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The Importance Of Quarantining New Fish Arrivals Intended For Community Aquariums or Ponds
 Many aquarists and pond keepers have dropped out of aquarium and pond keeping due to unfortunate experiences with the way new fish introductions were handled. There is a lot to learn in doing it right. Hopefully the following will provide some helpful insights. Our apologies for repeating some points again and again. We receive so many inquiries involving this vital subject in fish keeping, that sometimes saying something more than once is truly needed.
* For newly acquired fish do not put them in a community aquarium or pond (by "community" is meant that it already has fishes) until they have been quarantined in a completely isolated aquarium or adequately sized isolated miniature pond for one month, or for longer as needed
* Prepare the water in the quarantine container to be toxin free (also see Kordon Article "What You Need to Know About Water Sources..."
* Put the fish in the quarantine container
* Observe the fish closely each day to be sure that they are healthy and infection free
* Put water conditioners in the water at the start and weekly to remove toxins from the water, and to lower stress and boost the immune system of the fish
* Treat the water (daily or the time period as instructed by the medication) with appropriate treatments to prevent and eliminate infections
* Increase dosage (to twice a day or the time period as instructed for the treatments) if infections appear or persist
* Do not introduce the new fish into the community aquarium or pond until the quarantine period is fully completed and no infections or health problems are present. When in doubt increase the length of time in quarantine
* If aggressive fishes are being introduced or are already in the community aquarium, consider using a "Fish Haven™ " such as a Kordon Fish Corral™ or Fish Refuge™ to acclimate the fishes to each other (the new fishes acclimated to the old timers and vice versa) before they come in contact.
* Continue daily inspections until all is well.
For beginning and advancing aquarists and pond keepers, some of the main lessons to be learned are about "water keeping." Water is more prone to transport fish diseases than the air we know about for transmitting human and land-animal disease. Therefore, when a diseased fish is put in with other fishes, it is likely -- quickly and often extensively -- to pass on any diseases that they have to the other fishes, as well as to receive any diseases present from the other fishes. This can happen very quickly, and catastrophically. In addition it is often overlooked how long diseases can "hibernate" in the water or with fishes before attacking. Water is an ideal transporter of diseases.
Also, it is important for beginning and advancing aquarists and pond keepers to be forewarned and prepared for what can happen when there is a disease outbreak. (See Kordon Article " What the Beginning and Advancing Aquarist Absolutely Needs to Know and Do When Starting an Aquarium" which in part applies to pond keepers as well).
It is essential for avoiding future troubles to quarantine new arrivals in isolation where they can be closely observed and pre-treated for a sufficient amount of time to be sure that they are as free of infections as possible. Under normal circumstances this quarantining should be for one month, and for special cases longer than a month.
What is often overlooked is that new fish arrivals available commercially from the pet or pond store are often originally from long distances away. For many aquarium fishes they are wild caught or from outdoor ponds. Their original environment -- whether natural or a culture facility -- may be prone to have all kinds of diseases present that the new arrivals bring with them. It may be that the diseases are suppressed until the stress of transportation and new surroundings lowers the fishes' immunity, causing a break out of infections.
Do not accept that just because the supplier of the fish has quarantined them, that this relieves you of your responsibility in this regard. Your receiving them may be what triggers the fishes' immune system finally to break down and cause the disease outbreak that they have been suppressing for some time. Often there is more than one kind of infection at the same time, so that there may be the need for multiple kinds of treatments. Therefore, quarantining should not only be for observation, but also for preventive treatment to avoid infections having the opportunity to develop and overwhelm the new arrivals.
Quarantine Aquarium or "Hospital Tank"
It is best when keeping a community aquarium to have a second aquarium continually set up with pre-treated water, aeration, filtration, and (for tropical conditions) heating, that can handle emergencies or new arrivals. The emergency aquarium should be of sufficient size to  manage what might be needed. The emergency aquarium -- fully functioning -- can be kept with a few placid fishes of its own known for their ease in getting along with others. In this way, if a fish in the community tank is wounded, or there are unexpected new arrivals, the emergency aquarium is ready and waiting for them, already cycled (see Kordon Article "Biological Filtration".
Fishes that can be used as hardy and adaptable "caretakers" for the emergency aquarium include for fresh water the white cloud mountain (Tanichthys albonubes) and zebra fishes (Brachydanio rerio), and for marine the mollies (Poecilia latipinna). When new fish are put in the quarantine aquarium, the "caretaker" fish should be taken out so that they do not catch any of the infections brought in by the newcomers. One way to handle the "caretakers" is to use a Kordon "Fish Haven," such as a Fish Coral™ or Fish Refuge™ placed in the community aquarium while the newcomers are being quarantined. This makes it easy to catch the caretakers and put them back in the quarantine aquarium after the quarantining is over. Of course, it is essential to be sure that the community aquarium fish and the "caretaker fish" are infection free for this arrangement to be practical. No new fish should be brought in until this arrangement is secure from infections.
Quarantine Pond
Since space is often a factor, a child's plastic pool or large enough aquarium can be used when a quarantine enclosure is needed. Either should be equipped at least with a water pump or aeration to provide ample oxygen in the water for the fishes.
The Length of Time Needed for Quarantining
As has been indicated, the time needed for quarantining is one month, or longer if needed. The reason why such a long quarantine period is needed is that it may take this long for diseases to be discovered. The diseases affecting fishes are now far more wide spread, often more virulent, and more resistant to treatment, than in the past. It is far better to resolve these problems in isolation, than to have them spread to the other fishes that you already have and cherish.
New fish can have any number of infections that are much more difficult to handle if they are passed on to the fish already in your aquarium or pond. It is not worth the risk of putting them together too soon. A mistake can affect all the fish in the aquarium or pond, and can affect the fish for life. Always -- Quarantine all new fish that will be placed with others in the same water.
More than ever before, aquarium and pond fishes are now imported versus being raised in the United States. The reasons are associated with expense. It is less costly to import most aquarium and pond fishes than it is to raise them in the U.S. For most coral reef fishes it still needs to be discovered how to breed most of them -- so most are wild caught. All of these fishes bring in their diseases, some contaminators being new to science.
The question sometimes arises as to who is responsible if the new fishes die or pass on diseases to the other fish. Is it the seller where the new fish came from? Is it the manufacturer of any products used at the time of introducing new fishes? Or is it the one who has received the new fish to be responsible? Regardless of how you look at this, the important point is that the receiver of new fishes should make certain that to the extent possible --
1. The new fish are healthy and disease free when they are acquired.
2. The new fish really are quarantined for a long enough period of time isolated from other fish to be sure that they are not going to pass on infections that they have brought with them. This should be for one month or more.
3. The new fish receive preventive treatment while in quarantine, such as by the use of one of the Kordon organic naphthoquinone treatments (see below for further information), to aid in suppressing and eliminating infections.
If these three conditions are followed, there will be far less in the way of problems with bringing in new fish. This will be a major improvement over the way that most fish keepers handle new fish arrivals.
Another consideration is how to handle the quarantine container between uses. If it is emptied of water, sterilized -- such as with bleach, and then thoroughly washed out to get rid of all bleach, and dried -- it should be safe for the next use for quarantining. If it is maintained with water and "caretaker" fish, it should be suitably treated to be sure that no infectors are present.
The Need For Quarantining Aquatic Invertebrates
Less is known about quarantining invertebrates, such as coral, sea anemones, shrimp, crabs, starfish, snails, etc. , than for fish. But they bring in infections the same as fish do. Invertebrates should be quarantined in the same way as is done for fishes, as well as treated with appropriate treatments if infected. One good reason for doing this is that the free-swimming young of Ich white-spot disease may mistake (or deliberately decide on) one of the invertebrates -- such as a sea anemone or a snail -- as an adequate substitute for a fish, and attach onto them during their "white spot" stage. When they are brought into the community aquarium, the Ich white spots can continue their life cycle and infect the fishes present there. Unless isolated and treated during quarantine, this infection will not be discovered in time or be eliminated before being released in the community aquarium. With the new invention of the Kordon organic naphthoquinone treatments that can be used with aquatic invertebrates (Kordon Ich Attack™, Prevent Ich™, and Rid Fungus™), fish infections for which the aquatic invertebrates have been the host can now be eliminated.
Water Care
While the main reason for quarantining new fish arrivals is to control diseases, the need to modify the quality of the water used to provide those water conditions for fishes and aquatic invertebrates to which they now need to adapt is a serious consideration for both aquarium and pond keeping.
When using tap water, whether for fresh or saltwater quarantining of fishes and aquatic invertebrates, add sufficient Kordon NovAqua+® and AmQuel+® during the quarantining to adjust the water quality to the proper conditions. Most tap water is toxic to fishes and other aquatic life until it is treated. For example, for most tap water from public water utilities the additives that they have put in the water (chlorine, ammonia -- combined chloramines) are toxic and need to be removed. Public water supplies can have 10 or more parts per million (ppm) of nitrates in the water. It needs to be 10 or less parts per million to keep from impairing the health of fishes and other aquatic organisms. Nitrates are eliminated by Amquel+. The tap water you are receiving has passed through metal pipes that leach harmful heavy metals in the water (see Kordon Article "The Importance of Removing Heavy Metals From Aquarium and pond Water", and "What You Need to Know About Water Sources...".
 Heavy metals in parts per billion impair the health of fishes and other aquatic organisms, and need to be removed. This is done by using NovAqua+.
Another consideration for tap water is that it can vary considerably day to day in water quality. Trace elements are essential to the fishes, and if in short supply can greatly affect their health as well as that of all other organisms in the water. It is recommended to use Kordon's fresh or saltwater VitaTrace™ to be sure all the essential trace elements are available to the fishes and other organisms in the water.
Treatments During Quarantine
Fishes have infections from viruses, bacteria, single-celled and multi-celled organisms. For treatments during quarantine, it is recommended that you use one of the Kordon organic naphthoquinone herbal remedies in their acclimation, such as Prevent Ich, Ich Attack, or Rid Fungus, all of which are equally effective in eliminating single-celled infections such as protozoans, dinoflagellates, and fungus. They are not effective against viruses,bacteria and multi-celled organisms.
Since the naphthoquinones are at least partially absorbed through the gills of the fish into their blood and dispersed through their body, the naphthoquinones will help both externally and internally in resisting infections, allowing the immune system of the fish to control infections. The advantages of these organic herbal remedies include their ease of use and limited stress on the fishes. Multiple times normal dose treatments will not harm the fishes, nor will multiple doses per day. Water changes need not be made between treatments. The naphthoquinones are compatible with all of Kordon's water conditioners, including the AmQuels, NovAquas, Fish Protector™ (=PolyAqua), VitaTrace, ZymBac, Tidy Tank and Tidy Turtle.
The most common infection in new fish arrivals is Ich white spot disease (see Kordon Article "The Life Cycle of Ich". Ich infections of fishes under the best of circumstances are not easy to eradicate and you need to understand the nature of this disease. Now the truth about Ich, which are tiny white spots on the bodies and fins of fishes, and about its medications.
We at Kordon/Novalek are a scientific company with only professional grade medications. We do our very best to provide the latest and most beneficial medications for aquarium and pond fishes, but miracles cannot be performed. Whether the medications are for man or fish, they have their limitations. One of the most important limitations is that in fishes many infections start out of sight in the mouth, gills, and nostrils, where they are difficult to diagnose until it is late in the infection period. And, of course, there are those other infections that are internal in the fish's organs, etc..
The ability to be out of sight is particularly true for protozoan single-celled parasites such as Ich, that often are not seen on the fish until its infection is very serious in the mouth and gills, and may be too late for treatment. The first thing to keep in mind is not to introduce new fishes with other fishes before keeping them under close observation in quarantine for one month or more.
During quarantine, preferably use a preventative treatment, such as one of Kordon's organic naphthoquinones -- Prevent Ich, or Ich Attack, or Rid Fungus. None of these organic treatments require water changes during use. They are safe to use with fishes and aquatic invertebrates (snails, shrimp, crabs, starfish, sea urchins, mollusc, etc.), and with beneficial bacteria in the water. The only invertebrates for which there may be a problem because of their fragility are possibly in marine aquariums for some corals such as bubble and xenia corals, and possibly for some sea anemones. When using the naphthoquinones regularly observe the corals and sea anemones to be sure that they are all right. If they are stressed and shriveled up, there is something wrong with the water conditions that need to be corrected.This may be in excessive light that increases the body temperature of corals and anemones.
If you use the very effective and potent chemical medication Kordon's Rid-Ich+, be sure you make partial water changes each day before the next treatment to get rid of the toxins building up in the water. Do not use the Rid-Ich+ in aquariums with aquatic invertebrates (shrimp, coral, crabs, anemones, snails, mollusc, etc.), because the Rid-Ich+ can kill them.
Therefore, your best choices in Kordon products for eliminating Ich are any one of the more forgiving organic herbal treatments (Ich Attack, or Prevent Ich, or Rid Fungus -- they are all equally effective against Ich and many other infections). These treatments do not require water changes between treatments. They can be safely used on fishes at increased dosages and usually with invertebrates present in the water. Or the other general choice is to use the powerful chemical Rid-Ich+ treatment that requires water changes between each treatment and should not be used when aquatic invertebrates (shrimp, snails, coral, anemones, etc.) are present.
You need to know that new species of Ich have been discovered that have a much longer life cycle in the dormant stage of up to several weeks or more. When Ich is in the dormant "white spot" stage, there is no known treatment to eradicate them. Increased doses each time of treatment by use of the Kordon naphthoquinone treatments may be of help here. Ich can only be eliminated when the mature adult hatches out of the white spot cysts and reproduces. If you skip any days in treatment when the adults are hatching out, there can be reinfection by Ich that starts the cycle over again.
All medications suitable for treating single-celled infections are intended in the case of Ich white spot disease for the free-swimming stage, which is very short in duration -- usually 18 hours to 2 or 3 days. But it may be shorter in some of the new species of Ich being discovered. This means that when the Ich is in the white spot cyst stage, there is no known fully effective treatment. Since the individual Ich cysts are usually formed over a number of days, no one can know when they will hatch out, and they look alike whether hours, days, or weeks old. So daily treatments, or two treatments per day are essential. For species of Ich, going through the free-swimming stage in a few hours, three treatments per day may be needed and are safe to use for the Kordon organic herbal treatments.
 Getting rid of Ich can easily be missed if the treatments are not every day to kill the free-swimming stage, which is so tiny that it cannot be seen by regular eyesight. To have more numerous spots reappearing on the fish during treatment means, in all cases that we know about, that there was a lapse in treatment, or too long a time between treatments. Treatments should continue for at least 3 days (and preferably 4 days) after the last of the white spots are totally gone from the fish, and this means gone from inside the mouth, gills, and nostrils of the fish as well, where Ich prefers to form the white spot cysts. When the tomonts hatch out from the white spots, they take only a few hours to start reproducing, each producing hundreds of ciliated theronts that reinfect the fish, once again forming the white spot cysts in which they hibernate until they are ready to hatch out again.
One way to deal with Ich is to raise the temperature of the water to about 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit (= 27-28 degrees Celsius), thereby speeding up the life cycle and providing the opportunity for the medication to work faster in eliminating Ich. When you do this, in severe cases you may need to make two treatments per day -- one in the morning and the other in the afternoon or evening, because of the speeded up life cycle. (Or three times a day for Ich species with a very short free-swimming stage).
Also be aware that since the Ich infection often starts internally in the mouth, gills, and nostrils of the fish, Ich may be difficult to identify until the infection spreads outside on the body and fins of the fish, days after the original internal infection. By the time you see the white spots on the body of the fish, the infection can be far advanced. In some cases it is too late to save the fish with medication. Sometimes the infection remains internal in the way just described, and the reasons for fish deaths are not discovered by the aquarist or pond keeper.
Since there are different species of Ich (all hard to identify separately) that have different lengths of time in their life cycles in the white-spot stage, there is not a set number of days for treatment. It can be up to 32 days before the white spots hatch out. Or for the shortest time in the cyst stage it can be three days to a week. Each white spot when it hatches can produce hundreds of infecting young which reattach to the fish.
You need to treat each day until every white spot is gone. Skipping a day can cause hundreds or thousands of new infections. Once again, keep in mind that Ich can be in the mouth, gills, and nostrils of the fish as well as on the outside of the fish, and cannot be seen externally when its entire infection is internal. Always treat for 3-4 days after the last white spot is gone to be sure none are missed.
For treatments with Kordon's chemically formulated Rid-Ich+ you need to make partial water changes each day before each subsequent dose to get rid of toxins building up in the water. For these needed water changes we recommend your using Kordon NovAqua+ to help the immune system of the fish resist infection, together with Kordon AmQuel+ to detoxify all forms of toxic nitrogen compounds (Ammonia/ammonium, Nitrites, Nitrates, Pheromones, etc.). Both water conditioners eliminate the chlorines and chloramines containing ammonia that are added by municipal water suppliers. For further information on this web site www.novalek.com type Ich in the search box. You will receive a list of pages with information that should be of help to you.
When water dips or baths are needed for multi-celled parasites such as worms, lice, leaches, etc., see Kordon Formalin-3™, Malachite Green™, or Permoxyn™ (potassium permanganate). For a full powerful treatment instead of a dip or bath with these treatments consider the use of Kordon Trifon™(trichlorofon).
If the fish have bacterial infections see the Kordon Article "What the Beginning and Advancing Aquarist Absolutely Need to Know and Do When Starting An Aquarium". If the fish have viruses, there is no known treatment for aquarium fishes. As for pond fishes, the most common viral infection for koi is from KHV Koi Herpes Virus. The easiest treatment is to raise the temperature to an extreme high level (about 85 degrees Fahrenheit = 29 degrees Centigrade), or as high below that temperature that the fish can stand. Add additional aeration to provide ample oxygen. The higher temperature may eliminate or at least dissipate the KHV infection.
Treatments to avoid unless you understand their limitations and are skilled in handling them are copper treatments, such as Kordon's Copper Tru™ and Chelated Copper™ . There are two good reasons for this.
1. Treatments using copper to eliminate parasites are in parts per million. Even in parts per billion copper is of harm to fishes and other aquatic life (see Kordon Article "The Importance of Removing Heavy Metals From Aquarium and Pond Water".
2. Also, copper treatments bind long-term into the glass, plastics, gravel, rocks, and other decorations in the aquarium or pond, becoming hidden with their presence unreadable by test kits. Subsequently, The coppers can suddenly and unexpectedly emerge at any time when water conditions drastically change, such as from pH (acidity/alkalinity) changes, at which time the coppers are often lethal to fishes and aquatic invertebrates.
To terminate the copper treatment use Kordon’s NovAqua, or NovAqua+, or Fish Protector (=PolyAqua TM). Multiple treatments will be needed for coppers to be removed. It will take about a 10x treatment to remove a 1 part per million copper ion treatment. For greater or lesser treatments, calculate the dose needed based on the treatment eliminating 0.112 ppm of copper ions per dose (for standard dosages see the Kordon Article "Standard Dose for Liquid Treatments".
All heavy metals are toxic to fishes if in too high concentrations (which is in the parts per billion). One of the functions of the NovAquas and Fish Protector is to remove all heavy metals from the water (and from the glass, plastic, gravel, rock, and decorations), including copper, iron, zinc, lead, bronze, brass, arsenic, cadmium, thallium, chromium, etc., that can occur in water supplies, and are harmful to fishes and aquatic invertebrates.
Transferring the Fish From Quarantining to the Community Aquarium or Pond
If the water is the same for both the quarantine and the final community home, the consideration should be that the water temperature is the same. If there is a difference in temperature or other water conditions, it is best to mix the water gradually over 1/2 hour or more to condition the fish to the new water.
 The Use of "Fish Havens" in Aquarium Keeping
For aquarium fish there is another consideration that is often overlooked. And that is in allowing the new arrivals to be protected from the old timers and vice versa, so that they get used to looking at each other over several days before coming into direct contact. This is done with an inside-the-aquarium Fish Haven, such as Kordon's Fish Corral or for small fish, the Kordon Fish Refuge. Aquarists sometimes overlook determining what fish are compatible with each other. The additional time in isolation inside the aquarium, where those fish inside and outside can see each other -- but not come in contact, can provide an indication of how well they are going to get along together. If there is aggression between those inside and outside, this provides forewarning of what is to come if they are later put together. This may require the decision not to release the new fish with the others, or to wait until there is complete acceptance between them before proceeding further.
It is recommended that you learn about these inside-the-aquarium isolation products, because they can be of great aid in fish keeping. They are highly recommended and used by veterinarians. When no quarantine aquarium or "hospital tank" can be used, such as when the space needed is not available, a fish haven product can be used. However, the water in the fish haven is continuous with the water in the aquarium (or pond). Infectious diseases can be passed between them. It is best not to use the fish haven until the fish have been fully quarantined.
What To Use When Pond Fish Need To Be Quarantined Or Confined In The Pond
See the above section on Fish Havens for aquariums. When a Fish Haven is needed in a pond for isolation, the largest sizes of the Kordon Fish Corral will handle most pond fishes other than the largest Koi and similar sized fishes. For pond fish, which will mostly be koi and goldfish, these kinds of fish accept each other more readily, and there is not the problem when fish arrivals are added, as there is in more aggressive aquarium fish. As for new pond arrivals, particularly with koi, the chances are too high for infections to be introduced -- not to quarantine them separately, until it is certain that they do not carry any diseases. No exceptions should be allowed.
The Need For Quarantining Aquatic Plants
Aquatic plants can be the intermediate host for white-spot cyst stage of Ich (white spot disease). Therefore, they need to be quarantined and if fish are present treated for Ich as well, so that when the free-swimming stage hatches out, there will be no fish host available, or the treatment being used will kill the free-swimming stage. The quarantine period should be until all white spots are gone, which may require a month or more.
In Conclusion
The use of quarantining is too little utilized by aquarists and pond keepers. The urge is to get the newcomers into a community aquarium or pond as quickly as possible. But this action of proceeding too hastily often causes a lot of grief for weeks and months afterward, that could have been easily avoided. Instead, play it safe. Use quarantining for all new arrivals for a community aquarium or pond. Use a safe haven for introducing aquarium fishes when there are either aggressive old-timers in the aquarium or possible aggression from newcomers. It will make for a lot happier experience in aquarium and pond keeping. And the fish will be grateful to you for doing it.
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