Quarantining fish?

ckcdrummer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2012
1,062
0
0
CA
So I've never really quarantined my fish before putting them in the tank if I go to one of my local fish stores but there is one fish store around me that sells fish a ridiculously low price with a really wide selection to choose from but the only thing is, it's almost always just a 50-50 chance of getting ich or some other disease because they do not take good care of there livestock. I have gone there for freshwater fish all the time and I've almost always come out happy, but for saltwater fish I've had my ups and downs. I have no doubt that I can make the fish healthy by quarantining it before putting it in my tank but I've never done this so I wouldn't know what to do.

Luckily I have an extra 5 gal laying around with a heater and a sponge filter so I'm good on the equipment side of it, it's just I'm, not too sure what I should dose with and for how long. I've heard copper works good but I've also heard a lot of fish just won't tolerate it. any suggestions? Please let me know. Thanks.


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

kissofcrimson

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 8, 2010
432
3
33
North Carolina, USA
www.facebook.com
I have quarantined before but don't remember exactly what I used to dose my fish with. It might have been Clout but could have been something else. I've never used copper, so I couldn't give you advice about that. I have also used a combination of Melafix and Pimafix to combat fin rot and bacterial infections caused by open wounds. If you get fish that might have ich or the ich is present in their tanks then I recommend using the salt/heat treatment on them. It is the best and safest way to cure ich.


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

Otherone

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 2, 2009
2,683
4
0
Lancaster,PA USA
Cooper treats external parasites does nothing for internals. API makes a general cure that contains prazziquantel for internals as well as stuff for externals, basically it's designed for QT treatments. There's a whole bunch of stuff that's A specific for both internals and externals. Tea tree meds (pima and melafix) help with fungus - the fungus would be visible.

However I've always viewed QT as an observation period - 4 to 6 weeks - I would only treat for what I see, meds can be real ruff on the lil' fish.
 

ckcdrummer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2012
1,062
0
0
CA
I have quarantined before but don't remember exactly what I used to dose my fish with. It might have been Clout but could have been something else. I've never used copper, so I couldn't give you advice about that. I have also used a combination of Melafix and Pimafix to combat fin rot and bacterial infections caused by open wounds. If you get fish that might have ich or the ich is present in their tanks then I recommend using the salt/heat treatment on them. It is the best and safest way to cure ich.


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
I've used the salt heat method on freshwater but never saltwater. How would I do that? Just raise the salinity past 1.026 ppm and raise heat?


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

wednesday13

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Mar 2, 2008
4,237
3,817
1,629
The deep south
Most stores use lower salinity levels (hypo salinity) to prevent ich and this can be a good method for use in home quarenteen aswell. Other than that a "full quarenteen" with time alone is always best. I know its hard to be patient and wait a couple months before adding fish to ur main display but well worth it in the end. I use prazipro for my salties during quarenteen and id also get a 20L or something more suitable than a 5 gal. Heck even a 55 would b good/cheap with some h.o.b.'s.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

Jrob

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 7, 2011
709
1
33
32
Michigan
i agree with otherone, i normally just put them in a small tank and check them out for a few weeks ... i ALWAYS QT my fish... never going to risk killing my reef
 

vanman

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 23, 2011
197
0
0
Woodinville WA
Always quarantine to atleast let the animal settle into the water change. I always watch for everything and only treat when necessary. I would never buy from a store that is like described. The treatment is just not worth it. Here in Seattle there great stores that actually quarantine the animals before put on display. The fish cost more but they are worth every penny. Much less money and hassle in the long run.
 

Pazzoman

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2009
2,991
32
81
New York
Hey definitely recommend quarantining fish before placing them in the display tank. If the fish has no sighs of illness just quarantine for about 2-4 weeks (be patient, witnessing an ich outbreak is horrible)...if you see signs of ill health such as ick looking at longer period of quarantine...6-8 weeks with the use of hypo-salinity.

In my rookkie days I lost $325 worth of fish from one fish that was worth $10 that had ick....
 

3dees

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 23, 2010
669
10
16
Chicago suburb
raising the temp for ich is for freshwater. it will not work in salt. in fact some say it will actually make it worse. cupramine is probably the best for ich, or hyposalinity. my advice is to quarantine every fish and stay away from that lfs. saving money on a sick fish is'nt really saving money if you wipe out your entire tank. 5 gal is'nt large enough for qt except for very small fish. 10 would be better. 20 gal is probably the most popular size. the whole idea is to release the stress. can't do that if they are cramped. you can also divide a 20 to quarantine two fish at once. put them in the qt and observe. don't medicate unless you know what your medicating for.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store