How To: Quarantining Fish
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How To: Quarantining Fish
Canadaquaria members, discuss the merits to quarantining new fish. Do you partake in this practice? Outline what your methods are for protecting your establish aquarium from unwanted complications (please be specific).
Re: How To: Quarantining Fish
In a word YES!!!
I have been in this hobby for a long time and that is a lesson I have learned the hard way.
I will approch this in two parts, what I do for SW fish and for my Koi.
For SW fish I have a 10G tank that I setup whenever I decide to get a new fish. I put a couple of pieces of live rock in it and a cleaner shrimp. I throw a small Aquaclear on the back with established media in it. When the new fish arrive, they will spend a month in there before being introduced to one of my display tanks. This time frame could be lengthened if any issues appear during that time. I used to keep this tank setup all the time but I can get it going pretty quick.
For Koi I have a 250G tank that is used for incoming fish from Japan. Due to the spread of Koi herpesvirus, I non longer take in Koi or Goldfish from anywhere else. Before the fish arrive the tank water is adjusted to .01% salt this will be raised to .03% by the third day after their arrival. After they have settled in for a few days I will take a 10% sampling of the fish to do a skin scrape and look at it under the microscope. There are always parasites on Koi coming out of mud ponds in Japan. The key is to keep the fish healthy so they don't go from an acceptable population into an epidemic. Once I see what I am dealing with I treat accordingly. They will remain separated from my other fish for a long time, potentially up to a year. Overkill I know, but I have to much invested in my collection to risk any kind of outside issues. In fact even if I don't see any issues under the microscope I still do a preventative regime of treatments to make sure they are clean before I start to sell them.
One thing you may have noticed in all this, I don't do anything on a whim. There is no such thing as seeing a cool fish in the store and bringing it home. When new fish come to my place there is a plan in place and I am ready before they get here.
Most fish will have something along for the ride and the stress of the move can be what triggers an outbreak.
Steve
I have been in this hobby for a long time and that is a lesson I have learned the hard way.
I will approch this in two parts, what I do for SW fish and for my Koi.
For SW fish I have a 10G tank that I setup whenever I decide to get a new fish. I put a couple of pieces of live rock in it and a cleaner shrimp. I throw a small Aquaclear on the back with established media in it. When the new fish arrive, they will spend a month in there before being introduced to one of my display tanks. This time frame could be lengthened if any issues appear during that time. I used to keep this tank setup all the time but I can get it going pretty quick.
For Koi I have a 250G tank that is used for incoming fish from Japan. Due to the spread of Koi herpesvirus, I non longer take in Koi or Goldfish from anywhere else. Before the fish arrive the tank water is adjusted to .01% salt this will be raised to .03% by the third day after their arrival. After they have settled in for a few days I will take a 10% sampling of the fish to do a skin scrape and look at it under the microscope. There are always parasites on Koi coming out of mud ponds in Japan. The key is to keep the fish healthy so they don't go from an acceptable population into an epidemic. Once I see what I am dealing with I treat accordingly. They will remain separated from my other fish for a long time, potentially up to a year. Overkill I know, but I have to much invested in my collection to risk any kind of outside issues. In fact even if I don't see any issues under the microscope I still do a preventative regime of treatments to make sure they are clean before I start to sell them.
One thing you may have noticed in all this, I don't do anything on a whim. There is no such thing as seeing a cool fish in the store and bringing it home. When new fish come to my place there is a plan in place and I am ready before they get here.
Most fish will have something along for the ride and the stress of the move can be what triggers an outbreak.
Steve
Sbenson11- Support
- Posts : 2627
Join date : 2013-09-08
Location : Mt.Pearl, Newfoundland
Re: How To: Quarantining Fish
For you Steve I do not blame you, it may be extreme for us with aquariums although we should be just as vigilant. I tend to go with just a different tank for new fish and try to keep them separate by species usually with only a few true community tanks. I also keep new fish separate until they grow big enough to go in with the rest of the same species.(1-6 months)
Fores41- Pleco Poster
- Posts : 829
Join date : 2013-09-17
Location : Williams Lake,BC
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