[klasikb]

Last thursday I received a very nice looking paracentropyge venustus fish. He did hide a lot during the first 2 days but was out swimming around a bit more and picking on the rocks on days 3 and 4. The last 2 days he is back to hiding all of the time and I do not think he is eating any of the frozen food(soaked in selcon and garlic), pellets and nori I am offering him. He is in a 60 gallon tank all by himself. The tank in connected to the same sump as the main tank and there is about 25-30lbs of live rock in the tank, but it does not have a lot of algea growth on the rock. I was wondering if it would be better to move him into the main tank as the rock does have much more algea and sponges growing on it. It would have peaceful tanks mates with wrasses and blennies and anthias, but feeding time is hectic.I am also going to pick up some live baby brine shrimp to try, but that will not be until friday. Any suggestions would be helpful as I don't want to loss this gorgeous fish. Thanks, Sheila

[leebca]

My suggestion is that you back up and go to the step you skipped -- the quarantine step. All new fish should be quarantined so that the only thing you add to your display tank is a fish (not infection, disease, or parasites)

The tank the fish is currently in is literally too large and contains live rock which will act to distract the fish from the foods it should be eating. The current tank allows the fish to hide from you and not face reality -- it is in captive life. What you suggest is to further distract the fish and have it eat the algae in the main tank so that it will eventually starve to death. What the fish needs is training on what to eat -- fast.

There are many reasons to put a fish in quarantine, disease is just one. One of the things quarantine provides is an opportunity for the fish to acclimate, not allow the fish to hide too much, allow the fish to get used to you the new owner, and most importantly, a chance to get used to being fed prepared foods. All these things you've skipped.

My recommendation is to put the fish into a properly setup quarantine tank and do not move the fish into any display tank.

There is much reading you can do to understand the quarantine benefits:
A Fish Quarantine Process
and
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

[klasikb]

thanks Lee

[Reefland]

Hi klasikb,

Please check the e-mail address you have registered with our site, it does not appear to be valid any longer.

[klasikb]

I just wanted to say thanks again for giving me a different way to look at the quarantine process. It is a much different outlook than I've had since I've started in this hobby 5 years ago. As I'm getting into more difficult fish to keep, I'm sure this will increase their odds greatly.

[dougc]

I have come to the conclusion that adaptation to captivity is the most compelling benefit of quarantine, especially with fish that may be reluctant to feed. Passive fish are also given the time to gain confidence, making the transition to a display tank less stressful. In the bad old days, I watched more than a few fish starve to death after being dropped directly into a display tank full of other fish. Since I started quarantining all new arrivals, I don't think I have lost a single fish to starvation. Although some of this can be attributed to better purchase decisions, I have successfully quarantined semi-difficult butterflies and anthias that well might have refused to feed without the sanctuary of a quarantine tank.

[leebca]

Originally Posted by dougc

the sanctuary of a quarantine tank.

Well put!!!