quarantine corals?

[Melina]

Hey guys. I'm about to set up my first reef tank in a couple weeks. I know a quarantine tank is a good idea if someone is planning to keep fish and is concerned about ich.. but I only want corals with a couple of clown fish. I mean, 2 fish in a 54 gallon. Is it worth the time and money for me to set up a quarantine tank? How many of you quarantine corals before adding them to your main tank and is it really necessary? Do corals carry diseases that could spread to other corals in the tank? Also, how many of you quarantine sessile inverts? (eg. starfish, shrimp, etc) thanks!

[0sprey]

I don't bother with QT'ing corals or other inverts. I DO know someone who lost of bunch of corals due to a batch of nudibranch eggs on a new addition, though. The only other thing I'd worry about is the possibility of being forced to apply treatment in your main tank, if your original two fish become ill. Most treatments aren't invert safe and can be absorbed by the rockwork (making the system permanently unsafe for inverts). Taking the risk is your call. You'll want to be super-careful when you select your livestock, that's for sure. CB would probably be the way to go, in this case.

[Melina]

I don't bother with QT'ing corals or other inverts. I DO know someone who lost of bunch of corals due to a batch of nudibranch eggs on a new addition, though. The only other thing I'd worry about is the possibility of being forced to apply treatment in your main tank, if your original two fish become ill. Most treatments aren't invert safe and can be absorbed by the rockwork (making the system permanently unsafe for inverts). Taking the risk is your call. You'll want to be super-careful when you select your livestock, that's for sure. CB would probably be the way to go, in this case.
yeah I wanna get 2 cb black percs. What do you think the risk is of them carrying disease?

[hawk]

here is some good info about QT.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php