Quarantine Period and Kole Tang Behavior

[newhomes4reef]

Ok, there seems to be many opions about the time period for quarantining fish and wanted to see what everyone here thinks. I've had a Kole Tang for 2 1/2 weeks in QT that is Fish Only...no live rock. I know it's a major tease for him to look across the room to the display tank and see the Taj Mahal compared to his prison cell he's currently in...such a tease for him! We usually wait a month, but I know that he would have so much more to eat and graze on in the display. He is acting a bit strange though...lots of darting about even back and forth. Is this normal behavior for a Kole? Should i go ahead and move him or resist the urge and keep him jailed for a couple more weeks.

thanks for the input!
Jeff

[Ed]

Resist the urge and finish the quarantine. He will likely settle down eventually. You'll both get an early Christmas present when he moves to the 'Taj Mahal' in a couple weeks. ;)

[CD]

Jeff-

How big is your Kole? A 40G QT should be just fine for swimming space if your tang is still a smallish juvie. I know its hard to see your new fish "jailed", but believe me...QT is the way to go. As Joshua said, put a loaded macroalgae clip in the QT, as you will want to keep the Kole as healthy and stress free as you can while in QT. Tangs like to graze, and besides being a requirement for their health, it will also occupy a good portion of the Tang's time in the tank...something to keep their mind off the "jail" situation. Also some sort of hiding spot so it won't feel exposed and vulnerable is always a great idea. I wouldn't recommend LR, but a piece of sterile PVC that is large enough for the Kole to fit into comfortably is just fine.
Congrats on your new fish! Post a pic for us?

Wendy

[jim2508]

Jeff, I always quarantine for 4 weeks. Problem can still show up after 4 weeks, 4 weeks work very well for me. Jim

[Richard]

Kole tangs are very nervous fish initially. If he's eating well then I wouldn't be concerned about the darting behaviour.
I don't have a set time for my qt period. Just depends on the type of fish and what they are prone to getting. Kole tangs are not overly prone to bring in parasites IME. Rarely they will come in with uromema (a death sentence usually) and of course they will get ick pretty easily if they were housed with fish that already had it but they usually don't come in with it. I usually keep a group of black mollies in my qt tank. In addition to keeping it cycled, having a group of them in the tank will give the "qt fish" a sense of comfort. The nicest thing about them from a qt perspective is that really nothing (parasites) transfers from fresh to saltwater or vice versa. So you don't have the risk of introducing parasites when you add them and you can just switch them back to freshwater in an aerated bucket for a few days if you do run into a problem. They are usually very peaceful but may sometimes pick on very small or delicate fish though.

Unless you feel you have a very good eye for diseases or other problems I would recommend you stick with the 4 week qt period. It's better to lose one fish than take out your entire tank. Although, you have to way the risk when deciding on how long to qt a fish. A mandarin would be a good example of a fish I would not qt. They are not prone to parasites and will likely starve through the qt period. It's nice to see you have a 40 gallon qt tank. I used to recommend qt tanks to everyone but even the few who listened would end up trying to use an old 5 or 10 gallon and then try to keep a 5 -6 inch tang in it for a month. That doesn't work!



Eh, I know it's bad but I don't quarantine fish


Very few people do. Most people I know who don't qt fish have a combination of having a good eye for healthy fish, and having enough experience that they keep their tanks are in excellent condition. Still there is a bit of luck involved. The right (or wrong I guess) fish can bring in something that will take out a tank quickly. It's not too uncommon for me to have a customer come in frantic because they are losing all of their fish after adding a "good deal straight out of the bag fish". I wish there was some magic potion that could fix their problems but the fact is there isn't. I can't help but have mixed feelings about it. The hobbyist in me gets ****ed off knowing that they just killed a bunch of fish that I put alot of work into, but they usually become very loyal customers after that so it's good for sales I guess. :roll:

I used to attribute many losses to stress, maybe I didn't acclimate well enough, maybe my water quality isn't good enough etc. etc. It's true that those things can greatly reduce the chance of having problems but once I started scraping every lost animal and checking it out under a microscope I found that some type of parasite was often the culprit. That's when we started qt'ing our fish.

I qt fish anywhere from not at all to a couple weeks depending on species. It's not enough to guarantee that there won't be problems but it greatly reduces the chance IMO. I don't think it is feasable for any LFS or online vendor to qt for 4 to 6 weeks. I have a tough time staying stocked just off what we do. Plus I don't think hobbyists would pay for such qt periods. Unfortunately, the "sell them before they die attitude" and viewing these animals as disposable in still very prevalent in this industry. The good news is with more hobbyist awareness from groups like MAAST and the threat of government regulation things are changing for the better. This fish business is small and disorganized so even when commercial fishing practices and pollution are far more responsible for damaging reefs around the world, the pet industry is always the first target. Hobbyist's also share some of the blame. Going for the cheapest fish devalues the animals and makes it less likely the industry will try to offer a better product. The reptile industry has greatly surpassed the fish industry in captive breeding and offering healthier animals because reptile hobbyists are far more willing to spend a few bucks more for higher quality. It's pretty common to hear "I don't want to spend too much in case it dies" which ironically increases the chance that it will die.

You can often find 55 gallon Walmart setups in the paper for as little as $50. Usually people who bought it for their kid and now just want to get rid of it. I have customers who have lost every fish in several hundred gallon reef systems because of adding an "out of the bag" fish. They sure do help sales when they do that. Something to think about.

I think I'm rambling now so I'll shut up and get off my soapbox

[newhomes4reef]

We are keeping his clip stocked and he has a couple "fakie" corals ....one with a cave in it to hide in. He is very very shy, but i will try to catch a pic of him tomorrow morning. Thanks all for the input. Great comments! I love this place...hobbiest helping hobbiest, very cool.