Quarantine tank

The majority of the articles that I have read on the fish that I want to keep (jawfish and gobies), state that you should not quarantine them. If I make up a quarantine tank with live rock and a sand bed, would this be a better alternative? I figure if something happens in there, I nuke the rock and sand, and start over, no biggie. What is the worst case scenario for a disease introduced into a tank? What happens if ich gets into your reef? Can you isolate all of the fish to another tank and wait for the ich to run out of food? Does a quarantine tank have to be a an empty glass bottom, with a heater, filter, and a piece of pvc for the fish to hide in?
If a fish has been at the lfs for a while, and looks healthy, and your tank has very good water perameters, is it unlikely the fish will get sick?

I think "true" ick is less common then people think... I think qt isn't a bad idea, but there's nothin better then a healthy reef tank to heal, or keep a fish happy. I personally have never qt'd fish, only coral.

I'm with saltcreep on this one. I've never QT'd a fish either. I think the additional acclimation and unnatural environment may due more to inflict stress and cause ich than a healthy happy reef tank.

With that being said if you choose to set up a QT it does not have to be bare bottom. You can set it up with rock and sand, but the idea is to keep it empty enough to be able to observe the fish and ensure it's healthy before moving it to your display tank.

i've never had a QT either, but ich is a major problem in a reef tank. Here's a thread I did on it a while back.
Cryptocaryon Irritans (Saltwater Ich)

The same ole thing applies with your tank. Better Safe Than Sorry!

in situations where you have a fish that requires sand to be comfortable in a QT environment, you have no choice but to add it. Some will add it in a tupperware container so they can remove the sand after the QT has finished, etc.

Likely, all fish you will get from an LFS will have ich - its inevitable IMO. So, if you want to not have it cycling in your main display tank, then the best course of action is to have a dedicated QT where you can fight the ich with copper treatments, kill it off, and introduce the ich-free fish to your display after at least 8 weeks in QT

Here's a couple more discussions about QT tanks we've had here previously -
What is a Quarantine tank


What does Joanne do??

Honestly, I've killed every fish I've tried to QT - and I have ich in my main display..... I feed my fish garlic daily in the food I have prepared for them, and I always keep a cleaner shrimp in the tank. This seems to keep it at bay. My midas blenny seems to be a pretty good carrier, as I can see him with a few ich spots here and there when my shrimp is molting or MIA (i accidentally killed mine recently, ugh, but a new one has been acquired!!) - all the other fish seem to have built up a pretty good natural immunity.

I have never lost a fish to ich - with a proper diet, and a stress free environment they usually kick it just fine.

Assuming you are a smart fish shopper, and only buy healthy fish, your risk is limited to other nasty diseases - hahaha - like brook for clownfish, and marine velvet (which is SUPER nasty, and I have nightmares about it everytime I bring home a new fish), and recently I've seen quite a few with lymphocytis

Now that I've written all of this down - geez, I need to setup a QT for fish hahaha I'd hate to loose one of my wrasses to something as dumb as a new clownfish!!!

like everyone said a QT tank is just a place to watch the fish or coral to see if there are any problems with it. you can have rock and sand in it if you want. a hospital tank is different in that you already know something is wrong with the fish and you intend to treat the fish in some way. a lot of people will tell you that you cant have rock or sand in a hospital tank but as you pointed out you can always get rid of the rock if you do have to use something like copper.

personally i think its better to have something in a QT and hospital tank to help the fish feel calmer

Ok so no QT it is. If estanoche didnt QT those beautiful wrasses of hers, Im not QTing my jawfish or gobies. How long do you QT the corals? Was this for coral diseases or to see what was on the rock the coral was attached to?

I think you're underestimating the importance of a QT. It's to keep things out of your DT. Some people say to keep them in the QT for 4-8 weeks. That's why I did do it. I haven't added anything in a long time though. Just be careful and check everything out that you buy.

I will QT my hawkfish, and any others that are less sensitive to the process. My gobies and jawfish I will have to do my best to get healthy fiah and take my chances. Is it true that tangs are one of the most disease prone fish?

they sure have a tendency to get sick yes, but as long as you feed them and keep algae sheets for them I've known mine to do really well. My PBT does have spots on it, but they have been there for a couple years now. No idea what they are. I've treated it, the whole tank and anything else I can think of. They are still there.

it depends how long you keep things in QT. when you do corals what your doing is watching for pests mostly. red bugs, nudies, flat worms, there are a whole host of things that can come in with corals. there are dips that you can use that will get rid of a lot of these things but its not always best to dip or treat something that may not have anything wrong with it. by using a QT you can inspect the coral, fish for a few days or weeks and if you dont find any of these things and the coral or fish is doing well then go for it.