Regular Member sea Posted March 1, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 1, 2007 My gf Freckles past away just over a week ago after a year of ups and downs battling what I think was sbd brought on by an internal bacterial infection. I have had her tankmate, Nugget for over 3 years and he seems to be fine (apart from his chronic quirks) albeit looking very lonely. I know the tank params are fine as I test and water change every 2-3 days. Now for my question - I need to go (really it is for a work committment ) past the best fish store in town (~45 min away) today and know that if I go in I will be very tempted to get a new fish. I called them already and know that they were going to go to their supplier and pick out a bunch of new calico fantails (what I want) yesterday. My question - should I go in or pass it by? Is it too soon to get a new fish? Is it bad to buy a fish that has just been brought into the store (they handpick those that they think look healthy but still you don't know, right?)? I do not have a qt tank (one now contains adfs, the other snails ) and just Nugget is in my main tank. What do you all think? Thanks, sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Panzz Posted March 1, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 1, 2007 in my opinion no... not really too soon... but still the risk are higher though. But it does not always mean new arrivals are unhealthy or anything, fact is the longer you keep them at some LFS and due to their neglect the fish may have a worst condition than when it first arrived. what I suggest is if you have the time go down there and take at look at the new arrivals and observe to see any of them are suffering from any sickness or showing signs of a possible disease. you could just look at the way they swim and ask if they are typical healthy goldfish swimming.(of cos you do not startle them and let them swim without any attempt to catch them normally first.) and if they do look abnormal then you can always wait a few days before going back to see if there are any improvements! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LaurieP Posted March 1, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 1, 2007 Sea it is really up to you. Without having a isolation tank you run the risk of inviting something into your tank and the other fish. But it is up to you, just want to make you aware of the potential of bringing something home more than a fish. I assume you do want to get a buddy for the lonely fish, and if you can't afford to get the iso tank then it is up to you to risk it. Many people (including myself long ago) have done it. You just have to be on top of things if they occur. Also be aware that since the other fish was exposed to the one that died, he too could be harbouring something. Just food for thought. I can understand the pull though, nice fish are hard to come by. Let us know what you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member SpaceCakeGirl Posted March 1, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 1, 2007 History suggests that you should QT a new fish but reality shows that people often don't. If the fish is fine then nothing bad could happen. But if the fish is secretly NOT fine, then there's going to be lots of headaches in your future. I've only added two new fish to my tank and didn't QT either of them. One is totally fine, the other died. The one that died was probably my fault though, not the store's. The original fish is doing a-okay too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member lepirin Posted March 1, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 1, 2007 Another thing to consider about not having the space to set up an isolation tank, is that if your new fish does not get along with your old fish, you have no room to separate them. When I got Darmok he was in isolation for several weeks, but then when placed with my other two fish, started chasing and harassing them. I left him in there for a month, in the hopes that they would work it out, and it only got worse. So now he lives alone, and is happy, and my other fish are able to live peaceably. I've lost my quarantine tank now though, so if anybody gets sick... I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Hopefully I'll be able to get a larger tank and filter for him this month, but I'm not sure, craigslist is being uncooperative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sea Posted March 2, 2007 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 2, 2007 Thanks for your comments and suggestions. While reading them I yesterday I noticed that it was my 1 year anniversary as a member of this forum . I thought - hey this has got to be a great omen - right . So of course I went ahead to the store (first time in a year since they have such a great selection I knew I would not be able to resist and did not have the space for more than my 2 guys). They had such wonderful fish - adorable baby black moors, a gorgeous oranda and a tank of beautiful pearscales. Going in I really wanted a calico fantail and they had a whole tank of new ones that they had just picked up. To some folks they may all have looked the same but I spent a half hour scrutinizing all of them - it was so hard to choose! I finally decided on a cute little guy with nice orange/black/grey coloring, unusual light colored eyes, and the most adorable black specs on his face (reminded me of my Freckles ). I intentionally went with one that was more oval shaped (like Nugget) and less fat and round (like Freckles was) just in case this means something in terms of their susceptibility to sbd. I hope he is healthy and I made good choice Right now he seems a little shy around me although he and Nugget are getting along great. It is kinda weird but he seem not to know what to do with the pellet food as he swims right past it . However he is enjoying the anacharis so maybe he just needs more time to get used to things. I am wondering if I should add a Parasite Clear as a preventative just in case and if so if I should do it now or after giving him a few more days to get used to his surroundings. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Panzz Posted March 2, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 2, 2007 congrats on your new fish! some pics pls !! hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishfreak4life Posted March 2, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 2, 2007 Congratulations on your new fish. Do you know when you are going to get some pictures becuase he sounds healthy. Please let us know! Thanks! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sea Posted March 4, 2007 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 4, 2007 Thanks guys! So far he seems to be doing well. He has figured out that the pellets were food and has really done a job on the anacharis plant which is down to almost nothing . He looks so cute grabbing onto the leaves and shaking his head around trying to rip them off - he looks like he is trying to imitate some big carnivore-type trying to bite off a big piece of meat . I'm still trying to decide on a suitable name for him. I'm thinking of "Speckles" in part since that is what he looks like and also in honor of Freckles who recently passed away. What do you think- does that sound corny? I'll try to get pictures but I am not too good in that area so please bear with me . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Devs Posted March 4, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 4, 2007 Congrats on your new fish Sea.He sounds cute so we'll definitely want to check him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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