QT for new marine life

[Mhabby]

What are some of your best practices for quarantining new fish. Observe only and treat only if signs/symptoms, or treat prophylactically? If so, with what (copper, etc,) and for how long? 

[treesprite]

I just watch, treat only if needed. Years ago I did FW dips and copper on every new fish. Then I had a fish that was so stressed from the process and the confinement that it got lymphocystis (symptom is isolated kind of large white raised spot that might be confused with fungus or something else). Lympho goes away on its own and isn't usually that big of a deal. I put the fish in the DT and the lympho went away after a few weeks. That was pretty much the situation that made me realize that sometimes the stuff we do does more harm than good.

 

If you get all captive bred fish, you won't have to worry so much. Or, you could buy from our local vendors who do comprehensive processing of incoming wild caught fish for you.... the extra cost of livestock is worth it in both cases.

[phlynamjax]

I treat everything. I am a firm believer that fish can be a carrier, but do not show symptom until very later. I also never had a fish that doesn’t scratch at all without being treated. I normally QT with cuprmaine for 4-8 weeks and 2 rounds of Prazipro. I feed very heavily while they are in QT.

[treesprite]

22 hours ago, phlynamjax said:

I treat everything. I am a firm believer that fish can be a carrier, but do not show symptom until very later. I also never had a fish that doesn’t scratch at all without being treated. I normally QT with cuprmaine for 4-8 weeks and 2 rounds of Prazipro. I feed very heavily while they are in QT.

 

It's been several years since I saw anything on any fish I had. But the last couple of times I saw white dots, my treatment was to let the fish shelter at home and to make sure there were no sources of undue stress. They got better on their own. There was at least a year between the two incidents.

[WheresTheReef]

After losing most of my fish on two occasions, I treated all my fish. I treated with copper and general cure as discussed early on in the video below. You also have to remember that you can always introduce a parasite if you don’t run another fishless QT for anything wet (e.g. corals, rock, other inverts etc). 
 

You should try to start with the healthiest looking fish. I typically try to hold off treatment for 1-2 weeks to get them eating well and then treat. 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by WheresTheReef