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Nine Simple Rules", continued...
7.
Quarantine. One of the most important steps to success, quarantining, is too often ignored. How careless. How wasteful. How expensive. How cruel. How stupid! Every new fish, coral, invertebrate and bag of macro algae we bring to our display tank carries the seeds for disaster. Why would you not quarantine??? MONEY, you say. I can’t afford a second tank, you say. I don’t have the room, you say. The best one I‘ve heard, my wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend won’t let me have another tank. Get out of the hobby!!! Just kidding. It’s your job to explain why a quarantine tank is so important. If you are a kid living at home with Mom and/or Dad, hopefully both, it’s a little tougher to convince them. Print out this article and let them read it. Then whine, cry, and throw tantrums until you get your way. Just kidding!!! It worked for me, back when I was nine years old.
If you follow the above procedures in making your purchases, you will seldom, maybe never, medicate your quarantine tank. What??? Would you repeat that, please??? No, just reread it. Well then what is a quarantine system used for if not to medicate new arrivals??? Good question. I’m glad you asked. It shows you are listening or reading, which ever the case may be. In my experience, following my “
Nine Simple Rules to Buying Fish”, you will seldom have a need to medicate the quarantined individual. The quarantine system should rather be designated a “Health Spa”. Becoming proficient at picking fish in good but weakened condition, the function of your “Spa” QT system is to give them a place of relaxation with abundant food and time to heal the stress induced weakened condition. A place to renew. Once renewed, it’s an easy transfer to the main display tank, where your now healthy and robust new arrival can assimilate into the hierarchy of his new home without undue stress. He will eagerly eat at the first opportunity.
8. The transition from “Spa” to Display Tank. There are many ways to do this. The most important thing to remember is the “Spa” water and the display tank (DT) water are different enough that you want to take the same precaution as if you just brought him home from the LFS. There’s no need to bag and acclimate him in that fashion if you are prepared. Here’s my way.
Time your transfer to DT with a water change. Have newly mixed saltwater ready a day before. Siphon out about 1/3 of the water in the Spa tank and discard. Siphon off water from the DT and replace the Spa water. Wait 15 minutes. While waiting, replace DT water with new. Repeat this action until most of the Spa water is replaced with DT water. Top off DT with new water, transfer fish via net, plastic container or bag, which ever works best for you. Nets are not the preferred method because you risk injuring the fish during the transfer. I use a plastic beer pitcher, emptied and rinsed first of course.
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