quaritine

[almarktool]

stupid question gere i know but if u are suppose to quaritine fish before you introduce them to your main tank since they might get ick from being stressed out then why is that different from putting them in the main tank since when you go to move them into the main tank they are going to expericene stress all over again

 

[peg]

not stupid. i have wondered the same thing.

 

[jastim]

When you treat something like Ich, you are trying to kill the cysts that fall off the fish. The Ich goes through a cycle (maybe multipe cycles). The Ich cysts fall off the fish, fall to the bottom of the tank, reproduce, and spread throughout the water column looking for a new host once the cysts burst. (Kinda like a Ich pimple I guess <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" /> ) The treatments used to cure Ich act by killing the cysts that fall off the fish. No treatment exists that treats the Ich while embedded in the fish. The Ich cannot live without a host for more than about 21 days I think.

 

[amphiprion]

No treatment exists that treats the Ich while embedded in the fish. <hr></blockquote>
This is not exactly true. If you quarantine your fish in a tank with hyposalinity for 4 weeks, you can be pretty positive that you won't be introducing the ich parasite into your main tank.
I do this with all fish - quarantine, lower salinity gradually to 1.09. Keep it there 4 weeks. Three days before I transfer to main tank, I gradually raise the salinity to match the main tank.

 

[jastim]

When I said no treatment I was mainly referring to chemical type treatments and not environmental treatments like hyposalinity. What are chances that a fish will live for 4wks at a salinity level that low? Have you done this many times with success?? Seems like that would kill them or at least be extremely stressful for a fish that is already stressed from other factors.