Quarantining fish if suspect tank already has ich

[ron101]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Personally, I don't quarantine fish, nor would I ever. My existing fish are fat and healthy, and they can manage their own health. I expect the new addition of a Tang would result in some ich, but it's to be expected and my tank provides the right atmosphere to reduce stress (clean, lots of hiding spots, etc).
My last tang was a large RS Sailfin. He looked salted by the time I got him home. Fed garlic on nori, 30 hours later, no sign of ich. It's been a couple of months now, everyone is fine.

I recently added a Wrasse, no issues.

This used to be my philosophy as well until a couple weeks ago. Having had trust in the quality of livestock from my usual retailer, I added a new fish straight to my reef after a moderate acclimation (~20-30 mins). The new addition has long since expired and 3 out of my 5 fish are critically ill with ich and velvet (one is already MIA).

IMO if a fish has already spent 3-4 weeks at the retailer and looks healthy then I think the risk of a system wide outbreak is much lower than with new arrivals. Of course you may be relying on the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of store staff info as to how long the specimen has been there.

As everyone knows, this hobby is not inexpensive and maintaining separate QT and hospital systems can be highly impractical. However, I think that every decision making process should include a 'general risk assessment' as well as asking the question 'to what degree am I willing to risk a major wipeout.' In my case, depending on the final outcome, I will be taking a serious look as to whether I will be continuing with this hobby. Caveat Emptor.