what are your methods quarantine when purchasing a fish from a local store?

[Newtrybe]

Have you tested your water?

No

If I did not test my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

21-30%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

Ive heard quite different opinons lately regarding quaratine. the last LFS i visited laughed at me and said i dont need to quarantine their fish.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Ive heard quite different opinons lately regarding quaratine. the last LFS i visited laughed at me and said i dont need to quarantine their fish.

To be honest, its a good idea to quarantine fish when you get them from the store, but I don't actually really follow through with that. I usually just let them acclimate, put them in a bucket, scoop them out of the bucket and put them in the tank. Rarely have I had problems doing this. There is only one time where this didn't work for me (Adult leopard bushfish that apparently were sick and I didn't catch it).

It depends on where you get the fish, I've always got my fish from good LFS in our area, and they keep their stock clean and healthy, so that's why I've just simply plopped them into the tank.

Overall, you should quarantine, its a good idea, but it's not absolutely necessary, especially if you don't have the money to set up a quarantine tank.

 

[tlindsey]

Ive heard quite different opinons lately regarding quaratine. the last LFS i visited laughed at me and said i dont need to quarantine their fish.

If you're lfs has a great reputation and they quarantine new fish that's the only way I would not quarantine. Big box stores no way definitely quarantine.
Quarantine is critical and saves you from bringing in disease and harmful pathogens into your main aquarium.

 

[jjohnwm]

I'm with tlindsey on this; adding new fish without quarantine is Russian Roulette. Sure, you can get away with it a few times, or many times....but eventually you will pay the price. When...not if, but when...you casually toss in some new fish that bring with them some virulent pathogen...well, it doesn't really matter how often you managed to get away with it up to that point, does it?

A small quarantine tank doesn't need to be expensive or elaborate. You can keep it set up all the time, or you can just set it up and install a small sponge filter that you keep mature and ready in your display tank until needed.

I can see the possibility of space being a problem, but if you put your mind to it you will locate some small cubby somewhere that you can use for a QT. Having it remote from the main tank is actually a good thing, reducing the risk of cross-contamination.

Don't have the money? Then you also don't have the money to burn on fish that you buy and which then die and take a bunch of your established fish with them, simply because you didn't want to quarantine.

A clean, well-run LFS is like a hospital; a poorly-run one is more like a medieval leper colony. Both places have a constant stream of sick individuals coming in; one takes all possible precautions, the other takes few or none, but if you need to visit one or the other it makes sense to carefully wash and sanitize your hands afterwards, before you kiss your wife and play with your kids. Same with new fish and quarantine.

 

[FJB]

To me, it never depends on where the fish come from. They are coming from a place different than my tanks, with different microbiota. They must be quarantined. 4 weeks minimum. If anything disease or parasite-like is noticed during qt, the clock stops and starts again.

 

[Milingu]

My goal is a 6 month quarantine or even better a species-only tank. This may sound like complete overkill, but you have to set your goals high to keep up with reality. What this means in reality is that fish can outgrow their quarantine tank, they can be too aggressive to stay in a small quarantine tank long term, they can start spawning, including territorial behavior and so on. Or it just happens that I'm too greedy and buy more fish and need the space, even though I've gotten much better at restraining myself over the years.
Regular communication with 2 fish veterinarians recently has made me even more cautious, although it gives me better options for diagnosis and treatment.

 

[Newtrybe]

If you're lfs has a great reputation and they quarantine new fish that's the only way I would not quarantine. Big box stores no way definitely quarantine.
Quarantine is critical and saves you from bringing in disease and harmful pathogens into your main aquarium.

i ask because i bought a green texas from a store,. added him to my community of cichlids.. a few days later they all were covered in slime.. i went back to the store and they sold me salt and neo plex..

 

[tlindsey]

i ask because i bought a green texas from a store,. added him to my community of cichlids.. a few days later they all were covered in slime.. i went back to the store and they sold me salt and neo plex..

Was that the lfs that laughed at you about quarantine? Did any of your fish die?

 

[Newtrybe]

Was that the lfs that laughed at you about quarantine? Did any of your fish die?

yup, of course it was!

Yes, everyfish in the tank died right after i used the neo plex. i lost 2 green terrors & 4 texas

 

[Newtrybe]

To be honest, its a good idea to quarantine fish when you get them from the store, but I don't actually really follow through with that. I usually just let them acclimate, put them in a bucket, scoop them out of the bucket and put them in the tank. Rarely have I had problems doing this. There is only one time where this didn't work for me (Adult leopard bushfish that apparently were sick and I didn't catch it).

It depends on where you get the fish, I've always got my fish from good LFS in our area, and they keep their stock clean and healthy, so that's why I've just simply plopped them into the tank.

Overall, you should quarantine, its a good idea, but it's not absolutely necessary, especially if you don't have the money to set up a quarantine tank.

ive been in the hobby over 10 years with multiple fish rooms... been playing roulette myself.. never again after this tho