Quarantining fish is the only safe way you can eliminate most parasites and that is why it’s much easier for most people to pay a higher price for fish that have already been quarantined! or conditioned. I think in this case patience is a virtue! 😊
Please ask your LFS what their salinity is when deciding to drip or not. If your fish are shipped add some ammo lock to the bag when you open it to prevent ammonia spike. I understand the point of this video but some advice given here can do more harm than good in certain situations. Sometimes things just can’t be boiled down to simplicity. This is not the hobby or subject for that.
Hey guys. Found my starry bleeny dead this morning with a chunk of his tail missing. I have 2 clowns, angel beauty and a pintail wrasse. Could it be possible that my wrasse is the culprit?
If you bring it home from a pet store, wouldn’t it be best practice to check salinity quickly to ensure it’s close to your tank? And if not, do a brief acclimation by adding a cup of water at a time? Or is the thought that the slight salinity difference isn’t a big deal?
Also, love that you mentioned that Elliot’s recommendation is likely too much for most reefers. That was my thought during that entire series, it still seemed quite complicated and intense. I’ve had luck with my 10 gallon QT and using copper for 30 days. It’s cycled so I just do weekly water changes in it and it works great.
Hey Matt, great name by the way! :-). Yeah, that is definitely a good idea. You are right that some lfs's keep their fish in lower salinity water to keep certain parasites at bay. And doing some sort of drip acclimation for those fish in low salinity water is a good idea. Maybe not necessary, but will definitely lower fish stress!
@@ManiacalMangoes Copper definitely works, but when I was talking to Elliot I was like, "yikes, I just don't see beginners doing that." There is just so much for a new hobbyists to learn that keeping things simple is sometimes better than "the best" way. thanks for commenting Matt
Not a bad plan, and in fact I pretty much do the same thing with new livestock... although I've been buying more and more pre-quarantined fish which just makes my life so much easier!
Bad idea to not drip acclimate fish from a pet store. When I buy fish from a local store I often see a salinity of 1.020 - my tank has 1.024. Besides, there are other water parameters at play. I personal put a container in my sump to assure that the temperature stays stable. Than I drip acclimate for ~ 3 hours - light off. Followed by 30 days in a cycled quarantine tank with a lot of hiding spaces
Hey Peter, me thinks a good debate could be had here. I used to always, always, always drip acclimate everything. But I've slowly changed my opinion over the years. The point you are making is spot on for sure. If your lfs uses hyposalinity in their fish only tanks to control parasites, probably a good idea to do some sort of drip acclimation to reduce fish stress. But in my experience most lfs tend to mix in fish with inverts and have the salinity at normal tank levels. Does your lfs have fish only dedicated tanks? I wish my local store would do that and then prophylactically treat with copper! Thanks for taking time to comment and add to the discussion!
drip acclimation should be done for fish that come from a LFS because the salinity is usually really low in comparison to a reef tank. & also drip acclimating a shipped fish, could increase the ammonia when the bag is opened, so might cause even more stress. If you buy a fish from a pre-quarantined shop, just temp acclimate and toss them in.
These are really great points AJ, thanks for the comment. Regarding the low salinity, a good idea for sure. I've found that most LFS's tend to mix inverts in with fish and thus their salinity is at the normal level. Does your lfs use hyposalinity in fish only systems? Probably would be okay to not drip acclimate them, but I think you are right that it would reduce fish stress if they have been in some low salinity. Thanks for taking time to comment!
@@matthewbrstv38 yeah sorry, i guesss every lfs is different. Mine runs a fish only large system at 1.017 & treats with all the goodies to quarantine with upon arrival. But always good to ask before purchasing so you can use the correct acclimation method! thanks Matthew, i love all your videos. Were super helpful with so much info when i was getting started in the hobby. Thank you to you and BRS!
For sure best practice. I just think it's a lot to ask from a beginner. there is still a heated debate in the hobby whether or not it's best to prophylactically treat fish, and I can see the pros/cons with either way. Do you follow Elliot's method of copper and 100% water changes, or do something else?
@@matthewbrstv38 Hi Matthew, actually from 3-4yrs in hobby I follow sachem cupramine method from a bottle 🤣(imported from USA) as in EU (Poland) fish stores cannot sales cupramine only Vet can prescribe one - I started using cupramine because one of new fish from local store (with ich- I'm sure it was early stage nothing visible) killed all my 12 old ones.. That is my story. After that incident always new fish 4-6 weeks quarantine with cupramine in separate tank
@@reefp5816 OMG, the same story has happened to me! I feel like it has to happen to everybody once before they start listening to others about the importance of QT! Good for you for taking such good care of your fish! 🙂
