How many people honestly Quarantine?

[THEJRC]

I was at an LFS other than my usual today and they apparently just got stock in on Friday. They were still acclimating a good chunk of stock! apparently they roll coolers up to the tanks and start a drip. From talking to the guy at the counter they drip for around two days with most new stock as it reduces lost new stock it also helps them monitor the newbies to make sure nothing real nasty hits a stock tank.

It makes sense but still leaves me wondering.... two days in QT still isnt enough is it?

 

[H3D]

I quarantine all fish.

 

[dorkfish]

two days in QT still isnt enough is it?

No, but when you consider that I've had ich show up on a hippo tang after an hour of being in the bag... it will help weed out the sick ones, so they can be treated.

 

[SHK_ATK]

2 days is more than any chain store will do. Still not enought I guess they are just seeing if they have something wrong so they can be transfered to the their tanks, leaving us to finish off the qt process.

 

[SuperScro]

I have a QT tank, but it depends on what type of fish it is and how it looks. I purchased a firefish from my LFS a few weeks ago, and I did not put him in the QT tank. What I did however was give him a dip. I didn't want my firefish to get stressed or nervous being in the QT tank that I have, and felt like he would get sick easier in the smaller QT than my more pleasing, safe main tank.

I would QT most other fish, but others to different periods. I would keep hardier fish in the QT in a shorter period of time and less hardier fish in the QT longer.

It does depend on the QT tank set-up, such as size, environment, filtration etc. If I don't QT my fish I would give them a dip or something before they go in my main tank.

 

[PPMN]

How do you give a dip to a freshwater fish?

 

[5xevy]

There are more reasons to quarantine than to not quarantine. Also, QTs are good not just for new fish, but to have in those "just in case" scenarios if something goes wrong in your main tank. QTs can be temporary and you can take them down in between uses if you want. I don't find the above poll results surprising in the least.

Part of my planning (and purchasing) was in preparation for quarantining EVERYTHING (sans LR and LS).

I've never QTed LR or sand. Mainly because live rock is usually on a separate water system than the fish plus there's no live host to carry the more common diseases. You can always dip your rock in freshly made-up saltwater before adding it to your tank. Good to see you're being careful though!

 

[SigPiPup]

Thanks for all the great responses. It has been very helpful to me and I'm sure to others who were wondering the same thing.

Well, my cycling is almost complete so I'll be setting up the QT soon.