Advice on quarantining wild caught fish

I am getting some wild caught fish in a few weeks. Would appreciate advice on how to best quarantine them since I couldn't find a ton of information about this topic. From the knowledge that I have gathered, I am aware that observation is key and that de-worming is basically a must for wild-caught fish. Other than that not too sure on how I should proceed.

 

Thats usually what i do. Quarantine and treat for ich and other parasites. The quarantine trio is definitely not a bad idea with wild-caught fish.

 

could you inform us what the wild caught fish is? some dont do well with treatments and meds, i dont have experience with this but ive heard of this, im sure somebody else can help you with that though.

 

I'd only deworm and keep a.close I eye on them (that is what quarantining is for).

In my opinion the Med trio is a scam and shouldn't be done in case.of healty fish. That counts for any med. Treating diseases that aren't there I think is strange and misuse can cause resistance.

 

Thanks for the replies. The fish in question are a couple of parotocinclus cats that I am planning to put in my 20 gallon long. I will be sure to keep a close eye on them when they arrive.

Have a follow up question. I've seen people use deshelled green peas to pass internal parasites & help with digestion in some fish. How valid is this practice? There are conflicting sources out there about the topic and I wanted to give it a try since the parotocinclus are mainly veggie eaters.

 

i tried peas on my goldfish once, it didnt work for me, not sure how it would work on other fish, maybe swear by peas and that it works. u can try.

 

I've kept plenty of wild caught fish (caught them myself) and never did any treatments on them or had any problems.

EDIT: I also was in NANFA (North American Native Fishes Association) for a brief period, and went on at least one collection trip with the group. No one ever mentioned treating the fish we caught for anything. I was surprised when I read about "deworming" fish on the forums much later.

 

Unless you are getting them straight from the collector, they are almost certainly going to be treated in the holding facility from which you are actually purchasing them. I would just give them standard quarantine, no meds unless you see something. Maybe a slightly longer quarantine than usual.

 

Hello everyone, just wanted to do an update. I got the fish in just last week and they are doing fine but during the first water change I noticed that their "waste" was grey and some where even white even though I fed brown/green algae flakes. However, they don't look like they are malnourished but rather a bit bloated? The conflicting symptoms I observe are making me think about if I should medicate or not. For now they will stay in qt.

 

What are you feeding exactly ?

 

I'm caught up in exams at the moment but I'll make it short for anybody who would like to help me. The 6 Parotocinclus I recieved around two weeks ago are in good health but the room they are in and the fact that they are extremely reclusive (and change color at will) makes pictures near impossible. They seem to be in good health when I inspected them during a water change today but so far I've only gotten them to eat some algae wafers and a couple blanched green peas. I've made sure that all of the food they have eaten was green however their poop was a dull greyish color. I suspect parasites but the fish do not look emaciated. The only way to know what kind of parasite (if any) I am facing is through use of a microscope, which I do not have access to at the moment. I am considering using a dewormer and nothing else since I fear other medication (which can be used in conjunction with the dewomer) will negatively impact health/cause stress.

Feel free to advise (or bump because the thread is kinda old)
I'll be active (more or less) once my finals are over

 

are they consistanly pooping grey or only when you first got them? perhaps its food still in their system from wild, if its consist colour 2 weeks later perhaps is a parasite is their any light colour driftwood or something in tank they could be eating at which is causing colouration?

 

Alright finally done with my exams lol
They have been consistently pooping grey (and no other color) for the past month (give or take a week) that I've kept them in a quarantine tank which has nothing besides a sponge filter.
I'll try to get a picture on Saturday of the waste so you can assess for yourself.

 

ok that desnt sound too good, i really dont think i can further help but this message can be a bit of a bump so more people see this. Photos will help. best of luck.. when do you plan on adding them to the tank from QT?

 

I have done multiple rounds of treatment of Prazipro on my tank (including most recently with pygmy corys) without seeing any ill effects on the fish--perhaps do a round or two of this? What do others think?

 

ok that desnt sound too good, i really dont think i can further help but this message can be a bit of a bump so more people see this. Photos will help. best of luck.. when do you plan on adding them to the tank from QT?

Thank you for your help. I am unsure of how long it would take but I want to make sure that the problem is resolved before I put them in.

I have done multiple rounds of treatment of Prazipro on my tank (including most recently with pygmy corys) without seeing any ill effects on the fish--perhaps do a round or two of this? What do others think?

I am not too sure of my problem (internal parasite or something else) yet because the fish look healthy but poop grey despite the color of their food. It is not wise to randomly add medication before identifying the cause of the issue. Additionally, these are wild caught fish, meaning that they might have a more adverse reaction to any type of medication.

 

Hey everyone,
Just a quick update. Decided on using paracleanse (metro + prazi) to treat the fish. They have gotten skinnier (which I think is from expelling parasites) and are recovering right now. Couldn't get a before picture but here is what they look like now.