Do you QT your fish?

W

Wes

Premium Member
i dont, and realisitically i should, or i guess i mean to say i actually would like to, but its a logistical issue with getting a good system up to make it feasible and unobtrusive. i need to read on it more and see what an easy way to set up and take down and how to go about it. if i could get a good system, i would always do it, and being able to do this would also make treating sick fish easy
 
Okay, I'll touch the third rail...

I don't QT... I know I should, but I don't...

I did when I first started, and every time I tried to QT a fish, it died on me in QT...

Could I do it now with all the years of experience I've gained since then? Probably so... At this point, I don't QT mainly as a matter of laziness and habit...

(Disclaimer - Please don't construe this as a defense of not QT'ing... I'm simply saying why I don't...)
 
I've only bought one fish from a fellow member and I didn't quarantine it, so I voted for the 2nd option. All other fish since my first have been quarantined.
 
nope..know i should, but (knock on wood) never had a problem. LFS fish i inspect closely, only did a couple on shipped fish.
 
I have placed a total of 5 fish in my tank. None of them were ever QT'd. The first 3 fish were purchased from an LFS at the same time so I just acclimated and put them in. I have a tank set aside to be set up as a QT, but I don't have everything I need for it yet. As a result I did not QT the last 2 fish. I have lost 1 fish (he was one of the orginal fish) so far for an undetermined reason. After talking to 2 LFSs I am not convinced I should set it up my QT tank now. Two LFSs have told me that they don't QT. I am still new to this and I don't really know what the right answer is.
 
I do not QT. I only have ~4 months into the hobby. I have a 29 gallon Biocube reef. I have received most of my information from Bill at Neptunes Cove and early on I spoke to him on his thoughts of QT tanks. He could have told me they were manditory and sold me a QT tank but stated that in his opinion he has found them to stress fish because they are rarely set up as a good environment for anything but stressing fish.

I did have ich manifest itself on Bi-Color Blenny after putting it in the tank; I treated with garlic and nobody else got ich and that includes a Six Line Wrasse that was put in a couple weeks after the outbreak started to clear up.

I only have this one data point (of my own experience); but I will tell you I had a heater malfunction this past weekend (temp was caught at 84, usually at 79-80) and my last ich was seen three weeks ago and nobody got in this temp fluctuation.

Thanks,


Joe
 
I do QT _everything_ now. Never lost a fish in QT. I was forcibly converted to qt by having 2 perfectly healthy pink skunk clowns wiped out overnight by a tiny clown goby.
 
Ive been doing this for more than 20 years now and Ive tried everything ATLEAST twice (yes that stove IS hot)...but Im cheating - after thousands and thousands of customers Ive been kinda lead by their success rate because I want them to have good success with my fish. many People have success like SERK Dankovici and many others did especially when new - where they loose most EVERYTHING thats put into QT -and with the learning curve involved...and the fact that most QT are setup as a small underfiltered tank....I thought best to "say NO" in the customers behalf because THEY dont even know what their up against -but I DO!!
and no...I no longer use a QT
 
I have been in the hobby 8 years. The first two I did not QT. I started using a QT after I had a tank wipeout. I did manage to save a couple of fish but lost most of them.
 
I voted for QT everything. I did not start out this way and I never had a disaster but as I got more experience it just seemed to make sense. I do agree that there is a learning curve on setting up a QT system and before doing so I would suggest that you do some research. In my opinion, if done properly, you should have greater success in keeping new additions alive. The one thing that made the most sense to me was that your new fish is in a controlled environment where he can be observed and not have to worry about being hassled by the current established, and most likely territorial, inhabitants of the tank (assuming they are not the first fish you are getting). That advantage right there I think is a big plus for QT. Now I guess we could go into having a well thought out stocking plan so that this was not as much of an issue but we all also know that even the most experienced reefer will end up with an impulse buy :wink:

Another thing I would like to mention is that going through the whole QT learning curve is a good way to give you a better understanding of just how this whole water chemistry, nitrogen cycle works. If forces you to form the habit of testing your water and doing water changes. It gives you a better understanding of just how quickly a tanks chemistry can change and what you can do to monitor and maintain it.

Here is link to a site that I believe Amanda directed me to and I feel it is a good read for anyone interested in setting up a QT.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/quarantinetanks.html

Just my 2 cents.

BTW, as I post I have a yellow eyed Kole tang and a six line wrasse in QT (my Mother always told me to practice what you preach :lol: )
 
I voted no QT.
This is beautiful especially since I am currently going through this experience right now. (Blue Tang - not QT?ed - Ick visible for a day) I had a QT tank but couldn?t catch the fish quickly and I did not what to hast in throwing a sick fish in an un-established tank.

OK to the point one thing that interests me the most is when aquarist state that they have lost fish to ick and did not qt why. Depending on where you read post or text does ick exist in all fish just waiting to rear its ugly head in a weaken fish.

One thing that I am searching for is what are the conditions in which the ick manifested itself in the display i.e. new environment, water conditions not perfect just a little too high in nitrates, an existing fish picking on the patient, no place to comfortably hide at night or during the day, and treatment with vitamins etc in prepared food in the display tank. There probably is a vast variety of conditions in which a fish may parish especially since we don?t know the true history of the fish?s life before and after the capture transport and deliveries.
 
I vote yes to QT. I keep a QT tank setup <u>always</u>, it's established and ready to go. I tend to purchase smaller fish so that I can watch them grow in my tank so the QT tank I have is adequate for my needs. I also keep a net in my display so the fish are used to seeing it, they would even eat from it which makes it much easier if I ever had to catch one.

Cheers!
 
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