Qt/Ht How Many Do It How Many Dont

swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
because its not whats in your tank your protecting against, its thing that shouldnt be in your tank that you are preventing from getting in there.
example 1
say, I have 5 fish all appear healthy my tank params are moderate, I introduce a fish with ich to tank raised fish, that have never been exposed to ich, parameters being moderate one fish then the next succumbs to ich.
example 2
say I just got a great deal on a frag of montipora, I have hundreds of dollars invested in other corals, my tank parameters are perfect, I drop it in within weeks all my SPS have been wiped out by a protozoan infection (say brown jelly disease) that I did not notice in the half hour it took to temp acclimate the new frag and drop it in my tank.
and more......
qting allows you time to notice health issues in individuals befopre they become health issues for EVERYTHING.
i can see where your coming from, i am not coral expert or anything so this is just a speculation, but are corals that week, that 1 coral can wipe out your entire collection? is there no curing disease from your corals?
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
after 24 votes in, there is still not a one sided joust on this subject. you have 13 that do and 11 that dont? so its goign to take alot more than one day to find an answer, so far i haev only gotten only 1 comment on why he feels he does not have to qt? so i wished more people who dont qt come on and share some information on there succes? i know members get scared that there going to get hanged for posting this but its all for science i really dont think anyone s going to maek it an issue for either side? (i hope)
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Behind many aquarists who QT there is an aquarist who was burned by not doing it.
No disrespect intended, but once you see your once rock solid stable system fall to an outbreak of the super fast killer Velvet or watch a horrible bacterial outbreak that wipes out $10,000 worth of livestock, you won't need polls to understand. On the flip side, nothing is more heartbreaking than watching an eager new hobbiest who enthusiastically sets up his system, then ends up leaving the hobby in frustration because he/she refused to perform this simple step.
I also notice that the poll results seem lopsided. I am by no means being exhaustive here so please nobody blast me if they do not fall within the generalization I am putting forth here, but I notice a lot of well experienced members answering "yes" to your poll, but nary a username I recognize answering "no."
Again, no disrespect towards those who don't, but many people do start out not doing it, get burned, and come around.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
Behind many aquarists who QT there is an aquarist who was burned by not doing it.
No disrespect intended, but once you see your once rock solid stable system fall to an outbreak of the super fast killer Velvet or watch a horrible bacterial outbreak that wipes out $10,000 worth of livestock, you won't need polls to understand. On the flip side, nothing is more heartbreaking than watching an eager new hobbiest who enthusiastically sets up his system, then ends up leaving the hobby in frustration because he/she refused to perform this simple step.
I also notice that the poll results seem lopsided. I am by no means being exhaustive here so please nobody blast me if they do not fall within the generalization I am putting forth here, but I notice a lot of well experienced members answering "yes" to your poll, but nary a username I recognize answering "no."
Again, no disrespect towards those who don't, but many people do start out not doing it, get burned, and come around.
like i said i understand your point scs, i have been swfish keeping for over 4 years now, i know no-where near what some people on here have. my reasoning for polling is to get an idea of other peoples mistakes and maybe some brand new jsut got intot he hobby today members will read this and make there own decision, this is my second tank the first i stocked only with 2 percs, 1 pseudo. and a cleaner shrimp luckily i had that tank for a year and had not out breaks of any sort....
now, i dont know about other members but i dont have 10,000 dollars to just throw away, that is why i am asking this question, thats what the poll is for, i dont want to waste the money i have already spent, i have about 2,000 invested in my tank and i have no corals and 3 fish all put in about a month after my cycle was done a year ago, i am in no rush to stock more, but if i start adding the more elaborate corals and fish i dont want my money to get spent stupidly, my wife would kill me if i bought a 100 + coral and it got wiped out a week later, hence why i am doing this and not just for myself but for more to come int he future...
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by SWFISHFAN
i can see where your coming from, i am not coral expert or anything so this is just a speculation, but are corals that week, that 1 coral can wipe out your entire collection? is there no curing disease from your corals?
not weak, but susceptible to aggressive disease, or ravenouse killers like zoanthid spiders YES, your ideal water quality is the perfect breeding grtound for zoanthid spiders. and once they are in a tank with vast amounts of LR getting them out is nearly impossible. your zoanthids could be in perfect health to the spider thats just a nutritious meal. in a closed environment like our tanks a protozoan infection can progress so fast that by the time you notice it its too late. Qting prevents you from having to risk. not qting is tossing the dice, you may get lucjky for years, have thousands of dollars in livestock just to lose it all from one unhealthy specimine, even in the wild a massive protozoan outbreak can wipe out 200 square feet of reef in a months time. or an infestation of zoanthid spiders or pyramid snails can eliminate everysingle polyp of zoanthid or clams from a given area of reef in time, and unchecked they will and do.
there definatly are treatments for a lot of diseases and parasites on corals and this is far easier to do to a sibngle specimin in QT than it is to treat an entire tank. same thing with fish I would rather treat a fungal infection on one new fish than on everysingle fish in my tank, especially since lots of medications are not reef safe.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
not weak, but susceptible to aggressive disease, or ravenouse killers like zoanthid spiders YES, your ideal water quality is the perfect breeding grtound for zoanthid spiders. and once they are in a tank with vast amounts of LR getting them out is nearly impossible. your zoanthids could be in perfect health to the spider thats just a nutritious meal. in a closed environment like our tanks a protozoan infection can progress so fast that by the time you notice it its too late. Qting prevents you from having to risk. not qting is tossing the dice, you may get lucjky for years, have thousands of dollars in livestock just to lose it all from one unhealthy specimine, even in the wild a massive protozoan outbreak can wipe out 200 square feet of reef in a months time. or an infestation of zoanthid spiders or pyramid snails can eliminate everysingle polyp of zoanthid or clams from a given area of reef in time, and unchecked they will and do.

i am begging to see a trend here, if i was to make a suggestion here to all newbie's now dont take my word for it until people have elaborated on my opinion but it seems to me that unless your investing in a reef tank, there is no reason, well there is but its easier to take a disease to your dt if its a fowlr tank? once you begin to carry corals is when money wise, you should invest in a qt tank, it seems as if corals are easier to lose with a disease than fish are?
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
As far as corals go, I'd never add anything to my tank that I did not at least dip and then examine for red bugs, monti eating nudies, flat worms, ect. I buy 95% of my corals from one shop and their track record has been outstanding and a lot of what they sell is fragged from their tanks. Most of the critters I've listed can be treated with the exception of monti eating nudies, which are very very tough to get rid of and if you find a piece with them I'd toss it.
With fish, some common sense if needed. I would not buy a fish that didn't eat, a fish that is very thin, bad coloring, lateral line, pop eye, ect. IMO, if your tank is healthy and you feed qaulity food and your fish eats well then issues like ich can be fought off by the fish and the fish in your system are less likely to catch it. Also, buy fish that are appropriate for your given set up and I run a very very light load in my tank. Again, I would only do this if your set up is pristine and you have the right conditions.
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
I QT/Hypo all fish and QT corals after iodine dipping. Your last post indicated your thoughts about the money aspect in determining QT practices for FOLR and Reef tanks. I would argue (not with you personally, but about the thought in general) that it is not just about the money. I feel that I am responsible for the living creatures that I take into my care. If I can eliminate or prevent the spread of a debilitating or lethal disease by Qting then I will do so.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
Wouldn't you examine the fish?
definatly, but a couple weeks in qt to examine a fish gives far better chances of discovering/preventing/treating a problem than a couple minutes at the store. its easy to overlook things when you are excited about a new critter.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Beth
Unless you are a crazy thrill seeker, QT is the only way to run a fish tank.
Actually, there is another way to "run a fish tank." And it's not necessarily because a person is a crazy thrill seeker.
Lots of people don't QT and there are lots of reasons why they don't. But as usual, thanks for the condescending attitude.
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
definatly, but a couple weeks in qt to examine a fish gives far better chances of discovering/preventing/treating a problem than a couple minutes at the store. its easy to overlook things when you are excited about a new critter.
I always look forward to adding something new to my tank but I never buy on impluse and I always examine before I buy and I have very good relationship with my local shop owner and he has a tendency to steer me towards the quality goods.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by SWFISHFAN
So what is your reasoning to do this, is it just fear of an outbreak or just from other peoples comments?
Browse the disease forums.... I want to avoid all of that...
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
I always look forward to adding something new to my tank but I never buy on impluse and I always examine before I buy and I have very good relationship with my local shop owner and he has a tendency to steer me towards the quality goods.
now jmick makes a good point, lets say i walk in to my lfs? and i see a snow flake eel for 5 dollars, i go in i as teh shop owner if i can buy it and leave it in his tank so i can watch it for a week, now i am not a marine biologist and i cant sit here an say how long it will take to see an outbreak from a fish of any kind of disease but, if you purchase it and watch it for a week in the tank it is in then why qt? i have done it with the three fish i have now, i knwo many people on here do it, alot of the qt'rs? so why qt still?
now not to put this site on blast or anything but what if you buy a fish from here, there a trust worthy site, and nowhere in there gurantee or free deal do they tell us to qt a fish? they just give you acclimation and they tell you to introduce it to you dt, they even tell you that if it dies with in 14 days you can get your money back or another fish? so if they dont tell you to qt then whats the big deal?
to end this long post? why qt if youve taken precautions in buuying your fish, like listed above? im not a nay sayer, just a guy in the middle of a rock and a hard place...
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by SWFISHFAN
i can see why people qt, but my question is just an outsider looking in question, i dont qt, i am going to begin qt, but what i am thinking is, if you keep your tank in good condition just like another poster said earlier, why would you have to qt? the ocean dont qt animals when they get a disease? so why should we? i am not arguing so dotn jump all over me, but whats the reasoning besides not wanting to deal with the whole sick fish thing, the way i see it, if were patient for everythign else to set the tank up why are we not as patient with our sick fishy kids?

First off, starting to QT may not matter. You may already have introduced parasites, diseases, etc. into your tank. That's why it is crucial to do from the beginning.
The ocean is not nearly as closed of a system as your tank. A fish with ich in the ocean is not going to be around every fish in the ocean. A sick fish in your tank WILL encounter all of your other livestock. Not a good comparision.
It's not a matter of dealing with sick fish. Have you ever tried to catch a fish in a reef tank???? After you dismantle 200Lbs of live rock you'll understand the insanity of it all.
The better question to ask is; Why NOT qt? Again I say browse through the disease forum. Do you really want to roll the dice and deal with that?
 
hocky

hocky

Member
I was burned very early on because of not quarantining and frankly, I am glad that I was. I had to start 100% over. Now, EVERYTHING is QT'd and my DT will always be healthy.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by SWFISHFAN
...
to end this long post? why qt if youve taken precautions in buuying your fish, like listed above? im not a nay sayer, just a guy in the middle of a rock and a hard place...

Can you observe internal parasites? Can you be sure the fish doesn't have the initial disease hosting on it and hasn't shown signs yet?
The vast majority (if not all) of LFS tanks are plumbed together. Observing one fish in one tank doesn't paint the accurate picture.
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
Originally Posted by Hocky
I was burned very early on because of not quarantining and frankly, I am glad that I was. I had to start 100% over. Now, EVERYTHING is QT'd and my DT will always be healthy.
With newly established tank qting is a must!
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
With newly established tank qting is a must!
While generally Ich attacks stressed fish, I've seen Ich and Brook both attack tanks that are well established and healthy.
 
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