How long do you QT a fish for?

[KevinVA]

Yeah, I was just curious. Mine is always a temporary setup on the floor, because I have no room for a permanent QT. That's why I'll typically QT for 2 weeks (if that). I work with what I got, when I got it. ;P My 10gal QT is usually in my basement storage closet. Depending on how long and for what reason I'll be using the QT for, I'll pull a sponge filter from the 75gal.

Yep, I'm not the best go-to for QT readiness and procedure. Also, depending on what illness/disease my fish has from an established tank, I may or may not QT. Sometimes I've found that the stress of moving a sick fish from one tank to another will worsen their symptoms, rather than just treating the sick individual in the main tank, and sometimes it doesn't hurt to treat the whole tank, in a preventative measure, just in case whatever sickness it has, may have spread already.

Yep, I'm THAT guy!

[Cliff]

I think you’ll find very few people do have a permanent QT tank set-up. I just have a few extra tanks in the garage & basement closet that I pull out when required. Typically, my QT tanks will sit on the floor in the basement as well (when in use). For FW, I keep a few extra sponges in my XP2 that I remove and place in my QT tank filter when need. For my marine, I have a sponge filter running in my sump 24/7 so I always have a seeded filter ready to go when needed.


But I must admit, I've had a run of bad luck in QT lately so it sure does feel like I have a permanent QT right now

[Indian Woods Angels]

I use a set up tank with several small angels in it. If I bring in something it will show up n the few small angels and expose itself to me. I can then treat it. I am mostly hunting for protozoans and worms, gill flukes, or virals, stuff like that.

[gsxrated98]

I've never though of QT new fish, I've only thought of it for when one gets sick.

Is there a big problem with fishing coming sick from LFS?

[Goes to 11!]

I've never though of QT new fish, I've only thought of it for when one gets sick.

Is there a big problem with fishing coming sick from LFS?

They could be stressed from shipping, Or exposed to/carrying a parasite or bacterial infection or any sort of pathogen at all really. [IE: Ich]. Any/all are a good reasons not to put them right into the tank with your current stock.

Being at the shop does not mean they are not sick, The QT is a buffer between the environmental conditions at the store and your tank and gives you time to observe and cure any potential issues before it is passed on to all your stock.

Cliff has a quote in his sig that says it all:

"Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony Calfo

[Vreugy]

Indian Woods Angels said they use small angels in a qt tank to keep it cycled. I intend to keep a qt tank up and going with feeder guppies. Would this be ok? I am new to qt tanks. I am not sure if the guppies will be enough to keep the cycle going. They are pretty small, even the adults are small. Total of guppies would be around 20 maybe. Only around 6 or 7 very small adults. Lots of tiny babies though. Don't mean to steal the thread, just need to know. Hope it is ok. If not, just delete it and I will start a new thread.

Thanks

[korith]

I usually qt for at least 3 weeks minimum. It really depends on the source of the fish. If I got the fish from a store I'll qt for a longer period, if it is from others in the fish club I belong to I might qt for less time. If any illness or disease shows up, I'll treat the fish and then give it at least a month more in qt.

There is always a risk to introducing new fish to an existing tank. How valuable are the fish you have already to you? I have a tank with around $1k worth of discus, if I buy a new discus you can be sure I'm going to qt the fish for maybe 5-6 weeks just to be sure I don't put my old fish at risk. Spent too much time taking care and breeding the discus to put them at risk. In the end you have to do a risk analysis, the longer you qt the safer you are.

[Indian Woods Angels]

I place a few small angels in with the new arrivals as an indicator fish. These indicator fish are placed in there to show me what might be in the new fish. Many times new fish have been medicated with antibiotics etc and hold this medication for quite a while within them. The new arrivals may take weeks to get sick. By placing in a few fish that are not dosed I get to see rather quickly if there is something in the new fish. I use small angels that will have a deformity for this. Sometimes I get a few with missing fins or twists to them. They actually rarely ever succumb to anything as I treat the whole population. In cases such as worms it can take 30 days before they show up.