Beth, I need you advice!!!

[rook]

I ordered a gold striped maroon clown, tank raised, juvenal. I am going to attempt to pair it up with my female gold-stripped maroon clown, which is the only other fish in my tank.
I am considering whether I should quarantine this fish. On one side, I would hate to have it have a disease and spread it to my other maroon; on the other side, I don't want the maroon to be left alone for very long and become a female, thus destroying the chance of the two maroons pairing up.
I have heard that maroons and typically not prone to many diseases, and the source I am buying from is good. Also, from everywhere that I read no one really knows how quickly a maroon will change into a female when left solitary.
What do you think? Is it worth risking not putting the new maroon in a qt. I guess if he does have a disease, I only have one other fish, so quarantining both would not be that much of a big deal.
Please help!

 

[beth]

QT both at the same time. It would be a shame to intro something in your tank that might otherwise be avoided.
The added benefit to doing this is that you will displace some of the territorialness of the existing clown when you remove him to QT. That way, they might actually pair up.

 

[rook]

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the new clown has a disease it will be a disease that will only effect the other, original clown fish. Thus,whether I put the new clown in the main tank with the original clown, or put both in a qt, if the new clown has a disease the results will be the same, both clowns will be infected??
Is there some kind of disease that the new clown may have that will effect other inhabitants then the clown?
Again the original clown is the only fish in the tank, so my point is that to put the original with the new, either in the main tank or a qt, will expose the old clown to any disease the new may have?
I may be completely wrong though.
I do like the idea of breaking the territorialness though, but I may be able to replicate this in a few days as oppose to weeks.
Thanks for your help.

 

[beth]

The new fish may have a disease that is not contagious, thus it won't effect the clown you now have or your main tank.
OR
The new clown could introduce a very contagious disease to the clown you already have. If this is the case, you can either just expose the clown you have to the very contagious disease in the QT,
OR
You can expose your main tank and the clown you already have to a very contagious disease, then have to remove both fish from the main tank anyway to treat them, because it is inadvisible to treat a whole display tank.
RISKS all around in this situation.

 

[rook]

Yeah not an ideal situation to be in.
Am I correct in that any disease the new clown may have will only affect the old clown, and not the corals/inverts?
I ask because I do not have a running qt and would have to run a hospital on-the-spot qt which is a pain. I was considering introducing the new clown to the tank and if it does have a disease deal with it in a qt, but if it does not, then I am good to go. Seems no less risky than the other choices.
What is the quick you have cycled a qt, using sand rock and water from the main tank?

 

[beth]

Only fish can "catch" fish disease from other fish. However, something like ich, which has a 3-stage life cycle one of which includes lying on rocks, substrate, or where ever it falls off the fish can harbor the disease. Not for long though.

 

[rook]

Thanks for all of your help.
Hopefully after going through this trouble the two pair up.