Fish Quarantine Procedure
Every fish purchased through Reeftopia for our TTM (Tank Transfer Method) Quarantine is hand picked, slowly acclimated, meticulously treated, and packed with care by our small elite team. Our eye for detail, as well as ability to pick and pack fish, has been fine tuned for quality and is always improving.
Our Hybrid Tank Transfer Method treats for the big 5! Ich (white spot), Velvet, Flukes, Brooklynella, and Uronema.
Our current protocol has the fish coming in to be acclimated to 1.024 salinity. These fish are then subject to a H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) bath for 30 minutes, which helps eliminate surface parasites such as Marine Velvet and Brooklynella. Afterwards, the fish are bathed in Methylene Blue for 30-60 minutes. This bath treats any abrasions, cuts, open wounds and ammonia burn sustained during transit from our suppliers. Methylene Blue also contains mild anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial and anti-fungial properties. From there, our fish are then transferred into the their “Day 1” quarantine tub and begin their 13 day journey to become parasite free!
We visually inspect all fish for any signs of stress, disease and aggression with tank mates.
Salinity, temperature and ammonia are also tested and recorded to ensure water chemistry is satisfactory.
24 hours prior to our first transfer, we dose Prazi Pro into the tub which is the first of two doses that will eliminate Flukes on all fish.
Up to, but never exceeding 72 hours from first adding fish to Quarantine tub, we transfer the fish to a sterile tub with fresh saltwater that has had temperature, salinity and pH matched to the existing tub. We make sure to transfer as little water as possible with the fish.
All equipment (colanders, airlines, heaters, tub etc) are then washed and scrubbed with bleach, sprayed with vinegar and left in the sun to air dry. This is to ensure that there is no transmission of any parasites when we re-use the equipment on the next transfer.
We visually inspect all fish for any signs of stress, disease and aggression with tank mates.
Salinity, temperature and ammonia are also tested and recorded to ensure water chemistry is satisfactory.
We visually inspect all fish for any signs of stress, disease and aggression with tank mates.
Salinity, temperature and ammonia are also tested and recorded to ensure water chemistry is satisfactory.
Up to, but never exceeding 72 hours from first adding fish to Quarantine tub, we transfer the fish to a sterile tub with fresh saltwater that has had temperature, salinity and pH matched to the existing tub. We make sure to transfer as little water as possible with the fish.
These fish are then subject to their second H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) bath for 30 minutes, which helps eliminate surface parasites such as Marine Velvet and Brooklynella. Afterwards, the fish are bathed in Methylene Blue for 30 minutes before being transferred into the their “Day 7” quarantine tub.
All equipment (colanders, airlines, heaters, tub etc) are then washed and scrubbed with bleach, sprayed with vinegar and left in the sun to air dry. This is to ensure that there is no transmission of any parasites when we re-use the equipment on the next transfer.
We visually inspect all fish for any signs of stress, disease and aggression with tank mates.
Salinity, temperature and ammonia are also tested and recorded to ensure water chemistry is satisfactory.
24 hours prior to our next transfer, we dose Prazi Pro into the tub which is the second of two doses that will eliminate Flukes on all fish.
All fish are now considered free of Flukes.
Up to, but never exceeding 72 hours from first adding fish to Quarantine tub, we transfer the fish to a sterile tub with fresh saltwater that has had temperature, salinity and pH matched to the existing tub. We make sure to transfer as little water as possible with the fish.
All equipment (colanders, airlines, heaters, tub etc) are then washed and scrubbed with bleach, sprayed with vinegar and left in the sun to air dry. This is to ensure that there is no transmission of any parasites when we re-use the equipment on the next transfer.
We visually inspect all fish for any signs of stress, disease and aggression with tank mates.
Salinity, temperature and ammonia are also tested and recorded to ensure water chemistry is satisfactory.
We visually inspect all fish for any signs of stress, disease and aggression with tank mates.
Salinity, temperature and ammonia are also tested and recorded to ensure water chemistry is satisfactory.
Roughly 72 hours from first adding fish to Quarantine tub, we transfer the fish to their final sterile tub with fresh saltwater that has had temperature, salinity and pH matched to the existing tub. We make sure to transfer as little water as possible with the fish.
These fish are now considered disease free and ready for life in their new aquarium. We observe these fish over the coming days whilst shipping or pickup is arranged with their new owners.
Please note: Whilst we ensure fish that go through our TTM process are parasite free, please be aware that parasites can also enter or already be in your system from other sources.
If this is the case, adding quarantined fish to your aquarium will re-infect these fish, thus making the quarantine process obsolete.
