Aquabiomics

[anthonys_aqua]

Anybody here ever try a aquabiomics test? Basically to test for fish/coral parasites.
Im kind of paranoid since this is probably my 2nd or 3rd time in the past 2 years that I've had to go fallow and qt everything. This hobby is stressful and its crazy how many people I see get away with just buying fish/coral into there tank like nothing while I'm over here trying to qt everything and still fail.

I want to get the test to be sure but man it is expensive but I dont see any other clear way of being sure I am done with the fallow period and my fish are disease free.

also was wondering who qt's all there stuff here?

 

[joseserrano]

Haven’t, but super cool idea. I’m not sure if they have any good feedback on the bacteria side yet

 

[drexel]

I had the test done to check my diversity. It did show I had vibrio fortis which they mentioned to be somewhat common within the testing pool. If you have certain damsels, pipefish or seahorses, that would be the only issue, all other fish seem unaffected by it. I only buy QT'd fish, especially with an established tank full of fish, it doesn't pay to not QT. All corals are dipped and inspected before they hit the DT. I'm rebooting my main DT, so I'll have a dedicated QT for all things going into the tank, as I'll have all acropora and clams. I think having an observation tank on hand to check things out before they enter is a good idea. That way it gives you time to catch anything you missed and a way to deal with it before it hits your DT.

 

[anthonys_aqua]

Haven’t, but super cool idea. I’m not sure if they have any good feedback on the bacteria side yet

yeah the thing its hard to process all that info from what I saw, lots of different strains

 

[drexel]

The more people do this test, the more info we'll have on baseline bacteria in our tanks. Also, knowing what's currently going on in your tank when the sample was taken really benefits the pool. It's about building a knowledge base and hopefully in the future we can culture these beneficial bacteria as a starter kit, which will reduce the cycle times and maturity of our tanks.

 

[joseserrano]

The more people do this test, the more info we'll have on baseline bacteria in our tanks. Also, knowing what's currently going on in your tank when the sample was taken really benefits the pool. It's about building a knowledge base and hopefully in the future we can culture these beneficial bacteria as a starter kit, which will reduce the cycle times and maturity of our tanks.

I straddle the fence on wanting to support/adding to the pool, but also wishing they offered the service at a lower cost until they build up the data.

 

[drexel]

I straddle the fence on wanting to support/adding to the pool, but also wishing they offered the service at a lower cost until they build up the data.

Yeah, it's not cheap. But what in this hobby is cheap? Especially when people charge per polyp for zoathus, it's mind boggling, but that's a reef beef for a later date.

 

[joseserrano]

Yeah, it's not cheap. But what in this hobby is cheap? Especially when people charge per polyp for zoathus, it's mind boggling, but that's a reef beef for a later date.

I get that, but I’m the exchange of a rare polyp/coral, you get that coral. Here we don’t get verified info. If it’s beta, we should pay beta.

 

[anthonys_aqua]

I had the test done to check my diversity. It did show I had vibrio fortis which they mentioned to be somewhat common within the testing pool. If you have certain damsels, pipefish or seahorses, that would be the only issue, all other fish seem unaffected by it. I only buy QT'd fish, especially with an established tank full of fish, it doesn't pay to not QT. All corals are dipped and inspected before they hit the DT. I'm rebooting my main DT, so I'll have a dedicated QT for all things going into the tank, as I'll have all acropora and clams. I think having an observation tank on hand to check things out before they enter is a good idea. That way it gives you time to catch anything you missed and a way to deal with it before it hits your DT.

how long does it take roughly

 

[drexel]

how long does it take roughly

I believe it takes about a month for the results to be posted. Eli will send you a personal email with his thoughts about the results. They do batch samples, so you have to send you samples in at a certain time, I believe he posts the sample schedule somewhere? I'll try to find it and post the link.

 

[drexel]

Schedule

 

[ddelmonaco]

this is interesting as a concept just for awareness of whats going on and it may help develop some new products in the market as far as management/treatment of things. I also think that it would be interesting to see if the company or maybe BRS would do some type of study/research and foot the bill for the number of tests needed over time. The reef and ocean are such complex ecosystems because not only are there such a wide range of bacteria/microscopic critters but there are also cycles of these things over time depending on parameters/conditions. It would be interesting to see if there are leading indicators or early warnings for outbreaks of certain bacteria or diseases. Its probably likely that almost all fish regardless of qt or other factors have some level of disease or bacteria in them its just a matter of if it becomes out of control or not and causes disaster. It would be interesting to learn what other factors that trigger or synergize together to make booms or busts of both healthy and unhealthy things within our tanks.

 

[drexel]

One potential outcome is the ease of cycling a new tank. If there was a small starter kit with the right combo of bacteria that can inoculate dry rock/sand and shorten the time it takes to establish a new tank or correct any issues with an established tank, that could really change how we establish a healthy biome. We’ve barely scratched the surface of understanding bacteria in our tanks.


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