Is quarantine really needed?

[LoGeek]

I've been thinking about moving my Bristlenose Pleco to my discus tank. I've had it for almost 10 years in my planted display tank and it's never been sick. I have no new fish in the tank and they are all healthy.

My question is if I need to quarantine it in a separate tank before moving it to the discus tank?

Obviously I have not grasped the basic reasons for a QT. Does it only apply to new fish/plants?

[Mattgoanna]

If your tank is disease free and you have not recently purchased plants or fish then the risk is low. When I move fish I always lift the fish out of the water and place it into water from the new tank for 10-15 minutes to dilute the risk of spreading anything that may be free swimming in the water. You can also add salt or medications like malachite green. When finished, lift the fish out of the water and place in the new tank, again reducing anything free swimming from being introduced.

[LoGeek]

Ok, I see. That makes things easier!

[Kyla]

if your tanks already share items such as hoses, nets, buckets etc the pleco and discus have probably been exposed to eachother for quite a while.

[LoGeek]

if your tanks already share items such as hoses, nets, buckets etc the pleco and discus have probably been exposed to eachother for quite a while.

I don't share anything from the other tanks with my discus tank.

I have quarantined plants for weeks with cupramine before adding to discus tank.

Have never understood if QT applies to new fish/plants only, or if a healthy fish from my other tanks can be host of something that can transfer to my discus.

[Jack L]

when i ran multiple tanks at once that shared equipment, i didn't qtank to transfer.

when bringing plants or fish in from outside, i qtank.

i got lazy last year and lost several fish to ICH, so i don't skip anymore.

and yes, "healthy" fish can host something.

[Jenene]

I think the best explanation I got as for the reason's for QT was from Kenny Cheung. He explained it in terms that made sense to me. Think about any living organism. Everything carries germs that we obviously can't see. Everything they have been exposed to they have developed immunities to. They may appear healhty but may very well carry new pathogens to your discus that they have not been exposed to yet. Think of when we travel to a different country and need vaccinations before we go. Or another example is how we can't drink water that natives of those areas have become used to without getting very ill. This explanation made me realize the importance of QT even in fish that appear healthy because once they are mixed they may no longer be. Since you have not cross contaminated with your equipment I would really think twice about throwing him in there. Is it worth risking? IMO not so much...

[LoGeek]

What do you mean with "healthy" fish? Can a fish that's been without disease for years carry something harmful to the discus? If so, why did you not qt when transferring between your tanks? Because the risk is low?

[Willie]

I'll give you an example I learned from another hobbyist who also use to raise kittens. Yes, there are people who compete kittens and others who judge them. Kittens, not cats. (Truth is stranger than fiction!) He used to bring kittens to regional shows for competition. Afterwards, his kittens would come home with respiratory infections, e.g. colds. What do you do with kittens that have colds? You put them into nebulizer tents until they recover. (You can't make this stuff up.)

No one brings sick kittens to show, but kittens from different parts of the country come together and transfer germs. They go home sick. The same happens at discus shows. When I bring my fish to local, regional and national shows, they go back home into quarantine.

Obviously discus in your fish room are exposed to the same types of bacteria all the time. Sources of contamination include your nets, your hoses, your sponges, you... There is a finite, but very small, chance of contamination within your own fish room. I know because it happened to me. I had a tank of nice red turqs from a known breeder in a 75 gallon tank. I had another tank of nice red turqs from another known breeder in a separate 75 gallon tank. The idea was to raise and cross breed them. I kept them in their own tanks for 6 months before putting them together. Guess what? I did lose a couple of them. So it happens.

Willie

[LoGeek]

Thanks for great replies and explaining this!

It would seem to me that not even a proper qt will eliminate everything a fish can be host of...? Of course qt is needed and great, but it would seem there's always a chance taking involved.

[Keith Perkins]

Thanks for great replies and explaining this!

It would seem to me that not even a proper qt will eliminate everything a fish can be host of...? Of course qt is needed and great, but it would seem there's always a chance taking involved.

True, but that's part of the reason for using hero fish. If you introduce only one discus to whatever you want to put with them you only risk one discus. If the discus gets sick you can work to cure it, without risking losing all your discus.

[Jenene]

Thanks for great replies and explaining this!

It would seem to me that not even a proper qt will eliminate everything a fish can be host of...? Of course qt is needed and great, but it would seem there's always a chance taking involved.

Yes! Exactly. As I understood it the QT will minimize risk not eliminate it. It is a personal choice of how much risk you are willing to take. Personally I know if I skipped it something would go wrong and I would beat myself up afterwards-Murphy's law in my house. If there is a need to QT I have an extra sponge filter at the ready in my sump and a 20 gallon sitting in my basement next to my clear conscience

[LoGeek]

Keith and Jenene, now it makes sense to me. Thanks for passing on the knowledge!

[Lido]

I would have to agree with a few of the previous posts.. Quarantine is a must unless you are willing to risk transferring microbes. If you are sharing nets or anything with both tanks, even cleaning one after another with your hands not sanitized, your taking a risk. However, these are your fish and it is a calculated risk. You have to decide how much risk you want to take.

I would like to share a personal story and it is just my two cents. I got a group of discus from a friend about 4 years ago. I took them home and put them straight in my system without any quarantine. I just drip acclimated and put them in. They were healthy fish, very well taken care of showing zero signs of distress or sickness. We even used his aged tap in the bags to bring the fish back to my place since it was a 10 minute drive. We thought "that would minimize the risk."

After placing the fish in my tank I did a 24 hour lights out just to make sure they calmed down and got a chance to meet my fish. After about two days one started showing signs of sickness. I thought it was stress from the new environment. Turns out it was not. That fish and four others got sick and died so fast it made my head spin. $600 dead just because I was lazy.

I am not saying this would happen to you, just saying it can happen to anyone.

[LoGeek]

That experience of yours really shows the importance of qt, Casey. No I definitely would not want to risk that.

If I'm adding any Bristlenose Plecos at all I'll make sure to do proper qt. Need to do some reading on the forum on what meds to use. Anything different qt plecos than discus?