Safe to Skip
Quarantine?
First, let me point out that I
always quarantine new fish
ut them in my tank, but the
aquarium store where I buy all my fish
has recently posted a sign that reads, “We
quarantine all fish for two weeks before
selling them.” Does that mean I can safely
Q
The marine aquarium hobby
certainly requires the patience
of Job—especially while
waiting out a quarantine
skip the quarantine stage for fish that I buy
from that store?
Steve Markwood
White Plains, New York
A
it is an exc
The yellowheaded sleeper goby
Valenciennea strigata is a reef-safe fish, as it should not harm
your sessile invertebrates, and
eptional sand-stirrer. That being
said, however, there are several concerns
when it comes to keeping this fish. Foremost
among them is the fact that it has a reputation
for being an extremely finicky eater, often
refusing to eat anything offered apart from
the tiny organisms residing in the sand.
Hence, it’s critical to provide this species
with a well-established sandbed with a very
healthy population of invertebrate fauna.
When introduced to new aquariums or even
to established aquariums with sandbeds
with a de
Yellowheaded
Sleeper Goby
I’m in the process of setting
up a 100-gallon reef tank
ep sandbed ( 4 inches of fine
aragonite sand). I plan to keep only a
handful of fish in the system, and one
that I’m considering is the yellowheaded
sleeper goby. I’m told it will do a good
job of stirring the sand, which I know is
very important for maintaining a healthy
sandbed. Is this fish reef safe, and how
soon can I introduce one?
Donald Moseby
via email
A
period when all you want to do is get that
beautiful new fish into its final home so you
can enjoy it! While I completely understand
the temptation to bypass quarantine when
it seems that it might be justified, I would
still urge you to go ahead and quarantine
any new specimens even if your dealer
claims to do so for you. It’s just too easy
for a quarantined specimen in a retail
setting—where some staff members may
be less conscientious than others about
quarantine protocols—to be exposed to a
parasite or pathogen at some point during
the quarantine period.
For instance, if an employee were to
unwittingly clean the quarantine tank with
a siphon, bucket, or other aquarium tool
that has also been used to clean an infected
tank, the benefit of that quarantine period
will have been negated. Plus, I would argue
that two weeks is not a sufficient amount
of time to ensure that symptoms of disease
or a parasite aren’t going to crop up. Do
yourself and your current community of fish
a favor by quarantining any newcomers for
a minimum of four weeks.
Q
