Am I destroying my "tank is quarantined" stance if I add this clown?

[richiev]

I picked up a clown awhile back from AC. I buy quarantined fish for my display as a rule. However this was a somewhat impulse purchase to replace a clown I lost a long time ago, and driven by my kids and wife being there with me.

I've had it in an isolation tank for... maybe 3 months at this point. The only other fish in there is a filefish I bought quarantined and haven't decided if I want to add it to an actual tank.

The clown is very healthy, and has been the entire time. Definitely no brook or velvet, because both would be dead. No signs of ich. No signs of parasites.

I just don't have the time to actually do a medicated QT or hybrid tank transfer.

For those that keep rigorous disease avoidance tanks, give me your take on what you'd do.

 

[RandyC]

It's always possible that ich is present if you haven't treated for it, but conditions don't allow it to multiply enough to show noticeable symptoms in a fish. Ich usually attack gills first so they could be there without you noticing. Clownfish also have a thick mucous membrane that may help in keeping ich numbers down.

So, if your stance is to only introduce QT'ed fish and have done this in the past, I wouldn't change that stance now.

 

[Turkeysammich]

Yeah. Just cuz you don’t see anything doesn’t mean it ain’t there. Gill flukes are invisible to the naked eye. Flukes are the silent killer. Velvet can stay dormant also. People say it is constantly reproducing but if the temp is low it will slow to a crawl and basically go extremely slow almost dormant. Same with ick.
I really believe that most protozoans have a dormant stage even tho people say they don’t. If they didn’t all fish in the wild would be dead. In the wild they are close to each other and yeah. More water. But still. It would be like the plague. Just my crazy thoughts
Oh. What about internal parasites. That’s another one.

 

[gmdcdvm]

Agreed. The risks may seem low. QT is not a guarantee. But, this would be breaking your strict QT stance regardless of how long you have been observing the fish.

I am in the same boat right now. I have several fish in my observation tank who have had to grow up a little over the last year. They are finally ready to live large in the 180g. No QT, it has been over a year since the last addition, but there is still a risk.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

The price you paid for all quarantined fish in your display would be in vein if you added it.

I'd play it safe. Peace of mind is everything to me at this point, so if it were me, I wouldnt risk it. Hell, I put my clean up crew through a 30 day QT..huge PITA, but I can sleep well knowing Ive minimized my chances of an outbreak.

I got a full QT set up not in use at the moment if you need?

 

[richiev]

F.

Good answers, though certainly not what I was hoping to hear. Maybe I'll take a middle ground and do a round of prazi + a freshwater dip before moving. I just really don't want to setup another tank at the moment and don't have the time to manage the QT tank. I guess the other alternative is try and get it added to a different place's next QT round.

 

[SupraSaltyReefer]

No excuse for a full QT, but freshwater dip >
two rounds of General Cure > Safety Stop > freshwater dip > then into DT

 

[richiev]

I think I'm just going to get 2 new 5 gallon buckets and go the hybrid TTM route. Should be fairly straightforward and with my single clown in there shouldn't be too difficult to manage ammonia and such.

Full plan:
1. two 5-gallon buckets
2. air bubbler
3. cup of sand from my display distributed in there

Hybrid TTM with general cure

When doing the transfer, grab a new cup of sand from the display, toss the sand from the previous round of TTM.

Clown moves over after.

 

[jepoy]

May I ask where you buy QT'd fish?

 

[phatduckk]

May I ask where you buy QT'd fish?

from @under_water_ninja (aka High Tide Aquatics in Oakland). There's a few other guys online too - check the humble fish forum for a list.

I bought 3 fish from @under_water_ninja yesterday & had an Uber bring them to me... faster & cheaper than overnight delivery =)

 

[phatduckk]

Lots of good points here... my 2c is that I wouldn't qualify it as "quarantined" - same commentary as the other guys.

Is the isolation tank just the 2 fish? If so - id run both of them thru meds in that tank (coper, the whole thing). I've had both ich and velvet come in thru frags or inverts and am beyond paranoid at this point

 

[Darkxerox]

from @under_water_ninja (aka High Tide Aquatics in Oakland). There's a few other guys online too - check the humble fish forum for a list.

I bought 3 fish from @under_water_ninja yesterday & had an Uber bring them to me... faster & cheaper than overnight delivery =)

Fish Uber! That's actually pretty cool.

 

[PjFish]

I think I'm just going to get 2 new 5 gallon buckets and go the hybrid TTM route. Should be fairly straightforward and with my single clown in there shouldn't be too difficult to manage ammonia and such.

Full plan:
1. two 5-gallon buckets
2. air bubbler
3. cup of sand from my display distributed in there

Hybrid TTM with general cure

When doing the transfer, grab a new cup of sand from the display, toss the sand from the previous round of TTM.

Clown moves over after.

Why the sand!..To give the PROTOMONT something other to stick to then the plastic of the bucket and airline tube/stone/ heater ?

 

[Turkeysammich]

from @under_water_ninja (aka High Tide Aquatics in Oakland). There's a few other guys online too - check the humble fish forum for a list.

I bought 3 fish from @under_water_ninja yesterday & had an Uber bring them to me... faster & cheaper than overnight delivery =)

Now I’m curious. What does it cost to uber fish ? Where do you live ? So interesting

 

[spuri87]

Why the sand!..To give the PROTOMONT something other to stick to then the plastic of the bucket and airline tube/stone/ heater ?

View attachment 79021

This looks familiar I saw this video at least a dozen times when I was evaluating Copper vs TTM vs Hyposalinity.. here is the link to the full video from Humble Fish for anyone interested:

 

[richiev]

Why the sand!..To give the PROTOMONT something other to stick to then the plastic of the bucket and airline tube/stone/ heater ?

View attachment 79021

Get some level of biological filtration in place. I don't like the ammonia smell of uncycled tanks and feel bad for the animals. Prime / amquell can help, but I'd rather not deal with that.

Also because I've been planning on incrementally replacing some of my sand, so having a reason to take a couple cups out helps force me down that path.

 

[richiev]

May I ask where you buy QT'd fish?

As others said, I usually try and get mine from high tide.

 

[SupraSaltyReefer]

Now I’m curious. What does it cost to uber fish ? Where do you live ? So interesting

I use Uber Courier all the time to send things to my friends in SF or SJ. 2 weeks ago from Pittsburg to SF in the afternoon was about $70 + tip. Well worth it IMO so I don't have to spend 3hr+ driving and sitting in traffic.

 

[Darkxerox]

I use Uber Courier all the time to send things to my friends in SF or SJ. 2 weeks ago from Pittsburg to SF in the afternoon was about $70 + tip. Well worth it IMO so I don't have to spend 3hr+ driving and sitting in traffic.

Hey @psidriven you have to charge more!

 

[Chrism1330]

I use Uber Courier all the time to send things to my friends in SF or SJ. 2 weeks ago from Pittsburg to SF in the afternoon was about $70 + tip. Well worth it IMO so I don't have to spend 3hr+ driving and sitting in traffic.

I love doing this as well makes things easier u can put it in something discrete if you dont want the uber driver knowing what it is exactly your sending but i always like to tell them so they dont assume anything bad lol saves so much time