Quarantine Conundrum

[gwand]

I never lost a fish during quarantine. But let’s say I have four fish in quarantine, and one of the fish dies. You cannot figure out the cause of death, so you can’t institute treatment for the remaining fish. How do you proceed?

 

[MaloK]

I remove the dead immediately.

I test water parameters to make sure all is good.

I make sure that there is enough hiding spots, so the fish are close to comfort and can act naturally.

I watch the remaining extremely closely. With a magnifier if possible.

I look for swimming pattern anomaly, change in appetite, respiration, appearance.

 

[GaryE]

I remove the corpse. I do a 50% water change. I watch until I understand (or never understand) what went wrong.

I don't have traditional QT. I always keep a tank or two filled, cycled and fishless, and there's where QT fish go. Sometimes, it has become their permanent home, sometimes after 6-12 weeks, they go to other homes.

I'm sad to say I don't use 5 gallon tanks as I find them too small for the purpose. QT takes time, and conditions should be very good - including space to move.

 

[Back in the fold]

Remove the dead , remove the corpse . What do you do with said dead corpse ? I dry mine and keep them .

 

[gwand]

Where do you store fish corpses? The refisherator?

 

[anewbie]

Where do you store fish corpses? The refisherator?

Why would you store it ?

 

[MaloK]

Why would you store it ?

For a snack later in the week.

 

[Back in the fold]

Where do you store fish corpses? The refisherator?

Henny Youngman lives !

 

[Naughts]

The quarantine period should restart. So if you QT for a month, it will be a month from the last death or signs/symptoms of disease. You need to give the fish time to develop anything transmitted, or hopefully prove they are healthy.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Why would you store it ?

To sew a fish skin jacket of course.
"It's puts the lotion on the scales else it gets the hose again"

@gwand if you lost a fish in QT, why would you not dose some meds prophylactically?

 

[anewbie]

To sew a fish skin jacket of course.
"It's puts the lotion on the scales else it gets the hose again"

@gwand if you lost a fish in QT, why would you not dose some meds prophylactically?

Most meds are bad for fishes so it is usually a bad idea to use meds unless you are treating a specific issue which is more harmful than the meds.

 

[MaloK]

To sew a fish skin jacket of course.
"It's puts the lotion on the scales else it gets the hose again"

@gwand if you lost a fish in QT, why would you not dose some meds prophylactically?

The only thing I would use that way is salt and methylene blue. And even the blue will have some impact on the cycle of the tank. So if you are QTying for an extended period, it's better to keep the cycle running and avoid nitrogen exposition, while assessing if medication would be required and what would be used.

 

[gwand]

To sew a fish skin jacket of course.
"It's puts the lotion on the scales else it gets the hose again"

@gwand if you lost a fish in QT, why would you not dose some meds prophylactically?

My philosophy has been not to use meds until I have a diagnosis.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

@gwand

So, let me understand what your are saying. You get 20 new fish- lets say a mix of one tetra and one danio species- which you put into a Q tank. They seem to be OK but the following day there is one dead tetra on the bottom of the tank which you remove. You see no symptoms and have no idea why it died. So, after you remove the dead fish you change 50% of the water?

The next day there is another dead tetra and a dead danio. But there are still no obvious symptoms. Some of the fish are hiding. But you still have no idea what killed those two fish either. So, I guess you take out the dead and change more water?
On day 3 you now have 4 more dead fish bringing the total losses to 7 of the 20 and still you see no symptom except the fish seem uninterested in eating for most of them.
But, you still have no idea what is killing the fish. My question is do you make you best guess as to what medication to try or do you let the remaining fish all die because you do not know what is killing them for sure?

I agree with those who do not medicate prophylactically. One should know what they are treating in order to know what is a good way to do so. But there are those times when fish are dying and we have no idea why. All we have is our best guess as to how to treat in order potentially to save the remaining fish.

When in this situation it would seem to me one's best guess at what medication to try is a better option than watching them all die.

 

[gwand]

@gwand

So, let me understand what your are saying. You get 20 new fish- lets say a mix of one tetra and one danio species- which you put into a Q tank. They seem to be OK but the following day there is one dead tetra on the bottom of the tank which you remove. You see no symptoms and have no idea why it died. So, after you remove the dead fish you change 50% of the water?

The next day there is another dead tetra and a dead danio. But there are still no obvious symptoms. Some of the fish are hiding. But you still have no idea what killed those two fish either. So, I guess you take out the dead and change more water?
On day 3 you now have 4 more dead fish bringing the total losses to 7 of the 20 and still you see no symptom except the fish seem uninterested in eating for most of them.
But, you still have no idea what is killing the fish. My question is do you make you best guess as to what medication to try or do you let the remaining fish all die because you do not know what is killing them for sure?

I agree with those who do not medicate prophylactically. One should know what they are treating in order to know what is a good way to do so. But there are those times when fish are dying and we have no idea why. All we have is our best guess as to how to treat in order potentially to save the remaining fish.

When in this situation it would seem to me one's best guess at what medication to try is a better option than watching them all die.

I agree with you. Here is a real life example. I have six Alestopetersius caudalis arriving in a few days. They will all go into my quarantine tank. Let’s assume only one Fish dies. I do not have another quarantine tank to place the remaining 5 fish in. So the five surviving fish have to remain in the quarantine tank where the sick fish died. Since I have no idea why the fish died, I do not treat the quarantine tank with medication but I perform 50% water exchange. So now I am left observing the remaining fish hoping they survive for the full six week quarantine period. Would you do anything more?