Fish QT service: is there need for it and how much would you pay?

MMreef

MMreef

Active member
Ok, from years in this hobby ,reading different forums i know a lot of people do not qt their fish hoping for the best, or buying from LFS that claim that their fish is qt, where mostly they are just conditioned for few weeks, not fully quarantined and still hoping for the best. :) The two biggest obstacles I assume to set up qt is lack of room and fear of actually killing the fish during qt. Now i want to do a survey if people would actually pay for someone to qt or medicate their fish for full duration ( usually 8 weeks), to prevent against ich, marine velvet, etc. Also , i guess depending on #of fish or size how much you think would you pay per week? I am going to set 4 sizes of qt tanks and price point, you can say too much, just right, should charge more :
10 gal / $8 wk
20 gal / $12 wk
40 gal breeder / $16 wk
55 gal / $20 wk

In those sizes i assume almost any fish could be qt for numbers of weeks ( of course no sharks or other huge fish). Of course maintenance of those tanks will depend which size is used and cost would be different for 10 gal vs 40 gal. ( gallons of water used, medicine, filtration, etc.)
So again hypothetically, cost would be depending on size of tank not # of fish, as we can fit more fish to bigger tank, cost per fish would be less in this case.

So , i hope i did not make this too confusing, would anyone find use for that kind of service and if yes what would you pay depending what size tank would need to be used?
 
MMreef said:
Ok, from years in this hobby ,reading different forums i know a lot of people do not qt their fish hoping for the best, or buying from LFS that claim that their fish is qt, where mostly they are just conditioned for few weeks, not fully quarantined and still hoping for the best. :) The two biggest obstacles I assume to set up qt is lack of room and fear of actually killing the fish during qt. Now i want to do a survey if people would actually pay for someone to qt or medicate their fish for full duration ( usually 8 weeks), to prevent against ich, marine velvet, etc. Also , i guess depending on #of fish or size how much you think would you pay per week? I am going to set 4 sizes of qt tanks and price point, you can say too much, just right, should charge more :
10 gal / $8 wk
20 gal / $12 wk
40 gal breeder / $16 wk
55 gal / $20 wk

In those sizes i assume almost any fish could be qt for numbers of weeks ( of course no sharks or other huge fish). Of course maintenance of those tanks will depend which size is used and cost would be different for 10 gal vs 40 gal. ( gallons of water used, medicine, filtration, etc.)
So again hypothetically, cost would be depending on size of tank not # of fish, as we can fit more fish to bigger tank, cost per fish would be less in this case.

So , i hope i did not make this too confusing, would anyone find use for that kind of service and if yes what would you pay depending what size tank would need to be used?
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This is definitely a cool idea. I'm sure there will be some people interested in it. I would use the service if it were close to where I live.
 
I think the prices are grate but at the same time I would think they schould be a little more just because that's more work for you. My question is of you are qt a fish and it dies in you hands, are you responsible for its death or does that customer just bite the bullet?
 
You got water changes,medication, food, your time, your space just a lot more to look at it would be something I would consider doing is Enzo said if it were local to where I live
 
xj_matt said:
I think the prices are grate but at the same time I would think they schould be a little more just because that's more work for you. My question is of you are qt a fish and it dies in you hands, are you responsible for its death or does that customer just bite the bullet?
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That's a great question and i put some thought in it. I could not be responsible for fish cost, as some fish will be in bad shape, some are finicky eaters and some die just because, so if fish dies you are out of $$ for the cost of fish.., but at the same time you would not be charged anything til the full completion of qt, so if fish die let's say 3rd week, i am out of $$ too, for my time, water, salt, etc., this kind of agreement would guarantee a client best possible care for their fish, as i don't get rich doing this, but not want to be out any money if fish die. So i would do everything possible to keep fish alive so i can get pay for my service and also keep client happy so he can come back next time or spread the word. Again this is just a thought, and i am aware of difficulty, time and expenses involved, and without enough interest this will not be possible. So just looking for opinions, tips, and thoughts on this matter from you guys. I am centrally located right by O'hare, so unless you are really far it is never more then 30-40 min. drive.
 
MMreef said:
That's a great question and i put some thought in it. I could not be responsible for fish cost, as some fish will be in bad shape, some are finicky eaters and some die just because, so if fish dies you are out of $$ for the cost of fish.., but at the same time you would not be charged anything til the full completion of qt, so if fish die let's say 3rd week, i am out of $$ too, for my time, water, salt, etc., this kind of agreement would guarantee a client best possible care for their fish, as i don't get rich doing this, but not want to be out any money if fish die. So i would do everything possible to keep fish alive so i can get pay for my service and also keep client happy so he can come back next time or spread the word. Again this is just a thought, and i am aware of difficulty, time and expenses involved, and without enough interest this will not be possible. So just looking for opinions, tips, and thoughts on this matter from you guys. I am centrally located right by O'hare, so unless you are really far it is never more then 30-40 min. drive.
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This is very nice of u imo and fair no way u should pay for deaths they should be happy it didnt cost them there whole tank like it can plus u r well known and trust member here top dog imo i personly think your nuts for doing this but cool at same time
 
Btw If i wasnt fully stocked and inly looking at finicky fish at moment that id have to qt there special training needs my self id definitely let u do all the work no questions asked lol
 
With this proposal, is it a prophylactic treatment right from the start or just observation and then treat as necessary? I am not against this at all (You have seen my thread MM) I am just asking some questions that you may not have thought of. Assuming 8 weeks starting with meds right away, would be 8 weeks and done. Assuming an observation QT and then treat, the clock starts for the 8 weeks. If not starting meds right away what will be the "observe" period before treatment begins. How will it be decided how big of a QT tank will be used?
 
superchargedgp said:
would that be one fish per tank? everytime you add another fish to Qt the clock resets, and might kill the first fish
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It would be one batch of fish per tank, example :
Someone buys 3 fish and want to qt, i put them all together in appropriate size tank and start qt. If two weeks later he gets one more fish, we need to start another tank for it, no mixing fish and restarting clock. Each client will have separate tank for his fish, no mixing fish from different people. Each tank will be clearly marked with client info, dates when fish in, dates and medication names. If someone discovers ich in his tank and has a lot of fish that can't all go in one qt, he needs to get two qt tanks and pay accordingly. Right now i have 2 10 gal., 2 20 gal., 2 40gal. tanks. If i decide to do it i will get 55 too. Again absolutely no adding any fish to existing running qt.
 
Emisis said:
With this proposal, is it a prophylactic treatment right from the start or just observation and then treat as necessary? I am not against this at all (You have seen my thread MM) I am just asking some questions that you may not have thought of. Assuming 8 weeks starting with meds right away, would be 8 weeks and done. Assuming an observation QT and then treat, the clock starts for the 8 weeks. If not starting meds right away what will be the "observe" period before treatment begins. How will it be decided how big of a QT tank will be used?
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Again, great question :). It will be decided by client and me together as what type of qt, if it is a delicate, sensitive fish might be best to just observe and condition fish to eat. If fish is visible sick, of course it would start the medicine from day one. Final decisions belong to client, i can only suggest what i would do. Tank size will depend on fish size and type of course. If someone has 3-4 small, peaceful fish they prably can go in a 10 gal. Medium sized fish would need bigger tank, mixing aggressive fish might not work very well in 40 or 55 , possibly do a eggcrate divider. Again all would be discussed and decided by client.
 
I think its a great idea and definitely fair on the price. I think its all set up perfectly and i would probably use it

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anarchy said:
I think its a great idea and definitely fair on the price. I think its all set up perfectly and i would probably use it

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Thank you for your input, greatly appreciated. Right now it is just an idea, with possibility of happening if enough interest out there. I am trying to think of everything to make sure it is done the correct way, fair price and worth while for me. If there is any other suggestions, questions please don't hesitate to post your thoughts.
 
dgagvgeg said:
If you could actually get the LFS to use this service....it would help the entire community lol
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lol, that would be great, unfortunately they have to move livestock as fast as possible to make any profit, it is not in theirs interest to keep fish few weeks before selling them. Even those LFS that say they qt their fish , don't do complete protocol, mostly just metro and prazipro.
 
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