Quarantine.........Good or Bad?

[Meyer Jordan]

I ran across this thought provoking article and thought that it was worthy of sharing and eliciting comments. The author does make some valid points that I find myself agreeing with.

http://advancedaquariumconcepts.com/how-to-setup-a-quarantine-tank/

 

[Gemma]

I decided to not purchase any more fish, unless I lose one of the 4 most colorful ones, out of the 12 I have, that way I won't have to worry about adequate space as the fish grow
..but lets say that one of those 4 fish dies and I want to get a new one, would it make a difference, if I placed the filter cartridge of the quarantine tank in the pond filter for a while, and then fill the tank with pond water and run it for a week or so, before buying the new fish?

 

[MitchM]

I rarely buy fish, but my ideal quarantine tank setup is one that is plumbed into the main aquarium (or pond) setup, but the return line to the main display is sent through an ozone reactor or UV unit.
If supplemental medication is required, then the plumbing should be configured so that the quarantine tank plumbing is able to be isolated and later filtered from the main display as required.
A separate quarantine tank is an additional level of stress that new inhabitants do not need, in my opinion.
Only buy from reputable dealers or from fellow hobbyists that you are familiar with, whenever possible.

If people find themselves frequently purchasing new additions, they should be asking themselves why and really examine the reasons for the frequent replacements.

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[Lisak1]

We have never quarantined fish. I know... go ahead and shun me! We purchased from a reputable source and knew that they had already observed the fish for 90 days for any signs of disease, so doing that same process again at home (in less than ideal circumstances) seemed redundant. Having said that, we haven't added any new fish since our second year, so it's not a risk we take on a regular basis.

But that has always been a question of mine, not just in regard to quarantine, but in treating a sick fish. Just catching a fish and isolating it has to be very stressful - am I doing more harm than good? And am I stressing the rest of my fish by trying to catch the one? I don't know about anyone else, but my fish are not terribly interested in getting into the net... they go kind of nutty!

Thanks for sharing @Meyer Jordan!

 

[MitchM]

We have never quarantined fish. I know... go ahead and shun me! We purchased from a reputable source and knew that they had already observed the fish for 90 days for any signs of disease, so doing that same process again at home (in less than ideal circumstances) seemed redundant. Having said that, we haven't added any new fish since our second year, so it's not a risk we take on a regular basis.

But that has always been a question of mine, not just in regard to quarantine, but in treating a sick fish. Just catching a fish and isolating it has to be very stressful - am I doing more harm than good? And am I stressing the rest of my fish by trying to catch the one? I don't know about anyone else, but my fish are not terribly interested in getting into the net... they go kind of nutty!

Thanks for sharing @Meyer Jordan!

We're really talking about best practices, no need for shunning.

A quarantine setup should be one that is able to be easily set up then shut down and put away until needed again.


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[Meyer Jordan]

I have always thought it interesting that the focus is on how will this new fish affect my present pond inhabitants when little, if any, mention is made of how the new fish will react to a different pond environment. Seems to me that the new fish stands as much chance of being exposed to a pathogen that they have no immunity to as the possibility that they may infect your present fish.

 

[EricV]

This past summer was when I stocked my pond. I had three 35 gallon QTs going. Each was seeded from the bio media in the main pond. Initial water and changes were done by pumping water from the main pond. Each QT held about 5 3-4" gold fish for about 3-4 weeks which were placed into the main pond when the quarantine period was up. Then new fish were brought into the now empty QT. I figure that's about as low-stress as you can make it.

My fish came from at least 6 different tanks at 3 different suppliers, so I didn't really want to go with a quarantine period. This summer I will probably pick up a few select fish and will follow the same process, hopefully with just one or two QTs.

 

[Usman]

i think its important to Quarantine , its very big risk if you have valuable old fishes , you can loos them just by doing small careless mistake ....... at times the shop has no disease they are active and clean but when you shift the fish in bag and transport it , it can have injury and stress which can develop fungus or any other disease so its not just about shop , there can be many factors , or the water , change environment can stress the new fish which is vulnerable to other diseases and parasites which others might catch too . happens more with smaller fish under 6 inch . i have experienced this fungus issue due to journey in plastic bag .

 

[addy1]

I have never quarantined, but also once I have a good herd of fish I don't add any. They add enough naturally.

 

[MitchM]

I have always thought it interesting that the focus is on how will this new fish affect my present pond inhabitants when little, if any, mention is made of how the new fish will react to a different pond environment. Seems to me that the new fish stands as much chance of being exposed to a pathogen that they have no immunity to as the possibility that they may infect your present fish.

I assume that there are always pathogens present, so it's best to keep all your fish as healthy and stress free as possible.
The new arrival would be the most vulnerable, so it would be the one to succumb first, and you won't really know if the pathogen came in with the new arrival or was already present in your system.

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[gliebig]

Something I'm going to have to consider this coming year. I purchased several fish last year, all from very reputable sources. I did not quarantine. I lost 80% of my fish in less than 2 weeks. I think it may have been costia, but not 100% sure.
So, what do I do this year? I was thinking about setting up a 300gal tub to quarantine new fish this time.

 

[Tula]

If I add another koi, I'll quarantine with a cycled filter.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

If I add another koi, I'll quarantine with a cycled filter.

Which spotlights another problem. Unless this filter has been cycled using the 'fishless' method, it most assuredly will harbor pathogens.

 

[Gemma]

Which spotlights another problem. Unless this filter has been cycled using the 'fishless' method, it most assuredly will harbor pathogens.

Thanks I guess that answers my question above

 

[Mmathis]

I keep a 300 gal Rubbermaid with a DIY shower filter going 24/7. There are a few GF in there to keep the bio going. There have been times when I've thought about going to QT as needed [IOW, uncycled], but whenever I have done that with smaller tanks [such as growing fry], the day-to-day monitoring of the water and constant water changes was just more than I could handle -- maybe I'm not as dedicated as some. And while I can see where the "new" fish could be double-stressed by its time in QT, I'm more stressed myself worrying about my established fish and what would happen to them. The article was written with tropical "tank" fish in mind, where you have to be much more careful with their environments. And those fish [I assume] are more "delicate" and sensitive to changes than GF or koi. For now I'll continue doing what I'm doing...... But thanks or posting the article!