Originally Posted by
sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2676099
So QT is a bad thing right? You know what is funny? I came to this board without a clue about SW. I had kept FW for a long time. I came here with a tank full of ich. I lost several fish. I cycled a QT, as I was instructed to do, as was ntracy. I listened to advice and continue to QT fish. I have not had a single spot of ich in my display. Not once. I have kept fish in QT for well over a month. The pair of maroon clowns that are in their now have been there since April 25. They are in excellent health. It is a 15 long QT, not some weird lab grade creation. They are still in there because male maroons grow slowly. My fuzzy lion is large enough to be a threat to him. Yep, QT's are real stressful, yet my clowns are doing wonderfully. I bought the pair with torn up fins. That was healed inside of two weeks. A QT is only bad if people throw 13 fish into a small Qt without letting it cycle. Learn about ich and the life cycle of the parasite. RCreations, how is that larger QT coming along that you asked me about? Garlic is a miracle product right? Cures every time? My goodness.
Well I believe there is some 'selective listening' here. If you re-read what I wrote I said that "QT's are the safest, sure-fire best bet there is, AS LONG as it is done correctly and by someone experienced". I'm sure YOU could probably keep anything alive in a QT for as long as you'd like, with hypo, medicine or whatever you were doing. I don't think that a beginner can effectively setup a QT and run a hypo treatment as efficiently and precise as it needs to be done. I believe by doing this the risk of a fish dying is greater than the risk if you leave it and try to 'beef up' its health and the tank conditions so it can repel ick.
Who said QT is a bad thing? I didn't say that, I didn't read anyone else say that? That is an exaggerated statement that you came up with, derived from my simple difference in opinion. I stated more than once that "this is simply my opinion from what has worked for me". I never said this is "what you HAVE to do". As I look back I see many people told ntracy that this was the 1 and only option unless he wanted to lose every single one of his fish. What is a beginner supposed to assume from those statements? Of course he thinks he has no other choice. The ironic thing is, once this all started going sideways I like how everyone starts with the "do what you want, its not my tank", when before people all had their opinions to push on to ntracy demanding that QT was the only option and "do whatever it takes to get a QT up and running asap". Now people are back-peddling saying the QT setup wasn't done properly etc.. Well go figure. You have a new person running in circles with an information overload of instructions.
The sarcasm is kind of relevant because you say "yep, QT's are real stressful, yet my clowns are doing wonderfully", that even further backs up my point. QT's under your roof that are already setup, just waiting for something to enter, ran by an experienced hobbyist (you), are going to do very well. Having someone that is pretty new and just saw some ick in their tank run out with a shopping list and trying to wing it with the help from a message board is very risky in my opinion. I think the main thing is that sometimes peoples posts need to be a little flexible and conducive to each persons individual situation. If for some reason someone can't setup a QT, for whatever reasons, the next step should be some advice on other alternative methods for treatment, even if they're not guaranteed like a QT would be. What happens here is people get slapped with this 'QT or nothing' philosophy that doesn't help them out at all, especially after they just get done saying "a QT is not an option for them unfortunately". The QT could be your first choice of advice but then there needs to be some alternative advice in these situations.
I'm not shunning anyones opinions or views here, so the sarcastic comments aren't really needed. I've been pretty fair about both sides here and ultimately would agree with a QT, but ONLY in selective situations depending on the caretaker. I don't think it was best in ntracy's situation.
It'd be like a surgeon telling a college student to perform surgery and he'd walk him through it via email. Chances are slim that the student is gonna pull it off correctly. Now does that mean I'm against surgeries all of a sudden? Of course not.
I respect everyone on here, most know WAY more than I do. And most have helped me out personally. One thing about this hobby is you can never stop learning and will always find new stuff to educate yourself on.
