky for years and never quarantined. But this time around I want to be more responsible. Does the freshwater dip to much?

kingevil · 04/12/2012, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken55

Well said. Without a QT you are taking a chance everytime you add a fish.

that's why i said to add everything at once. from that point on, you are playing russian roulette.

BigCountry74 · 04/12/2012, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken55

Some people get away with it for years. Others get burned the very first time.

/this

Throw some cheap fish in there. You will be ok.

i only gamble what I can afford to lose in this hobby if you know what I mean

cloak · 04/12/2012, 06:24 PM

Woops...

Andrew · 04/12/2012, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryand63

Wow thanks for the responses! The last tank I had I got lucky for years and never quarantined. But this time around I want to be more responsible. Does the freshwater dip to much?

Ich likes to go down into the Epithelial cell layers where a freshwater dip will not affect the parasite.

blennielove · 04/12/2012, 08:08 PM

Okay, I'm probably not the best person to say this, but for what it is worth.
First, set your tank up BARE BOTTOM with PVC for hiding places, cycle the tank at 1.008 salinity or 11 ppt. Let it CYCLE as you would a normal tank. After it has cycled and only then...
Pick out ALL the fish you would want for the tank. DO NOT OVERSTOCK your tank. Make sure that they are eating and well adjusted with NO signs of illness at the LFS. Better yet, monitor them for at least a week at the LFS. Bring them home and drip acclimate them to your lowered salinity over an hour to 1 1/2 hours, and place them. They will be in modified, hypo QT, monitor for 4 weeks, if all well, then SLOWLY raise your salinity back up going at 0.002 per day.
The ONLY illness you are "curing" with this is Crypt which is marine ich. You will be in trouble if there is anything else!
Okay...just my 2 cents. There are many many more experienced people out there...

bnumair · 04/12/2012, 09:29 PM

buy the fish at LFS. have him hold it for 2 weeks. u might get lucky but its still not a guarentee

gamecockfan803 · 04/12/2012, 09:46 PM

I'd just set up a quarantine tank and not take any chances then you can fully monitor the fish then the little bit of time you could at you LFS these days every dollar counts

harleychic · 04/12/2012, 10:37 PM

A QT is always a good idea. It can also act as a hospital tank if needed. The best part is, once you are finished stocking, you can turn it into a cool nano!

DragonWarriorPo · 04/12/2012, 11:17 PM

Hypo your whole tank and add fish. Hypo kills parasites. drip acclimate new fish to hyposalinity for 2-4 hours.

Charley Diesing · 04/13/2012, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken55

Well said. Without a QT you are taking a chance everytime you add a fish. Some people get away with it for years. Others get burned the very first time.

I suggest set up a 10 gallon tank... I know its a pain just do it...

I got burned the first time... lost CBB, 2x clowns, 1x chromis... It sucks its going to happen... Just QT for the sake of the fish and yourself.

Ryand63 · 04/13/2012, 06:08 AM

So it looks like I'm gonna just do a 10 gallon quarantine. Heater and basic hob filter fine? Also, if need be, I decide to add a fish down the road can I set the tank up a day or two before without needing it to cycle just for the one fish?? Thanks all these responses are great!!

sponger0 · 04/13/2012, 06:14 AM

I just leave my QT running. It doesnt cost me any extra. I do water changes on it every week but I use the water from my main tank that I pull out to do a water change on my QT.

Also a QT is a great way to ensure you dont add fish too fast so you dont put too much a load too quickly on your tank.

jerseygurl · 04/13/2012, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingevil

add everything at once and hope nothing dies.

This ^ is a bad idea. No offense, but seriously, don't do this. You really don't know if your bioligical filtration can handle that much of an increase if bio-load, if not, you'll get an ammonia spike. Plus it stresses the fish. So, one fish at a time, least agressive first, most agressive last.

Good luck.

cordell · 04/13/2012, 06:39 AM

Good call on setting up a QT... you won't regret it and you'll have that "warm fuzzy feeling" (hah!?) knowing the fish are healthy when you finally add them to the main tank.

Setting up the QT is so darn easy. Don't let it become some complicated thing or else you probably won't stick with it in the future. Like sponger said, you can 1) leave the QT running all the time so it stays cycled (but yours isn't cycled yet, so next->), 2) get a HOB filter (AquaClear20 for 10gal) and put it in your main tank to run for 1-2 weeks which gets the sponge filter full of good bacteria that the QT needs, 3) cycle the QT tank the normal way, or 4) do frequent water changes on the QT as ammonia levels rise. I'd do the aquaclear running on your DT for a couple weeks, then you're good to go. You don't have to actually setup the QT until a couple days before buying the fish, just make sure to get the heater setup so it holds the tank at a good constant temp. Buy couple cheap PVC elbows and Tees for hiding places.

Read this for everything you need to know on QT. The best article you'll ever read, IMO.

MrTuskfish · 04/13/2012, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DragonWarriorPo

Hypo your whole tank and add fish. Hypo kills parasites. drip acclimate new fish to hyposalinity for 2-4 hours.

Hypo only kills ich (sometimes)---not the much deadlier velvet or brooklynella parasites. Hypo is also very difficult for most people.

Tin_Whistler · 04/13/2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryand63

So it looks like I'm gonna just do a 10 gallon quarantine. Heater and basic hob filter fine? Also, if need be, I decide to add a fish down the road can I set the tank up a day or two before without needing it to cycle just for the one fish?? Thanks all these responses are great!!

Good call, you don't need anything fancy, just something to prepare them for the tank.

If you're getting a HOB filter make sure to pull out the Carbon if you'll be running copper.

sponger0 · 04/13/2012, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tin_Whistler

Good call, you don't need anything fancy, just something to prepare them for the tank.

If you're getting a HOB filter make sure to pull out the Carbon if you'll be running copper.

Some people run copper in their system automatically, whether the fish is sick or not. I dont. I wait til I see a problem. No reason to stress the fish out more than needed and also copper can cause internal problems. So I dont but some do run copper immediately.

if you dont run copper immediately you can just keep the carbon in and remove it once you dose with copper.

People run their QT many ways. I also use Fluval media to keep the tank cycled. And just put it in the filter. I dont use carbon though.

Reefin' Dude · 04/13/2012, 09:34 AM

quarantining is only good if you know all about what you are trying to quarantine out. to say you are quarantining against ich and actually being able to quarantine against ich are two totally different things.

G~

04/12/2012, 05:49 PM	#1
Ryand63 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,045	Introducing fish without quarantine?!? Hey everyone I am just setting up a 29 gallon fowler and had a quick question. I do not have a quarantine tank and was just looking for advice on how to safely introduce fish?? Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!

04/12/2012, 06:11 PM	#6
ken55 A wing and a prayer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SoChes Posts: 635	[QUOTE=Humuhumunuku;201304 With no QT, there is no safe, only safer.[/QUOTE] Well said. Without a QT you are taking a chance everytime you add a fish. Some people get away with it for years. Others get burned the very first time. __________________ Current tank info: Last time I saw them they were leaning against a tree in my ex's backyard.

04/12/2012, 06:24 PM	#10
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	Woops... Last edited by cloak; 04/12/2012 at 06:37 PM.

04/12/2012, 09:29 PM	#13
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	buy the fish at LFS. have him hold it for 2 weeks. u might get lucky but its still not a guarentee __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

04/13/2012, 06:39 AM	#21
cordell Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Monroe, LA Posts: 655	Good call on setting up a QT... you won't regret it and you'll have that "warm fuzzy feeling" (hah!?) knowing the fish are healthy when you finally add them to the main tank. Setting up the QT is so darn easy. Don't let it become some complicated thing or else you probably won't stick with it in the future. Like sponger said, you can 1) leave the QT running all the time so it stays cycled (but yours isn't cycled yet, so next->), 2) get a HOB filter (AquaClear20 for 10gal) and put it in your main tank to run for 1-2 weeks which gets the sponge filter full of good bacteria that the QT needs, 3) cycle the QT tank the normal way, or 4) do frequent water changes on the QT as ammonia levels rise. I'd do the aquaclear running on your DT for a couple weeks, then you're good to go. You don't have to actually setup the QT until a couple days before buying the fish, just make sure to get the heater setup so it holds the tank at a good constant temp. Buy couple cheap PVC elbows and Tees for hiding places. Read this for everything you need to know on QT. The best article you'll ever read, IMO. __________________ 75gal, ~120lb LR, started January 15, 2012. Probably mixed tank, only softies and couple LPS now. (2) 250w MH, 10g sump, 10g fuge, 10g QT Current inhabitants: 2 Ocellaris Clowns, few nassarius, cerith, and nerites; QT: Tricolor Wrasse and Firefish (both added 4/11)

04/12/2012, 05:53 PM	#2
kingevil Moved On Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: phx/east valley Posts: 917	add everything at once and hope nothing dies.

04/12/2012, 06:08 PM	#4
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/ft/index.php http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php HTH.

04/12/2012, 06:10 PM	#5
Andrew Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 13,640	If you're going to chance it and hope for the best I would personally want to view the fish for at least 10-20 minutes to watch for any strange behaviors. Just make sure you are buying from a good source and keep them on a very healthy and enriched diet. It can be done without an issue but just have to be careful.

04/12/2012, 06:18 PM	#7
Ryand63 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,045	Wow thanks for the responses! The last tank I had I got lucky for years and never quarantined. But this time around I want to be more responsible. Does the freshwater dip to much?

04/12/2012, 08:08 PM	#12
blennielove Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United States Posts: 325	Okay, I'm probably not the best person to say this, but for what it is worth. First, set your tank up BARE BOTTOM with PVC for hiding places, cycle the tank at 1.008 salinity or 11 ppt. Let it CYCLE as you would a normal tank. After it has cycled and only then... Pick out ALL the fish you would want for the tank. DO NOT OVERSTOCK your tank. Make sure that they are eating and well adjusted with NO signs of illness at the LFS. Better yet, monitor them for at least a week at the LFS. Bring them home and drip acclimate them to your lowered salinity over an hour to 1 1/2 hours, and place them. They will be in modified, hypo QT, monitor for 4 weeks, if all well, then SLOWLY raise your salinity back up going at 0.002 per day. The ONLY illness you are "curing" with this is Crypt which is marine ich. You will be in trouble if there is anything else! Okay...just my 2 cents. There are many many more experienced people out there...

04/12/2012, 09:46 PM	#14
gamecockfan803 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 38	I'd just set up a quarantine tank and not take any chances then you can fully monitor the fish then the little bit of time you could at you LFS these days every dollar counts

04/12/2012, 10:37 PM	#15
harleychic Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 371	A QT is always a good idea. It can also act as a hospital tank if needed. The best part is, once you are finished stocking, you can turn it into a cool nano!

04/12/2012, 11:17 PM	#16
DragonWarriorPo Registered Member. Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 361	Hypo your whole tank and add fish. Hypo kills parasites. drip acclimate new fish to hyposalinity for 2-4 hours.

04/13/2012, 06:08 AM	#18
Ryand63 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,045	So it looks like I'm gonna just do a 10 gallon quarantine. Heater and basic hob filter fine? Also, if need be, I decide to add a fish down the road can I set the tank up a day or two before without needing it to cycle just for the one fish?? Thanks all these responses are great!!

04/13/2012, 06:14 AM	#19
sponger0 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 6,659	I just leave my QT running. It doesnt cost me any extra. I do water changes on it every week but I use the water from my main tank that I pull out to do a water change on my QT. Also a QT is a great way to ensure you dont add fish too fast so you dont put too much a load too quickly on your tank.

04/13/2012, 09:34 AM	#25
Reefin' Dude Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 739	quarantining is only good if you know all about what you are trying to quarantine out. to say you are quarantining against ich and actually being able to quarantine against ich are two totally different things. G~ __________________ Friends don't let friends use refugiums. Current Tank Info: Not dead yet.