Darn it !

[asherah]

I got 2 fish from big al's (can i say where?) about 3 weeks ago and now they both have ich!. sigh... When I move into our new house i'll have to get a tank for the a quarentine tank. How big would be a good size ?
Thanks alot

asherah

[danny zubot]

WHat kind of fish are they? I've held 2 clowns and a purple pseudochromis in a 5 gallon before, but I made sure they had places to hide. If you are looking to treat them via hyposalinity, I'd recommend at least a 20 gallon tank because you'll have more control over your nitrate cycle.

[asherah]

They are a royal gramma and a red firefish goby. So pretty small guys. =)
asherah

[OCDP]

I'd go with at least a 10g.

[TheReefGeek]

Big Als does not quarantine their fish, so if you buy fish from there, you have to quarantine them yourself for at least two weeks. I reccomend paying a bit more and buying from LFS that quarantine for two weeks before selling to the public.

[danny zubot]

Agreed, I've had good luck and bad luck with livestock at BA's. Quarantining fish is good practice regardless of where you get your fish.

[Raf]

no offense, but I know of few stores that properly quarantine their fish.....it is the purchasers responsibility, so don't blame the stores....

[TheReefGeek]

Very few stores, meaning some do quarantine their fish properly. There is a store in Edmonton that I buy from, they are much more expensive but I have never lost a fish from there, and never had a single outbreak of ich or any other disease. That is a pretty good track record. The only fish they do not quarantine are fish they cannot feed properly, like mandarine gobies, and pipefish, these you have to take your chances with.

I do blame the stores, I hate stores like BA's that throw their fish into tanks as soon as they come in, and hope to sell them off before they die. They don't actually care about the fish and the hobby, they just want to make $$$. It makes me sad when i can walk in there any day of the week, stroll past their tanks and see at least a half dozen dead fish.

[asherah]

When I bought these 2 there were other fish i wanted but they all dead or dyeing fish in them. There was a hippo tang that looked so sad, I wanted to rescue him but I didn't have a tank big enough. =(

asherah

[asherah]

oh and btw, they don't have spots anymore =p

asherah

[OCDP]

keep feeding lots with garlic anyways.. you want their immune systems boosted .. good to have that peace of mind anyways.

i feed my fish with garlic once am onth now.. not much.. but i feel it's good enough. plus.. they go bonkers for garlic soaked mysis.

[asherah]

lol I'll have to get some garlic then =p Can I just use regular garlic?

asherah

[OCDP]

You can.. but you would have to mince it up super finely. I use garlic oil, it's cheap, and it's quick and efficient. Buy the gel-caps that say "Garlic Oil" then when you feed, put the frozen food in whatever you put it in. Poke a hole with a pin in the gel-cap and squeeze a few drops onto the food and let it soak for 5-10minutes. Turn your skimmer off though if you feed with garlic... it will just make it go all crazy, and stop production for an hour or so. Also, have some good surface agitation as well afterwards as you can see oil splotches on the top of your water.

Good luck (it's easy.. and worth it to feed with garlic)

[Raf]

Very few stores, meaning some do quarantine their fish properly. There is a store in Edmonton that I buy from, they are much more expensive but I have never lost a fish from there, and never had a single outbreak of ich or any other disease. That is a pretty good track record. The only fish they do not quarantine are fish they cannot feed properly, like mandarine gobies, and pipefish, these you have to take your chances with.

I do blame the stores, I hate stores like BA's that throw their fish into tanks as soon as they come in, and hope to sell them off before they die. They don't actually care about the fish and the hobby, they just want to make $$$. It makes me sad when i can walk in there any day of the week, stroll past their tanks and see at least a half dozen dead fish.

well yeah, i hate that too, but afterall, BA is not the only store that does this...not by far....stores like the one you mentioned are the exception, not the rule. For stores like BA, I simply ask them to hold a fish for at least a week....if it looks good after that week, i still throw it in my quarantine....can never be too careful.

;)

[TheReefGeek]

You are right, I did not mean to pick on BA's specifically, most stores are like that. And I don't buy from any of them because of it.

[richtg]

I agree. QT is like insurance, but cheaper-and no deductible.