Marinne's Reef

It eats a lot...loves everything I put in the tank

the spots have gone away...she only had maybe 4 on her

the Kole tang has about 3-4 spots on his fins but that's it and they both eat a lot

QT tank doesn't have to cost a lot. Just a old tank you have laying around with a HOB Filter/Air Stone will do the trick just fine. Cut up some pvc and toss it in there for hidey holes. The bigger the fish you purchase, the bigger the tank should be though. But a 2-3" tang would be fine in a 20L or something like that for a few weeks during the QT process.

the only tank I have is a 65G that is drilled, I would have to order some meds to keep in stock as well

I avoid meds mostly lol. Wait till a Petco has a $ per gallon sale, and grab a 10-55 gallon tank for a decent price. Just run a sponge filter / heater and keep the salinity lower. Should do the trick.

Edit: Freshwater dipping before going into QT can be helpful (but only if you see a reason too)

I'll never skip QTing again lol. It's a horrible feeling to watch a entire system crash because of it lol

I will see what I can do with the 65G then...the tangs are still doing good today, no spots on them at all

I've never quarantined anything. Now that I'm contemplating going back into the business, I will have HUGE UV lights on the central systems. My 100 20 longs are calling to me that they need a job, lol. That one African shipment caught me out, and that will never happen because I was warned about the asshat I bought from and didn't listen.

Marinne, the ich they get I call stress spots for lack of a better term, it comes and 99/100 goes away in a few days. I've bought tangs with HORRIBLE HLLE and brought them back to where they look like they never had it.

That's funny Rob, I had a huge problem with a African shipment as well. Tons of DOAs and the ones that made it were loaded with Velvet. (Fortunately I QT'd them). I also don't run UVs lol. Probably should, especially on my QT tanks. But, like I said before, keeping the SG low helps eliminate most problems anyway. I run my QTs at 1.017 and the fish usually stay in there anywhere from two to four weeks depending on how they look and are acting. Then again, I've gotten shipments in from Fiji/Bali/Jakarta/Aussie that have had no problems, and moved out of QT in less then a week. Transshippers can be a crap shoot after all lol.

@Marinne13 I've noticed, that as long as the fish continue to eat well, most of them will pull through normally. Fat fish have the ability to waste energy/food reserves on healing without wearing themselves out (Not always true, but usually).

I have a 20G I can use...it's just such a huge system that I would hate to ruin it with one bad fish

although I have never quarantined any fish and had only one tank crash due to fish disease...it was my fault for adding a petco fish

I understand completely. It's happened to me before lol

I just don't want to maintain another tank lol...topping it off everyday is more than I want to do lol

I know people highly recommend QT tanks but IMO it causes more harm...a small tank with some odd looking PVC, no sand or rock

I would be less likely to be stressed if I was thrown in a cozy house with comforts that I am used to and not a train car with cardboard boxes...but that's just me

When we go back into retail/ wholesale full bore each country will get a system with UV sterilizers. I've come to the conclusion that I will be farming corals in my golden years because I've had enough of farming plants.

I haven't had any issues with fish other than that African shipment and I bought from a guy who had the best prices and best selection of oddballs. I mean the Maculosus angel is still doing well as well as the Regal I got from him too, go figure. Those Orange Skunks were the bad apples out of the shipment.

It all comes down to a personal preference. If you don't want to QT, that's entirely up to you. If you feel comfortable with where you purchase your fish from, and are sure they are coming in healthy, then you are right. Putting them through QT would be extra stress. However, from a unsure vendor, I'd still recommend it.

For example: Anytime I've ordered from Diver's Den, I've never QT'd. I was comfortable with the fish that came in and felt it wasn't needed to bother.

Another example: I got some Purple Firefish in from a transshipper. They looked great in the bag. Very active and no visible deformities. I did do a freshwater dip, and after seeing nothing come off of them, I felt comfortable enough to add them to my DT. I've had no problems with them since (I don't see em very often though :p)

Qt is just a preventative measure against problems. If you feel comfortable without using it, then don't.

Best part about this hobby is that just cause something works for one person, doesn't mean it will work for someone else. That's why we all belong to these forums. To pool our accumulated knowledge and share it with other people. But we also have to remember that no two tanks are ever the same. So, in the end, it comes down to what you feel comfortable with, and what works for you.

So, keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to some updated pics of this tank! Especially stocked pictures :D

ReeferRob said:

When we go back into retail/ wholesale full bore each country will get a system with UV sterilizers. I've come to the conclusion that I will be farming corals in my golden years because I've had enough of farming plants.

I haven't had any issues with fish other than that African shipment and I bought from a guy who had the best prices and best selection of oddballs. I mean the Maculosus angel is still doing well as well as the Regal I got from him too, go figure. Those Orange Skunks were the bad apples out of the shipment.

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That's surprising lol. Usually it's the Angels that come in that I have trouble with. They are so finicky and sensitive. How long ago was your African debacle? Mine happened sometime during this past winter (Don't remember exactly which week). We brought in a ton of fish. And had almost 100% death rate on all of them. We had ordered at least 20 regal tangs with that order too. I did manage to keep one alive in my DT for a few months... but even that one eventually passed. The odd thing was, there was no markings or sign of what killed them. Chalked it up to a transshipper who didn't know how to ship the fish well, or harvested them in a way that wasn't very safe for the fish.

Anthony they were probably caught with cyanide.

I have known people that QT'd fish for over a month and as soon as they moved them in the DT...bam ich

Wouldn't surprise me @Aquarian . However, it's usually the phillipines that you hear about cyanide poisoning from.

@Marinne13 You could always try a social acclimation box to lessen the chance of that happening. Gives the fish time to see each other and get use to being in the same tank, without being able to touch each other. Helps cut down on some stress.

I just got rid of my hippo tang, way to aggressive and was biting my clowns...even bit a whole fin off my female

I added a coral beauty, orange shoulder Tang and Yellow Tang 2 days ago and everyone is getting along/no signs of illness

everyone is eating

here are some pics, sorry it's with a cell for now...also my refugium goes another 10 inches to the left, pretty much takes up the whole closet lol

I am really impressed with my rock structure on the left as well, took some glue but like it