Re: quarantine

[David Sanchez <barbax2@yahoo.com>]

Mike W. a very big thanks that was very simple yet
very much to the heart of it. I do daily 50-100% water
changes when I first get in wild fish this seems to
stimulat their immune system. As ive discussed before
the counductivity or water quality of our fishes
native waters is stable from day to day. thus i see
the importance of cleanliness, which simply means lots
and lots of water changes. Thanks for the advice this
has been a very productive discussion.

Dave sanchez




--- Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@fgn.net> wrote:
> My quarantining system is very simple. I pick only
> the healthiest looking fish.
> This means that I very rarely buy fish sight unseen.
> Many times I will see
> species that I want, but I walk away without buying
> them them because the don't
> look well. Those that are shipped in directly to me
> are almost always from
> hobbyist/collectors who have held the fish of a
> while.
> 
> All new fish - wild caught or tank raised - are
> treated the same. They are kept
> in 10 - 20 gallon quarantine tanks with bare
> bottoms, a sponge filter, easily
> sterilized caves (PVC tubes for example), & a large
> clump of Java Moss. My Java
> Moss grows so fast that I consider it disposable, if
> necessary. I don't feed
> the fish for 1-2 days after being introduced to the
> quarantine tanks (the fish
> rarely eat anyway) & then feed them what my other
> fish get (flake & pellet
> foods, frozen brine shrimp, & live BBS). The water
> conditions in the quarantine
> tanks are as close to the fish's natural habitat's
> as possible at first, but
> over the weeks I will change them over to my
> naturally soft tap water - unless
> they are true blackwater fish. I tend to make
> frequent (2-3x/week) small
> partial water changes at first. Once they seem
> acclimated I start making
> larger, less frequent water changes until they have
> no problem handling my
> regular water changing schedules. This varies from
> 10%-50%, from 2-3x/week to
> once every 2 weeks, depending on numbers of fish,
> breeding activity, etc. I
> check on them every time I feed them for problems
> (heavy breathing, thin body,
> etc.).
> 
> I never medicate unless I find a problem. If I have
> a problem that I don't
> recognize I call up my friend & pet's veterinarian,
> Dr. Ken Reeves (of Discus
> fame). He has run into most Neotropical fish
> diseases, especially those in
> Discus & other software fish. If he can't cure them,
> no one can. He can also
> provide me with prescription drugs that are more
> effective than many found in
> stores. To be honest, I rarely have to bother Ken.
> If the fish behave normally,
> fatten up, and there are no losses within the first
> 6 weeks I will then put
> them in their own breeding tank. If they are going
> into a tank that already has
> fish in it, I wait 8 to 10 weeks. If I have had
> problems they wait for 6 to 8
> weeks after being cured before they go into my
> breeding operation.
> 
> To put it simply, my quarantine method is clean,
> suitable water, good food,
> peace & quiet, and a lot of patience. I rarely lose
> fish and they live & breed
> to a ripe old age in my tanks. You see, if my
> apistos don't live to be well
> over 2 years old in my tanks I consider that I've
> done something wrong.
> 
> Mike Wise
> 
> David Sanitize wrote:
> 
> > Back to the point of quarantine perhaps some of
> the
> > folks specializing in wild Apistos could elaborate
> on
> > their quarantine protocols and what medications
> they
> > are using for the education of the rest of us. I
> think
> > this may be what Sarah was hinting at. I also
> think it
> > would be a great chance to share knowledge and
> > experiences on handling wild fish.
> >
> > David Sanchez
> >
>
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