Ohhhhhhhh man. I am so sorry for your loss Ed! :sad:
I know it sounds like a hassle, but quarantine practices for fishes, corals and invertebrates are absolutely standard procedure for me as I have learned the hard way.
Why risk the health of your entire reef on one fish, coral or invertebrate, when very simple procedures, requiring minimal, inexpensive equipment, can virtually assure that your system will remain disease free?
Most fish are wild caught, and therefore were not exposed to pathogens present in a dealer’s system. Virtually all-marine organisms for aquariums are wild-caught, and they are all potential and real carriers of infectious and parasitic diseases. There are numerous opportunities for a fish to become stressed, exposed to disease, or infected during the long journey from the reef to your tank.
If you are interested in Quarantine practices for fishes, corals and invertebrates in the future here is some information...
All you need is a small glass aquarium, a heater and perform frequent regular water changes. No substrate of any type is required. That’s all the equipment that you need.
A bare bottom enables you to determine if any unwanted "hitchhikers" dropped off of your corals, and facilitates their easy removal. Some corals, such as the open brain coral are found in substrates, and require placement in sand bottoms in order to inflate properly. Place these corals in a small plastic container, such as a margarine tub, filled with clean sand during their quarantine period.
The quarantine period should last a minimum of 21 days.
In my opinion t is pointless to gamble with the lives of your precious reef animals. Being a responsible aquarist and quarantine all new animals before placing them in your tanks, will help you enjoy the hobby with less of a chance of unexpected surprises.
Because you’re probably using a small, shallow tank for quarantine, you will easily be able to achieve this with fluorescent light! Food can help provide nutrition for the corals that will compensate for the decreased lighting they will receive while in the quarantine tank.
