quarantine tank

[beth]

Yes, what Imforbis said. Glass pan would be best. Not plastic and, of course, not metal. As long as the is eating, it should be good to go.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

I'm not sure why that didn't occur to me. For some reason, I was picturing a pile of sand on the bottom of the tank. Now that you guys say it, it seems pretty obvious. I guess that's why you make the big bucks!

 

[beth]

Big bucks?? Where!?

 

[lmforbis]

Its that $0 per hour. It adds up over time.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

With the accrued interest, I'll bet you guys could get a nice box of M&M's, or maybe even some Lemon Heads!

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

Ok, new question. Any thoughts on quarantining snails or a tiger conch? Do they require the same amount of time as fish? Should I look out for particular problems in quarantining them, or provide for any special needs?

 

[lmforbis]

I don’t typically QT inverts. I do purchase mine from a vendor who doesn’t have any fish in their tanks. It is a risk.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

I don’t typically QT inverts. I do purchase mine from a vendor who doesn’t have any fish in their tanks. It is a risk.

After my recent ordeal with ******, I'm a little gun shy about not using a quarantine.

 

[lmforbis]

I think you’d need to QT at least 6 weeks maybe more to make sure all parasites have died off. Essentially the same as the fallow period.

 

[jay0705]

If added from fishless tanks generally your ok, but parasites can live on there shells. Never add the water they come with.

 

[Sharkbait hoohaha]

If added from fishless tanks generally your ok, but parasites can live on there shells. Never add the water they come with.

I don't add the water that comes with anything I get. My main concern arises from the fact that, while many retailers do put their inverts in separate tanks from the fish, the tanks share system water. So the parasites can travel. I found out (after the fact) the store that sold me the fish that caused my recent problems has all of its tanks on a single system--and they don't treat it with anything but garlic. So if one tank is infected, they all are. This, by the way, was my introduction to the importance of quarantine!

Other stores I've talked to do have some level of water sharing between tanks, even if they don't have all tanks on a single system. As a matter of practicality, I get it. Larger systems are generally more stable, and they require less equipment overall than several smaller systems. But it can be a problem if the retailer (and the customer) is not careful. One little unwanted hitchhiker can cause a lot of problems. (I mean, just look what happened with John Rambo!)

From now on, I'm taking the 'better safe than sorry' approach and isolating anything wet for at least 4-6 weeks!

 

[lmforbis]

The place I buy mine (reef cleaners) only deals in inverts so there are no fish in any of the tanks.
I understand the caution and it won’t hurt to do it.

 

[beth]

With snails that will eat fish food then they are easier to QT, not so much that mostly eat microalgae. The absolute answer would be to find a vendor that does not expose snails to ich. That may require making inquiries of online vendors.

 

[jay0705]

In my area wny, most retailers treat fish tanks w copper. They then keep, snails,shrimp, stars,ect in separate tanks. However to save space some do keep disease resistant fish (draggonetts) with that stuff aswell

 

[lmforbis]

I get inverts from Reef Cleaners. They say they have fishless systems.