Quarantining feeders...how to...do's and dont's????

[hotsauce]

What is some of the processes fellow mfk's do to make their feeders safe for their valued fish? When live is your only option?

 

[Camshaft Ramrod]

Over filter, clean water, good foods, melafix/pimafix.

breed your own..

 

[hotsauce]

yes convict parents are always valuable source of food for your larger fishys.

 

[hotsauce]

How about adding your own procedures for doing so. including time of quarantine before feeding, ideal size of tank and filter, number of feeders to have on hand compared to feeding schedules, type of feeders...

 

[hotsauce]

Does anyone here quarantine crayfish before they feed them to their monsters???

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

if you're quarantining feeder fish the main thing I would look for/ treat would be internal parasites, which are much harder to treat by the time you notice your prized specimen is infected

 

[krichardson]

I keep a ten gallonfeeder tank dosed with coppersafe for any possible parasites and the feders get medicated flakes.

 

[hotsauce]

thanks for the info guys, lets keep this going. i think it all will be helpful for those who have to feed feeders. i thought about this because i suffered one time from parasites and lost some fish, and while at the lfs the other day, the guys there couldnt even agaree on how to treat the feeders they were selling when a customer asked.

 

[krichardson]

I know we have members here who are lfs employees,I was one myself so I dont mean to insult anyone but a lot of these employees are not really into the hobby and dont think too much about conditioning feeder fish.

 

[Lupin]

Does anyone here quarantine crayfish before they feed them to their monsters???

if you're quarantining feeder fish the main thing I would look for/ treat would be internal parasites, which are much harder to treat by the time you notice your prized specimen is infected

Praziquantel can be used here. Crayfish can carry flukes around and most feeder fish also carry flukes, not just internal parasites. Both are fortunately dealt with effectively by praziquantel which you can buy as Prazipro or Droncit. For effective quarantine procedure, stick to 3-4 weeks time frame and be on a watch for unexplained injuries possibly inflicted by external parasites particularly anchorworms and fish lice. External parasites are destroyed with trichlorfon or dimilin. Avoid using coumaphos as you risk killing your feeders in the process since coumaphos is exceedingly powerful.