Myth number 3. I don't have the space or ability to set up a quarantine tank, I won't be doing it, there have never been any problems. I encounter this approach many times, and to some extent I understand it, but it is always a risk for the new owner and if we have problems, it is not the seller's fault. It's a difficult matter, I always pay attention to the need for quarantine, but being fully aware of the consequences, I think I'm more worried than the unaware potential problem of the new buyer. Myth number 4. During quarantine, I will deworm/treat everything as a preventive measure. For me, this is the biggest nonsense, it is a controversial topic, because in Poland we use a lot of drugs. We do not listen to experts, but to “experts” from forums, groups, etc. We won't use a microscope because we don't have one and we don't want to go to the vet or look for an aquarist in the area with equipment. But on the Internet we can diagnose everything. And during the treatment we will make "hundreds" of mistakes, but it's not our fault, it's just that the drugs suck. I am generally against preventive measures, because it creates resistance to a given drug, and when it is actually needed, we have a problem with its action. We can simply poison the fish or, unfortunately, cause organ damage, sometimes permanent. Acclimatization. What it is and why we carry it out. For me, in soldier's terms, it is an adaptation to new living conditions, and it is done to minimize stress during the change of place. We do it identically for all fish, but since I have a fix for discus and angelfish/altums, I have a slightly different method. I do not soak the bags in the tank and do not equalize the temperature in this way. I use a plastic or styrofoam tank for acclimatization, if there are few fish, a larger container, e.g. pail. After opening the bags, I transfer the fish to the above-mentioned container and pour water from the bag, place a small heater, always set the temperature 2 degrees lower than in the target tank, and add aeration. After unpacking and preparing the container, a thin hose is used to supply water dropwise from the tank in which the fish will be placed. I use the same hose as for aeration, a generally available and cheap one, I throttle the flow with a valve that limits the air flow, also an economical option, and so I slowly start acclimatizing the fish, usually this process takes about 2 hours, if the tank is filling up, I pour out the water. After these 2 hours I mainly check the temperature, it should not differ by more than 1 degree. I will warn you right away that the heater actually has lower parameters set, but we mix the water so it warms up naturally. The last element, but quite important, is the pH of the water. Before acclimatization, you should check the level in the bags, because we know what the level is in the quarantine tank (right? ?) if the discrepancy is large, then we extend the acclimatization process until we slowly equalize the parameter. We always put only the fish into the aquarium, never under any circumstances do we add the water in which we acclimatized them. It is best to catch discus fish flat in your hand and gently place them on the water surface. It can often happen that a fish that has traveled a long way lies on the bottom and does not swim, we give it time and nothing bad happens. Do we add any substances or “soak” them in something? Hmmm, also a great topic, there are acclimatization preparations on the market that are a miracle cure and if we use them, we will be in heaven? Yes, you can use them because they are products approved for such treatments. In my long aquarium career I have used various products, both for pennies and for "millions", for some time now I have not used anything, that is why there is quarantine, to observe and, if necessary, act. Often it is a so-called substitute for quarantine, i.e. you use it and you no longer need to carry it out, well, nothing can replace quarantine. Quarantine After all that I wrote above, this is a short and simple topic. Fish quarantine is a necessary process for the health and safety of newly purchased/arrived fish. Transporting or moving them to another aquarium is a stress factor for them. This leads to disturbances in the electrolyte balance, especially of sodium, calcium and potassium ions. Sudden changes in physicochemical conditions are unfavorable for the health and fertility of fish. The minimum quarantine period is 2-3 weeks – this is enough time to possibly diseases have surfaced and could have been prevented. There are different schools of thought here, one says that 70% of the water should come from our main aquarium, the rest should be supplemented with fresh water. I always use fresh water, and add it to the quarantine tank during a water change. Of course, as with a standard aquarium, partial water changes should be performed. If treatment is needed, then the so-called water mixing takes place after healing. Well, that's all on this topic, issues related to the size of such a tank, parameters, etc., there is probably no point in describing it because it is obvious and depends on the species of fish.