Quarantine

I'm sure we all have been there ; where we introduced a new live stock to our system without a second thought. Disscuss why is quarantine important or why it isn't.

Quarantine is especially important because you can introduce unknown parasites and or bacteria into your tanks without knowing it. The main debate among fish keepers is the length of time one SHOULD quarantine new fish before introduction. Many illnesses remain hidden for months (IE: Angel Virus) and can take up to 6 MONTHS to show any symptoms. Personally, I think buying from a known source, QT, and watching behavior and eating habits for 2-3 weeks is sufficient. Introducing new specimens into your stock without QT will ALWAYS create some sort of issue eventually!! Just a BAD IDEA to risk it!!

Thanks Doxie, but upon some research about quarantine I heard you are also suppose to give new fish a quarantine bath??? Its not required but I have seen/heard some hobbyist do quarantine bath to be sure to kill anything that the fish might carry. Any thoughts on that???

Sure....a "bath" will not give enough time to identify any ailments that may be internal or in early stages. Nor will that remedy transfer stress related illness.

a bath unless it is nessaryis stressfullon thefish the amount of time depends on the sorce of fish wild caught longer the time

What kind of bath are you referring to? Is it a salt bath or a medicated bath with some type of meds.

Medicated bath for wild caught fish.

Giving a fish a "bath" for an intestinal issue is worthless. Most "WILD" Types need to go through an intestinal deworming (parasites) This can ONLY be done with an ingested medication over an extended period of time. So to answer your original question...... Quarantine IS important!

If the FISH HAS problem when you see it. You should leave it were it is don'tget it.

We can, unfortunately, attest to having first hand experience with the necessity of quarantine! Although a fish might "seem" vibrant & healthy, this may be far from true and without taking proper precautions, the consequences can be devastating! I intend to not only have a couple of quarantine tanks at the ready, but also a couple of hospital tanks. As Doxie pointed out, some things are not detectable for months. Jeopardizing your most beloved fish unnecessarily is just too risky. For any of us fish addicts, space is an issue, always, but I know stands can be built to accommodate more than one aquarium without a lot of expense & fuss & while I always agreed quarantine was important, I am guilty of "planning" to do it rather than just doing it. Our dearest fish are now gone because I was negligent in my responsibility to them. As newcomers to the hobby, I suppose we underestimated how bad things can get and how fast. From now on I will proceed by assuming the health of a fish is 'Unknown' until I have had it long enough to prove otherwise. Additionally, it's wise to be very selective & cautious when purchasing. A couple of tanks got broken, rather than making replacing them my first priority, I kept scooting it down the list. I also discovered not to overestimate how much I knew, or was prepared for. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable about the fish I kept, but no amount of reading & research is no substitute for experience. Listen carefully to what those that do have the experience have to say. Wisdom hard earned, warrants respect that is most certainly well deserved.

Just to EMPHASIZE the IMPORTANCE of quarantine....I ran across this eye opening material, while browsing about online. Am posting a link below and I hope that EVERYONE will have a look at it. It doesn't ease the pain of loss, once you've made this foolish mistake, but it does help a little when you're kicking yourself & crying at the same time, to know you aren't alone in having screwed up. For those of you who have been fortunate enough to have evaded tragedy thus far, if you care enough about your fish to have them in the first place, you NEED to see this and take it VERY SERIOUSLY. Otherwise, sooner or later, your luck WILL run out. These illnesses are LITERALLY at your back door! PLEASE QUARANTINE! Please Love Your Fish & Please Respect the Love Others Have For Theirs!!
Responsibility equals Action!! It's too late to bring back our dearest fish. A couple of angels were with us from day 1..several others, not far behind. They were what inspired us & caused us to see this specie for the Miracle that it is & THEY DESERVED BETTER. I failed them & they depended on me not to fail them. Even as they died, I saw trust in their eyes. It will always haunt me. You don't have to feel the heartache & the guilt that we now feel.

http://www.reefaquarium.com/2012/quarantining-new-additions/

God Bless you All!!