Fish always looks sick in QT; normal?

[LAsps]

whenever i acclimate new fish to a quarantine tank, they always look sick. I acclimated an angel last month and he stayed at one corner the whole 2 weeks eating nothing, but he survived.. he is now in the DT and he is healthy. now I just acclimated(temp/drip) a tank-bred occ clown to the QT and he only eats frozen mysis that goes by him and never actively runs to food. am i doing something wrong?
oh and i have been told to add anthias all together, how will i quarantine 5 at a time?!?

[Reefing Madness]

Yea, the fish are spooked for a period of time, getting them to eat is the trick there. And for doing a QT on 5 fish, because your not keeping them in QT permanent, you just put them all in there.

[LAsps]

you think they would eat if I put 1 cube of frozen mysis or brine shrimp? or will hey just ignore the whole cube

[leebca]

You mentioned the fish stayed in the corner. Was there decorations, PVC pipe and other artificial things in the QT for the fish to hide in? If you had pipe in there, was it sized properly? Almost all fish will duck into a protective decoration if it sized right for them. Are you following these general guidelines for QT and acclimation?
It Was Acclimation, I know. . .
and
A Fish Quarantine Process

Did the fish come from an online provider (shipped to you), your local fish store, or some other source? Usually, especially if from a LFS, the fish should settle in fairly quickly since it's been in captive life for a while. Also, a fish from an LFS can be verified to be eating before you acquire it.

If the five fish came from the same source, then put them through the same QT together. Multiple fish QT is covered in the above link.

[LAsps]

You mentioned the fish stayed in the corner. Was there decorations, PVC pipe and other artificial things in the QT for the fish to hide in? If you had pipe in there, was it sized properly? Almost all fish will duck into a protective decoration if it sized right for them. Are you following these general guidelines for QT and acclimation?
It Was Acclimation, I know. . .
and
A Fish Quarantine Process

Did the fish come from an online provider (shipped to you), your local fish store, or some other source? Usually, especially if from a LFS, the fish should settle in fairly quickly since it's been in captive life for a while. Also, a fish from an LFS can be verified to be eating before you acquire it.

If the five fish came from the same source, then put them through the same QT together. Multiple fish QT is covered in the above link.

in ' A Fish Quarantine Process ', you say NOT to quarantine multiple fishes ;o.

[Reefing Madness]

Got a 20g QT tank? I'd QT more than one fish. Make sure they have something to hide in, under. PVC Pipe is a favorite.

[leebca]

It's not unusual to miss one or two points in a post. However, if you look more closely at that quarantine link you'll find this:

NOTE: Only quarantine one fish at a time. Exceptions to this guideline are as follows: If the fishes are schooling fishes and you plan on acquiring the school or group of fishes from the same source/tank or the same water system of that source, then QT them together. If you acquire a mated pair from the same place and they were transferred through the system together, then QT them together. BUT, if you acquire two fishes from two different places or at different times with the intent of making them pair, QT them separately. Not only for the above listed reasons, but also so the prospective couple will meet each other for the first time in the DT.

The fish you are wanting fall into the 'schooling fishes' and as I mentioned in my previous post, if they come from the same source. . .

Good luck!

[LAsps]

thanks!
oh yeah so is it normal for fish too look sick and inactive in the quarantine tank?

[leebca]

It depends on how recently the fish has been captured. If it is tank bred or tank raised, there should be no signs of a problem. A wild caught fish in your QT that was in the ocean a few days earlier is still adjusting to captive life. For the most part, a fish that has come through the system (capture, holding, export, import, wholesaler, LFS, your QT) should be disoriented and unfamiliar with its surroundings to some extent. In a few days, with consistent care, water quality and a stable environment, the fish should become active again (showing signs of curiosity, inspecting decorations closely for food, aware of the hobbyist, etc.). If it doesn't it could be illness or acclimation issues. Every fish is unique, so maybe (as an example) 80% of the Raccoon Butterflyfishes that have made it to the LFS are hardy and the rest are between hardy and sensitive. Some just don't acclimate to captivity. So it is an individual fish issue on top of how a certain species adapts in general.

If you look through/read this post, you'll find some things to look for in your new fish as well as a fish you are thinking about getting: Is The Fish Healthy?

[LAsps]

do I need to cycle a quarantine tank for real? I actually never cycled my quarantine tank, I just used water from the main tank and put it into the quarantine tank and began adding fish. i guess, I cycled the power filter in my main tank for 2 weeks, quarantined a fish, poured out the quarantine tanks water and let the power filter sit for a week or 2, and quarantined a healthy clownfish for 2 weeks, then let the power filter sit for a 2 weeks unused, until now, when I just turned it on for the new fish in the quarantine.

[leebca]

Getting the QT so that it has an active biological filter either takes putting in a sponge filter that is active, or getting the tank to cycle. Adding water from a system running doesn't kick off the biological filter. Still, I recommend using original water or water from the system the fish came from, so that acclimation isn't needed. But this doesn't constitute an active biological filter. Keep testing the water for ammonia and nitrites and test results will tell you when the biological filter is working.

If you start with a seeded biological filter (like a sponge filter that is properly seeded in the main system), then all will be well (assuming the seeding will handle the QT bioload). It can take up to 8 weeks to get a new filter properly seeded in an old system. It requires that the filter be running in the old system constantly. Some are seeded in as little as a couple of weeks. Again, when it is moved into the QT, testing for ammonia and nitrites will tell the story on whether or not the filter was seeded enough.