Quarantine?

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sowhatifiamlazy

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May 14, 2003
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I bought one fish yesterday (rasbora) and put her into the quarantine tank.
She's very nervous and afraid everytime I approach the aquarium - her harlequin part fades. That's very common for this fish when they are afraid of something.

She's young and looks healthy and eats normally. She's pale though, but that is definitely because she's frightened.

So I was wondering, do I really need to keep her in the quarantine tank in the first place? I mean, she's frightened because she's alone and in a new "cold" environment (just glass and a filter). So I don't think the Q tank is doing much job here - it could even produce the illness because of the stress.

What do you think or any advice?
10x.
 
what about getting

a couple more to make her feel more comfortable , also how about giving the tank a plant or cave or something to keep her calm, the open space all by herself is probaly what is making her so upset
 
This is the one problem I have with quarentine. The fish come into the counry after a long flight (or at least that is true in UK) are then subject to temporary quarentining, before being transported to shops where, hopefully, they are quarenteened again, and are then moved into shop tanks, where they are sold. Then they are, supposedbly, quarenteened again before going into their final home. this is very stressful for the fish, and so when I get fish I make sure they are quarenteened before going on sale, and if so I dont bother with it at home. Find a good retailor who u know do this and you wont have to worry. Many would say this is bad practice, but I want to do whats best IMO for my fish.

Sounds to me like your quarentining is doing your fish more bad than good, so I would forget it.
 
Well, I was thinking about that too.
I never had any problems with any fish bought at my LFS - I examined their tanks with Rasboras and all were in good condition. All their tanks are crystal clear and I never saw a medicine in the water.
I put this fish in the quarantine just because my main tank is fully estabilished and I wouldn't want to ruin that with possible fish disease.
But again, the rasbora is a schooling fish and Q tank just doesn't help much here.
 
I am torn, but an experience I had last year makes a good argument for qt. I had a nice little school of praecox rainbows in my planted tank, 4 adults plus a few that had been born in the tank. Decided to add a few to make a nicer school. The newbies went first, death by bloat and heavy breathing, followed by everyone else, one by one over the course of a few months. Perhaps I didn't treat aggressively enough, but I was worried about risking the other fish, the shrimp, and the plants. The non-rainbows survived, but I lost some beautiful fish, some of which I had raised from eggs.
Had the newcomers been in a qt tank, they may have died there, limiting the spread, or I would have felt a lot better about medicating the crap out of them.
I still don't have a qt tank, though.
 
Yea, I mean qt tanks are great (like that abbreviation - esspecially since I cant spell the word!), but they can have the opposite effect. It is difficult when buying one or two fish to add to a shoal, as it would mean either putting them straight in main tank or having them moping about unhappy and depressed (leading to decreased immune system etc...) in a qt tank. But the if there is a prob with fish and you do skip qt then you're gonna be kickin yourself. But if you ask me if the LFS has done its job and qt the fish already then you really shouldnt have probs. Find a good one and stick with them.
 
I would no more put a fish directly into my tanks than I would run it down the disposal alive. If I could not QT the fish, I will not buy it, period. I would not risk my eatablished fish or tanks no matter how "healthy" the new purchase seemed to be. I also have not have an infectious disease in my tanks since some years before we moved to this house. We have been here almost 18 years. I've run between 24 and 40 tanks at all times through that period. Direct introduction of new fish is IMHO just about one of the dumbest thing an aquarist can do. If that is offensive I am sorry, but that is my opinion.

If your QT tank is stressful, fix that. That is easy and does not risk your existing tanks or fish. A plastic or live plant or two, a rock or terra cotta pot or two is not a big deal. Don't kid yourself that you are doing the wrong thing for the new fish.
 
I'm with RTR on this one. Spruce up your tank some. You should have something lying around. Fake plants will probably do the trick if nothing else. If it seems like home, it will be fine and make it home at least temporarily. I have quaranteed single fish many times that generally shoal and they do just fine. That is if they feel secure.
 
black sides and back?

I've read that a Qtank should have the back and sides and bottom covered in black, as well as hiding places and fake plants.
 
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