Up next in 10
The Benefits of Quarantining Fish: Keeping Your Aquarium Safe
21K views
Jun 29, 2023
After 30+ years of keeping and breeding fish, I can tell you without any doubt, quarantining your new fish is the single most important thing you can do to ensure your aquarium coating healthy fish. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Check out the products I use eSHa 2000 ? https://fishkeepinganswers.com/9ud1 eSHa EXIT ? https://fishkeepinganswers.com/sj4c eSHa gdex ? https://fishkeepinganswers.com/rmzt ? FREE copy of my new Neocaridina Shrimp eBook - https://fishkeepinganswers.com/shrimp-ebook/ Links to products used in this video ? API Copper Test Kit - https://amzn.to/3nOZpWX ? Seachem Copper Test Kit - https://amzn.to/3plClzn ? Fluval Stratum - https://fishkeepinganswers.com/a7ub (Amazon.com) ? Hygrophila corymbosa - https://fishkeepinganswers.com/5rp6 (Amazon.com)
View Video Transcript
0:00
So yesterday I was lucky enough to pick up a red eye redtail puffer, a fish I've been
0:05
after for quite some time. And it seemed like the perfect opportunity to answer something
0:11
I'm frequently asked which is how and why should we quarantine new fish? In this video I'm
0:17
going to share with you my process. All of friends, welcome back to the channel. If you're new here
0:21
my name is Richard and I'm a fish and shrimp keeper based in the UK. So let's start off by addressing
0:28
why we need to quarantine new fish. Now I think everyone will agree that our fish are subject to pests and diseases
0:36
No matter how hard we try, how hard the retailer tries, how hard the wholesaler tries
0:41
there is always a chance our fish are going to suffer with a pest or a disease
0:47
When we bring new fish into our current aquariums or into our fisherms
0:52
there is an increased risk that we will bring a pest or disease into our tank or into our entire
0:57
fish from depending on what the pest or disease is. Our first defence against
1:03
bringing in pestle diseases is quarantine. Now quarantine is essentially the process of keeping new fish or really any livestock separate from your
1:12
existing aquariums until you're satisfied that the new stock is completely free of
1:17
pest or diseases. Now quite often on YouTube or in the community in general I'll
1:21
hear someone say the phrase along the lines of oh I'm not going to quarantine
1:25
because I know that store keeps their fish in such a way. I know that person doesn't have any
1:30
pestle diseases and the reality is we can never really be 100% sure. The store we buy our fish from
1:36
can have the best processes in the world. That doesn't mean they don't have a pestle disease they're
1:41
not aware of. That doesn't mean your fish may not be harboring some pestle disease without showing
1:46
symptoms but the stress of being moved is enough that the pestle disease begins to take over the
1:51
fish. In my experience, no matter who you get your fish from, no matter where you buy your
1:57
fish, you should always be quarantined in them before adding them to your main aquariums
2:03
For me, quarantining is an opportunity to observe the fish before they're added to the main tank
2:09
and I can observe them to check they're not showing any symptoms, to check they're not got any signs of the early stages of pest or disease, but it's also an opportunity to treat
2:17
for pest or diseases that I can't see. You generally can't see
2:21
internal tapeworms. By treating, by assuming every fish you bring into your
2:27
fish from may have a pest or disease, you can treat accordingly and hopefully
2:31
eliminate any pestle or disease before they become a problem to the fish you've just
2:35
purchased or your existing fish in your existing tanks. Now for me personally, any fish
2:40
I purchase, no matter where I get it from, goes into quarantine for a period of at
2:46
least two weeks and I know that seems like a long time especially when you busting to add some new fish to your existing aquarium But when you consider the risk there is to the fish
2:57
you already have, the risk that you could bring something in and wipe out an entire tank
3:02
it really is a no-brainer just to put your new stock separately for a couple of weeks to give you
3:07
a chance to treat for any pest or diseases, but also observe the fish and make sure they are
3:12
totally, totally clean, totally clear of any pest or diseases. So what's my process for quarantining
3:20
Well, depending on the fish I've purchased, I will either place them in a small tank or a slightly larger tub, depending on how many fish I've got
3:29
You really want the tank or tub to be as small as possible while still providing enough space for the fish to be comfortable in
3:39
Obviously, any medications we use to treat our fish is generally based on water volume
3:43
So you don't want to put four guppies in a 155 gallon tank because then you've got a treat for 155 gallons of water
3:51
Equally, you wouldn't want to put a 12 inch Oscar in a 5 gallon tank because it's far too big for even for a one or two week quarantine
3:58
So find yourself a container that is a suitable size for the fish you need to observe and treat it for the period of quarantining
4:06
And use that as your quarantine base, your quarantine tank. Now in my experience quarantine tanks don't really need any decoration, although that will depend on your fish
4:16
If you've got something that likes to dwell in a cave or a plaque, for instance, that wants to be on a piece of wood
4:23
by all means have that in your quarantine tank. But generally, we don't tend to worry about having gravel and plants and pots and castles and rocks and everything else
4:32
Again, depending on the species of fish, you may well need a heater to bring the tank up to the right temperature
4:37
And you'll almost certainly want to filter, although a small. sponge filter is generally enough. It's just to process any waste from the fish whilst
4:46
they're living in the quarantine. Now my typical process is I will add the fish to the
4:52
quarantine tank and for the first day or so I will just observe the fish. I don't tend
4:57
to do anything. I literally use that as an opportunity to look at the fish up close
5:01
and see can I spot any problems, any pest diseases, any white spot, any ick
5:06
any anything that might be developing. No matter how hard you try in the store, it's almost impossible to really observe the fish you're going to be buying
5:16
And particularly if you're buying maybe some neon tetras, but there might be 200 in the tank and you're getting 10
5:21
it's impossible to check all 10 before the fish store catch and bag them for you
5:25
So by placing them in the quarantine tank, it's now an opportunity to really observe your fish
5:30
And you can sit there and take some time and just watch everybody. At this stage I also often just add a small pinch of food just to see who eats and who doesn To be fair if you just transported the fish particularly if you had them shipped through the mouth they may not really be in the mood to eat Don let that guide you in any way
5:48
I literally just normally had a little bit of flake or a little bit of bloodworm depending on the fish and see who takes what
5:54
Now after the first day or so, I will begin preemptively treating for any pest or diseases
6:01
for worms and flukes and internal tapeworms, for bacterial infections, for ick, whatever it might be
6:08
Now I'm based in the UK and we have access to different medications here in the UK in Europe
6:14
than perhaps you do in the States or in different parts of the world. So the medications I use are what I can get and what works for me
6:21
If you live in a different part of the world, you may well have access to different medications
6:26
But this is essentially my three-pronged attack for quarantining fish. So first of all, I use a medication known as Escher 2000, which treats for bacterial infections
6:38
This is particularly good if you see any signs of FINRA or any other infection that may start
6:43
to take over your fish. I've used this for a number of years and it really is effective against a wide spectrum of
6:51
different bacterial infections that your fish may suffer with. Now the second prong in my three prong attack is Escher Exit, which is essentially a treatment
7:00
for ick or white spot and this can be used in combination with the Escher 2000
7:06
In fact, typically on day two of quarantine, I will put both in to the correct water volume
7:12
and they're both green, they turn the tank water green and allow them to marinate
7:18
Both of these are three day treatments. So you treat on day one, day two, day three, and then you normally water change on day five
7:26
But between these two, it gives me a broad range of treatments for bacterial infections, for
7:30
it, for anything else that might crop up. And this is particularly useful for any fish that
7:36
that tend to nip at each other. When I got my dwarf puff of fish
7:39
even when they're in the bag traveling home, they were constantly pecking at one another
7:43
Any open wound on the fish is a chance for bacteria to get in, for bacterial infections to begin take over your fish
7:50
So I find by preemptively treating now, it saves me problems further down the line
7:55
Now the final piece of my quarantine puzzle is again by Escher, and that's Escher G-Dex
8:01
And this takes care of flukes and worms and internal parasites, such as tapeworms
8:06
worms, often things that you can't see necessarily on the fish, particularly on smaller fish
8:11
but there's a real chance they could be there. Now, this is a five-day treatment, and whilst you can do it the same time as the Escher 2000
8:18
and the Escher exit, I tend to do that first, and then in the second week, use the G-dex
8:23
as a kind of a preventative treatment in case they have worms or flukes, etc
8:29
Now all of these medications are made by the same manufacturer and the manufacturer state you can use them altogether If you in the states you may will have heard of Corey from Aquarium Carp Medtrio
8:40
Again, he has tested that, and he knows, and he recommends those three medications can be used in combination
8:46
And I'll put a link in the description below if you want to find out more about that. What I really wouldn't recommend is just randomly taking three medications and mixing them in your quarantine tank
8:55
because you don't know what the effects of those are going to be, Unless the manufacturers specifically say you can use them altogether
9:01
I would very much use them one after the other. So it may be that medication A treats your bacterial infections
9:09
You follow the instructions to the letter. Once you've completed that course, medication two maybe takes care of ick and such likes
9:16
And again, you use that to the letter, water change, whatever it says. And then, once you finish that course of treatment
9:21
you treat for internal parasites, flukes, worms, whatever it might be. Never mix medications unless you know what the outcome of that mixing could be
9:31
Now as I say, I quarantine for generally for a two-week period
9:35
and during that two-week period, all of those fish stay in their quarantine tank
9:39
I don't mix nets, I don't touch the water in that quarantine tank and then put it in my main tank
9:44
In fact, I don't even have the same pot of food. I'm a little bit obsessive. You really want to, by quarantining, reduce the chances of cross-contaminating
9:53
between your new stock and your existing stock until you are absolutely certain your new stock has
9:58
no pests no diseases nothing that you're going to transfer into your new tank now i do know some
10:04
people who go as far as to quarantine plants and such likes before they introduce them into the main tank
10:09
i don't go that far they typically people do that for um to stop snails typically snails
10:15
everyone's scared of snails going from the new plants into the existing tank personally i don't fear
10:19
snails they're they're part of a healthy ecosystem and i think snails always
10:23
help keep the balance eating uneaten fish food and clearing up fish poop etc so I don't tend to
10:29
worry about plants now one thing I should point out is each of the medications I use are well
10:35
tolerated by bacteria in the filter and they don't harm shrimp or snails so I know they're
10:41
perfectly safe but that is something else you should check before treating is your quarantine
10:46
tank or your main display aquarium is make sure that everybody who lives there is
10:51
going is going to be unaffected by the treatments You don't want to treat your fish for one disease to find that treatment contains a large quantity of copper which kills a full of your shrimp
11:01
Always check and read the instruction leaflets before you start using the treatments
11:06
So today is day one of the quarantine treatment for the red eye redtail puffer
11:11
but my dwarf puffers have been through quarantine and they're now in the main display tank and they're doing well
11:17
And you can find out more about them by watching this video here. Thanks for watching
#Fish & Aquaria
#Hobbies & Leisure
#Pets & Animals