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Quarantine
"FishNoob" wrote in message
... I'm planning on going to buy some clown loaches tomorrow. Well, probably clown loaches - this is my eldest's choice; we'll look at the yo-yos and zebra loaches too, and I'll explain the pros and cons, but in the end, it's his birthday money, so it's up to him. Anyway - the store we're going to says they quarantine all their stock for two weeks before selling it. In that case, do most of you still quarantine after purchase? I think you will have to use your discretion. What's your emotional and financial investment? $4,000 Arowanas get quarantined longer than $40 Discus who get quarantined longer than $4 Angelfish ;~). If the tank is all new, then the whole tank is the quarantine (that's what I usually like to do). If we're going to quarantine, how long would you quarantine for? Three months is nice ;~). The longer the quarantine, the more you are screening against. Waiting 2-3 days screens for transport shock. Waiting a couple of weeks catches most stuff. Waiting 3 weeks is probably the most efficient in terms of time and what you are likely to screen for. Do keep a close watch on them, their eating, poop is normal, color and shine normal, fins normal, and their activity level is normal for their species. Incidentally, 3 months is what I usually give new arrivals before I move them around my place, so that's where that number comes from. I've never quarantined anything before - what should I put in a quarantine tank? I assume gravel - not a problem, I've got spare. I know clowns like to have hiding-places; should I pick up an extra rock or two to provide that in the quarantine tank? Never gravel. Q-tanks are ordinarily bare-bottom (why add millions of little stones for diseases to hide in, and then there is the bother of sterilizing all the gravel if there was a disease, makes no sense). Q-tanks often use sponge filters, easy to seed, move, and later sterilize if neccesary. Other filters are fine. Just keep in mind the difficulty they represent if you need to sterilize them. Keep it simple. For decorations, you want lots (for them to hide in and be comfortable) and you want none (so you can easily see them to inspect their condition). To satisfy both conditions is a little tricky ;~). I often use no decorations and I keep the tank in very dark conditions (compromise for their comfort). Alternately, I will drop in stuff which is not very porous (easy to sterilize) and that I can remove relatively easily (ie: a couple of black ABS tubes, or whatever suits the particular fish) for twice daily inspections. I hope there were some ideas in that for you. -- www.NetMax.tk Anything else I should know? -- FishNoob |
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On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 11:28:36 -0000, FishNoob
wrote: The young'n's birthday was actually in November - he's been waiting this long to spend that gift certificate! He's been very understanding about waiting until the tank was ready for more fish though - and of course it's given us lots more time to research and plan :-) That's some special kid. If someone gave me birthday money on November 15, it would be spent before November 16 is over. And I'm a grownup, not a kid. -- Mister Gardener |
Quarantine
I'll second that....My neighborhood fish store is not a chain (closing this
month) a older lady owns it she opened it after she retired for something to do, and I kind of talked to her the other day about her closing she said she was not doing to good with business, and I am not the kind of person to say "hay your store sucks" but I did tell her I had many problems with fish I bought there, and she said the ones you just got in the last few months (she said because she has not been as involved) I said no its been all of them. She said its probably because I don't quarantine my fish I don't have the room, so there is much more change of disease, she also was very honest in saying if someone comes in and my tank is blue from being treated they will not buy fish from me at all, even in the clean tanks, I said I don't know I would be more likely to because then I know your on top of it instead of thinking you don't care what you are selling. she was nice about it Nikki "Koi-Lo" wrote in message ... "FishNoob" wrote in message ... In article , lid says... YES!!!! Have you asked to see their quarantine facilities? I never knew a store to have quarantine tanks for all new arrivals in the back-room somewhere. They're unboxed and the bags are floated in the tanks until they have time to open them and release the fish - FOR IMMEDIATE SALE. I do actually believe that this store does what they say. They're not part of a chain, they don't advertise, they're not well-known outside aquarium-keeper circles - I didn't even know they existed until a few months after we got an aquarium. The store is not in an expensive part of town - kind of off the beaten track a bit. They've been established for many years. They don't have huge neon signs or anything like that. IOW, they're not some flashy stack-em-high-sell- em-cheap outlet. You are very fortunate to find a store like that. In my area there are few non-chain stores and one is so bad I seldom venture inside to see (and smell) what they have floating in their tanks. :-( They've got a very good reputation - everything I've heard or read about them has been 100% positive. I've visited the store twice and found the staff are all very interested and knowledgeable, and not pushing to sell. They have a wide range in stock, from tiny shrimp to two-foot-long stuff - all in reasonably- sized tanks. That's why I'm going further to buy from them rather than a local pet shop :-) That's an excellent idea. So I'm not concerned about them failing to do what they say they do - I just want to know what I should be doing, given the situation :-) I've had such bad experiences not quarantining that I quarantine everything from everywhere. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Quarantine
"Nikki" wrote in message ... I'll second that....My neighborhood fish store is not a chain (closing this month) a older lady owns it she opened it after she retired for something to do, and I kind of talked to her the other day about her closing she said she was not doing to good with business, My nearest town had several mom & pop pet shops try to make a go of it over the years. Most of these stores did take good care of the fish, medicate them, guarantee them etc. but people would not pay the prices they had to charge to stay in business. The average Joe Blow went to *you know where* to get fish for 1/3rd less the price the private stores had to charge. Never mind they were sick and diseased, they were CHEAP! All these M&Ps closed in less than 2 years. One only lasted about 6 months. However we now have a brand spanking new PetSupermarket and they're thriving! The fish are selling as fast as she gets them in (several older women run the place). and I am not the kind of person to say "hay your store sucks" but I did tell her I had many problems with fish I bought there, and she said the ones you just got in the last few months (she said because she has not been as involved) I said no its been all of them. She said its probably because I don't quarantine my fish I don't have the room, so there is much more change of disease, she also was very honest in saying if someone comes in and my tank is blue from being treated they will not buy fish from me at all, But there are colorless medications such as Aquari-Sol that no one would know was in the water. How could she not know that? The wholesalers could have told her what to use that works and is invisible. I think some people just don't have enough knowledge to make a go of these pet stores. That real bad place I mention here stays in business because they sell other pets besides fish. I wish they'd just concentrate on the birds and small animals and get rid of all their diseased tanks of fish. even in the clean tanks, I said I don't know I would be more likely to because then I know your on top of it instead of thinking you don't care what you are selling. she was nice about it Nikki -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Quarantine
"IDzine01" wrote in message oups.com... I quarantine for 4 weeks before introducing the fish to a community tank. If they show any signs of illness, I treat and start the 4 week quarantining period again. My QT is always bare bottom. Otherwise you will just have to throw the gravel away and that seems like a waste. No you don't. :-) Rinse it good to remove any mulm and either boil it for 20 minutes on the stove top or line an old baking dish with cheap tinfoil and bake it at 200F for 20 minutes or so. Buy your gravel at Home Depot or Lowe's as $3 a 50lb sack. It comes in a nice natural brown color. I mean, if the fish are sick you're not going to use that gravel again on other fish, right? I usually add in some java moss for places to hide and to provide a soft bottom then toss it when quarantine is over. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Quarantine
FishNoob wrote:
I'm planning on going to buy some clown loaches tomorrow. Well, probably clown loaches - this is my eldest's choice; we'll look at the yo-yos and zebra loaches too, and I'll explain the pros and cons, but in the end, it's his birthday money, so it's up to him. Anyway - the store we're going to says they quarantine all their stock for two weeks before selling it. In that case, do most of you still quarantine after purchase? If we're going to quarantine, how long would you quarantine for? If we're doing that, I'll be filling my 60-litre tank tomorrow morning, and putting in the heater, but I won't move the filter across from the 125-litre until we get home with the loaches. I know a 60-litre isn't big enough for three clown loaches long-term, but it would be adequate for quarantine, wouldn't it? I've never quarantined anything before - what should I put in a quarantine tank? I assume gravel - not a problem, I've got spare. I know clowns like to have hiding-places; should I pick up an extra rock or two to provide that in the quarantine tank? Anything else I should know? I don't think anyone mentioned pieces of PVC pipe for hiding places. It's cheap, easy to sterilize when you're done, and works great for shy fish like loaches. Be sure to put in more pieces of pipe than there are fish. -- Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply. Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com |
Quarantine
"Koi-Lo" wrote in message
... "Nikki" wrote in message ... I'll second that....My neighborhood fish store is not a chain (closing this month) a older lady owns it she opened it after she retired for something to do, and I kind of talked to her the other day about her closing she said she was not doing to good with business, My nearest town had several mom & pop pet shops try to make a go of it over the years. Most of these stores did take good care of the fish, medicate them, guarantee them etc. but people would not pay the prices they had to charge to stay in business. The average Joe Blow went to *you know where* to get fish for 1/3rd less the price the private stores had to charge. Never mind they were sick and diseased, they were CHEAP! All these M&Ps closed in less than 2 years. One only lasted about 6 months. However we now have a brand spanking new PetSupermarket and they're thriving! The fish are selling as fast as she gets them in (several older women run the place). Koi-Lo, as soon as someone posts something about store quality, even something good about it, I can always count on you jumping in to tell us how bad your stores are, the clerks are ignorant and underpaid, and it won't get better because it is the American way. All this negativity is no good for you. Chill :o) I don't doubt what you see is happening where you are (Tennesee?), but there are thousands of gorgeous stores in North America. Forget your big chains, though even they have a few stand-out stores where you see the management is on the ball. Many of the smaller chains are doing very nicely. They know where they want to be, and are slowly moving that way (live plants in all the tanks, state-of-the-art filtration, rotating stock for disease control etc). Then there are many mom & pop stores doing their best, which is much better than the average home tank. Finally there are the specialty stores, who practice a husbandry beyond the average person's abilities because of the value of their stock, whether it is Discus, Arrowanas or Koi. At least you now have one good store which you can frequent. Try to stay out of all the others, especially that other one we both know about (W**-***t), it's bad for your health ;~). and I am not the kind of person to say "hay your store sucks" but I did tell her I had many problems with fish I bought there, and she said the ones you just got in the last few months (she said because she has not been as involved) I said no its been all of them. She said its probably because I don't quarantine my fish I don't have the room, so there is much more change of disease, she also was very honest in saying if someone comes in and my tank is blue from being treated they will not buy fish from me at all, But there are colorless medications such as Aquari-Sol that no one would know was in the water. How could she not know that? The wholesalers could have told her what to use that works and is invisible. I think some people just don't have enough knowledge to make a go of these pet stores. That real bad place I mention here stays in business because they sell other pets besides fish. I wish they'd just concentrate on the birds and small animals and get rid of all their diseased tanks of fish. A common store policy is to medicate with anything which is not detectable. I liked it when we got in dark-blue painted tanks. I could medicate just after closing, and the color would not be evident by morning. Many medications are not colorless (like fungus treatments), so then it was off to the back room quarantine tanks. I kept six Q-tanks running, and I would have 4 typically in operation, and sometimes I would double them up (fish from different tanks with different diseases, which were both covered by the meds in use. In an extreme case (the EUS discussed in another thread), I treated the display tank, but I took a sheet of black background and pasted it on the front of the wall tank with a sign "shhh hospital tank, fish may be sleeping". Most customers took it in stride and didn't hold it against us for having 'diseased' fish. A few said they were not coming back because of it. C'est la vie. The occasional kid pealed back a corner to look into the yellow water, but the fish were all swimming around quite oblivious to it. Anyways, my long winded point... not all meds are color-less. I think I have to learn brevity. -- www.NetMax.tk even in the clean tanks, I said I don't know I would be more likely to because then I know your on top of it instead of thinking you don't care what you are selling. she was nice about it Nikki -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
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