Advice re: quarantine

[JenH]

In a separate post I shared that I have a new koi coming that I’m so excited about!

In the past I’ve never quarantined or even been able to, not much had changed in that regard. But, in the past I’ve always bought my koi in person and new what conditions were like that they were coming from (I know that isn’t really a scientific standard or anything)

Now this fish is coming from a backyard ponder, who hobby breeds. All photos and videos look like well taken care of fish, but I’m in NE Indiana and she’s in NW Florida. pretty sure my water temps are much cooler and idk if there could be differences in koi illnesses/parasites etc in different regions.

The only way I could even quarantine this new fish even for a short period would be to keep it in the very large Rubbermaid container we are transporting it in, with the aerator running. The container is covered so no risk of jumping, fish is around 8-10” and the tub is probably 3’ long, typical plastic storages container.

Should I try to keep the fish in the container for a few days? Gradually adding my pond water of course to acclimate it slowly to temp....even though I’d have no way to filter it? Also, should I put anything in the water to help make sure it’s healthy to add to my other fix? I’ve heard of people using Melafix for new fish.... or salt (which I have zero clue about dosing).

or should I just add him to my pond and treat my entire pond to make sure they’re all fine?

thanks for the advice you guys are always amazing!

 

[Lisak1]

Oh boy. These things always make me nervous. There are so many variables that are hard to control. I know people successfully transport fish, but it worries me. I just think this has to put a fish under incredible stress, which can just accentuate problems that may already exist. I know you said the fish looks healthy and well cared for so that's good. Can I ask why you're going so far to get this fish? Not my business really... just curious!

This is completely out of my wheelhouse but I will share two thoughts to get the conversation going.
1. I'm never a fan of treating an entire pond for anything, unless there's reason to believe all the fish need to be treated.
2. We always talk about quarantine for the new fish, but we've had conversations here where it's been discussed that the pond can be full of healthy fish that have adapted to a situation (like a parasite for example) that will be a problem for the new fish. So any way you look at it, adding a new fish can be troublesome for one side or the other.

 

[JenH]

Oh boy. These things always make me nervous. There are so many variables that are hard to control. I know people successfully transport fish, but it worries me. I just think this has to put a fish under incredible stress, which can just accentuate problems that may already exist. I know you said the fish looks healthy and well cared for so that's good. Can I ask why you're going so far to get this fish? Not my business really... just curious!

This is completely out of my wheelhouse but I will share two thoughts to get the conversation going.
1. I'm never a fan of treating an entire pond for anything, unless there's reason to believe all the fish need to be treated.
2. We always talk about quarantine for the new fish, but we've had conversations here where it's been discussed that the pond can be full of healthy fish that have adapted to a situation (like a parasite for example) that will be a problem for the new fish. So any way you look at it, adding a new fish can be troublesome for one side or the other.

Well.....when I purchased all my fish this summer the ponder I bought those from had a gorgeous Karasu koi he wouldn’t sell me. I had never seen one before and I am in love. Turns out it’s a really hard koi to find and I finally found one in Florida that I can actually afford.
I know it’s a double edged sword, so I’ve never quarantined before, I also never add the previous ponds water to pond. I acclimate in whatever container I bring them home in and then net the new one into its new home. But I realize this doesn’t matter if the fish itself has something wrong with it. Of course I want to keep my current family safe and healthy, but I want to keep my new one alive too. I mean she was hard to find and was $150! So I’m really curious if the best way to go about it is a broad spectrum treatment to the whole pond as soon as I add the new fish.

 

[JenH]

What about something like this?

 

[WaterGardener]

I am probably extreme with quarantining new fish. I have a lot of fish and I don't want to risk them or bring any problems to my pond. I normally qurantine for 6 months at least. Others do so for a few weeks to a few months.

If I were in your situation I would add some filtration to that tub and leave the fish there.

I'm not a fan of this approach, but some people will add a fish from their pond to the quarantined fish. That way they will know if one or the other is harboring something that might be a problem to the other.

The new fish is just as susceptible to things that your pond fish have gotten immuned to as your fish might be that the new fish might be carrying and not affected by. Since your new fish is already stressed from the move, he's likely more at risk.

I usually treat new fish for flukes while they are in quarantine as a precaution and most all fish have them so I don't feel I'm just randomly adding medications. Others will do a broad spectrum treatment as well as treating for flukes just to be sure.

Congratulations on your new addition. I hope everything goes smoothly for adding him to your pond.

 

[Lisak1]

The new fish is just as susceptible to things that your pond fish have gotten immuned to as your fish might be that the new fish might be carrying and not affected by. Since your new fish is already stressed from the move, he's likely more at risk.

You said that much better than I did! I think of it like a classroom of children - the ones who have been together for a period of time have all shared germs and gotten used to each other. Add a new kid to the group, and any or all of them can suddenly get sick.

 

[Mmathis]

I am a quarantine-believer, but I am NOT a believer of prophylactic treatments.

Keep in mind (I think it was already mentioned) that this is a stressful time for a fish. When a creature is under stress, its resistance to disease is lowered — IOW, it’s more likely that a normal, healthy fish will get sick. The bad guys that cause disease are already present but a sick or stressed fish doesn’t have the reserves to fight them off. Also, a dealer might say that he or she has already quarantined the fish. That doesn’t mean that the fish is healthy.

I like to quarantine for a minimum of 4 weeks. My logic is not perfect, as I don’t know the life-span and life-cycle of the various bacteria or parasites that can affect fish, but I feel like I want to keep new fish (goldfish for me) isolated long enough to give anything that the new fish is carrying a chance to show up while the fish is in quarantine. If something does pop up, it’s easier to treat the individual fish than it is to treat an entire pond. And, it’s easier to determine WHAT the problem is if the fish are isolated.

I don’t believe in blind or prophylactic treatments. I come from a medical background, so in my mind, I want to know what I am treating and I want to treat it with the appropriate cure for THAT particular organism. Blind use of antibiotics, antifungals, etc. lead to organisms that are resistant to common treatments (and believe it or not, some organisms are becoming resistant to salt — which is a good reason to me, not to salt a pond — but that’s another issue...).

However, I like to do a salt water dip on my new fish, before they go into the QT.

If you can, I would find the largest container or tote that you can afford to use as a QT, especially for koi! Water quality is especially important!

 

[WaterGardener]

That's a good comparison to kids in a classroom.