Should Petco Fish be Quarantined?

[Bifferwine]

Water from an established tank -- not freshly made water.

 

[Sir Alex]

You mean water that has a stable SG and PH?

 

[Bifferwine]

That, and has some bacterial population in it. Most of the bacteria in your tank is found in the rocks and sand, but there is some in the water. Newly made saltwater doesn't contain bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.

 

[sen5241b]

I once went to a Petco that had salt fish and wow was there a lot of ich. Some LFS have strict quarantine and some --like Petco-- do not.

 

[Sir Alex]

Don't the bacteria die during treatments?

 

[Sir Alex]

I once went to a Petco that had salt fish and wow was there a lot of ich. Some LFS have strict quarantine and some --like Petco-- do not.

I haven't noticed ich there but I have seen 4 dead damsels there and a dead chromis... :cry:

Buying from petco is a rescue mission. :D

 

[Bifferwine]

Depends on the Petco. There are 4 or 5 Petcos in my city, and one of them is quite good -- several of my fish are from there and are 5+ years old.

 

[Sir Alex]

Should I have a UV sterilizer in my quarantine?

 

[Bifferwine]

It's not necessary to run UV.