PRECAUTIONARY TREATMENT

I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING IN EAST TN SINCE APRIL THIS YEAR AND I WONDER IF I SHOULD TREAT ALL NEW FISH AS A PRECAUTION. IT SEEMS EVERY TIME I BRING HOME NEW FISH, THERE IS A NEW OUTBREAK OF ICK OR FIN ROT. I AM AS GENTLE AND CAREFUL WITH SPECIMENS AS I CAN BE. ALSO, I WONDER IF I AM DIGGING UP ICK IN THE SUBSTRATE WHEN I SEINE.

What I found in alot of fish in Middle and East Tennessee was a parasite, I can't remeber what off the top of my head, that would show up after high stress situations and especially in high temperatures. Once fish would get home, even after a long acclimation period, fins and flesh would rot, major die offs would occur, etc. I rarely collected things from May-September unless I was realyl wililng to put in some effort in assuring survival past the first week. When we needed lab specimens we typically would get 2X what was needed because we saw some high mortality.


You might wanna hit the caps lock again and turn it off.

In general I'd say you don't have to blanket treat new fish but I do recommend quarantine for at least two weeks. I always use at least 1 or 2 TBS salt per 5 gallons while the fish are in quarantine. Close observation while in quarantine should reveal any issues before you introduce them to your new tank. I guess the salt bath for two weeks is a form of treatment but I use this salt level on all non-planted tanks already.

I might also add that it's possible that when you introduce many new fish (or few fish in a small tank), you might not have the biological filter ready for the additions. This could easily cause your water parameters to go out of whack. This might explain your rot outbreaks alone.

Thanks alot guys.