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To Quarantine first fish in tank... or not?
I'm gonna be setting up my new 55G planted tank soon, and I'm wondering if I
should quarantine the first fish that I will introduce ... which will be 3 SAE, & 6 Ottos. I know that the pro for quarantining the first fish is that it's cheaper to medicate them if needed in a smaller tank. However, my main concern is ... is there a chance that these fish might carry something that could infect other fish that will be added later on? So for example, I add my 9 initial fish to the main tank, they are fine, no signs of illness, however, something that they had makes a home in my tank, and then infects fish that I add later on (which went through a quarantine period). Hope that makes sense. So could the above scenario happen, and could it be prevented by quarantining the first fish? Thanks, Harry -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
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To Quarantine first fish in tank... or not?
"Harry Muscle" wrote in message ... I'm gonna be setting up my new 55G planted tank soon, and I'm wondering if I should quarantine the first fish that I will introduce ... which will be 3 SAE, & 6 Ottos. I know that the pro for quarantining the first fish is that it's cheaper to medicate them if needed in a smaller tank. However, my main concern is ... is there a chance that these fish might carry something that could infect other fish that will be added later on? So for example, I add my 9 initial fish to the main tank, they are fine, no signs of illness, however, something that they had makes a home in my tank, and then infects fish that I add later on (which went through a quarantine period). Hope that makes sense. So could the above scenario happen, and could it be prevented by quarantining the first fish? Thanks, Harry If your introduced fish bring a contagion which does not affect them, how would you have detected this in a Q tank? There is merit in quarantining the first lot, especially if: i) a purchase looks suspect or came from a suspect tank, ii) you are mixing established fish with purchased fish (the susceptibilities of established fish go to both extremes), iii) if the tank is highly planted or rock-scaped, and there is the impracticality of treating large tanks for bacterial contagions (treating parasites is usually cheap). The reasons not to could be iv) too many different purchases to be able to quarantine them all individually, v) all came from reliable sources and are in excellent condition, vi) you are willing to take the gamble. FWIW, I stock my African tanks all in one shot. I collect all the fish (usually juveniles) I want from various stores, putting them all together in a holding tank (bare-bottom, no rocks, plants or decorations to fight over). Within 2-3 days, everyone is collected and if there are no obvious problems, they all go in at once, so the entire tank is effectively a quarantine tank. Then I try to leave it alone for a few months. I cycle by moving filters around, or fishless cycle as needed. ps: Because different species have varied susceptibilities to diseases, your probability of a tank contagion increases with the total number of species mixed together at the same time (if you were on the fence, this might help you decide). A compromise might be to isolate your fish by species, but I tend to put more effort into observation and quick medication, than relying on quarantining, but ymmv. Once the tank is established, the rules change, and all new introductions (fish, plants, snails etc) get quarantined, or else I'm ready to face the consequences of what goes wrong. hth NetMax |
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