basic questions about qt-ing new fish

[ryanpal]

general questions about introducing new fish.

ok so i've read a few articles about qt-ing new fish. some suggest dips, other just monitor the fish for 2 weeks etc etc.

i do not want to introduce disease into my main display tank every again. assuming i purchase a fish this weekend and put it in the qt tank.

how should i handle this fish before i introduce it into my tank.

-should i treat with anything?
-should i do any type of dip (even if no disease is displayed)
-should the qt tank contain the same salinity as my main display
-providing no signs of disease are shown, how long should i qt for

<insert anything that i failed to mention that might be of help>

any info would be great

 

[pledosophy]

If there are no signs of disease I would QT for 6 to 8 weeks.

If disease is shown, then treat for that. IME it is not such a hot idea to prophylatically treat fish. A FW dip is one thing but once you start medicating it can go bad and lead to future problem.

JME

 

[Neptune777]

Few QT tips:

- Many do not treat unless the fish shows outward signs of disease/parasites. I however do treat with Cupramine in a dedicated 29gal QT tank as a prophylactic for Ich and other ecto-parasites. I also dip in Formalin (in water that has zero copper) before introducing into my main display.
- QT should have the same salinity as the Display if you plan on just observing for issues, and if you decide to treat with Cupramine. You can lower the salinity to treat using the Hyposalinity method to treat Ich only.
-Qt should last 6 weeks minimum. Ounce of prevention = Pound of Cure.

 

[ryanpal]

i have some new fish coming in on friday. so some new things i was brainstorming about. as i understand it, a fish can have ich, but not show any signs of ich. can this be true for other diseases/infections?

are there any dips or non chemical treatments that i should give to all new arriving fish before i put them in the qt tank as a preventative measure?

since my main display tank has been fallow for 6 weeks along with the fish in hypo for the same period of time...i'm paranoid on what i put in the main dispaly in fear of some possible problems that might occur.

basically i'm trying to take all preventative measures