How long do you quarantine new fish?

[Chris918]

Hi,

I quarantine all of my new fish. I usually observe them for several weeks to make sure they are active, eating, and show no signs of disease or parasites. I've never had an actual set time though. How long do you quarantine and am I looking for the right things to ensure my fish are healthy?

Thanks!

 

[allendehl]

I'm new in all this but between 4-6 weeks seems to be the norm, from what I've read.

 

[LuizW13]

I'm new in all this but between 4-6 weeks seems to be the norm, from what I've read.

yeah, new as well.

I quarantined my fish for about 4 weeks. But it also depends on the type disease the fish has, if any.

Mine just had some tapeworms, so ran Prazipro for about 10 days in two different doses, then Metroplex for about 2 weeks.

 

[Chris918]

How long would you say if the fish appear healthy? I'm not seeing any signs of disease at all and all 3 are active, eating, and already gaining some weight.

 

[JustinM]

I would say a min of 4 weeks. Some things to just pay attention to though:

Fish scratching off rocks
Rapid breathing
Hanging near the surface
Hiding

You will not always see spots on a fish that is infected. A lot of fish will have ich in their gills and flukes as well. It's not a bad idea to learn how to freshwater dip a fish either. This can confirm if they have flukes and give them relief from other parasites as well.

It is a learning curve to learn how to QT so ask as many questions as you need to. Fish diseases and parasites can make this hobby very frustrating. If you take care of them in the beginning, it will reward you.

 

[JustinM]

yeah, new as well.

I quarantined my fish for about 4 weeks. But it also depends on the type disease the fish has, if any.

Mine just had some tapeworms, so ran Prazipro for about 10 days in two different doses, then Metroplex for about 2 weeks.

Did you feed the metro to your fish? Being that tapeworms are intestinal, metro would only work if bound to food.

 

[Chris918]

Did you feed the metro to your fish? Being that tapeworms are intestinal, metro would only work if bound to food.

I haven't noticed them scratching against anything, no heavy breathing, and they don't hang near the surface either. They do hide when I walk by sometimes, but they come right back out. What would you recommend when it comes to freshwater dipping? What is the appropriate procedure?

 

[JustinM]

I don't FW dip often because I prophylacticlly treat for flukes and do copper for 28 days.

It's quite simple though:

Match temp of FW to tank water(I use a specimen cup for my dip, this way it can stay the same temp during dip)

Some try to buffer the pH to be the same but I just splash some tank water into the specimen cup and it works fine

Put them in, some will play dead but you have to look at their breathing, it should be rapid

If at all the breathing slows down or a fish looks too stressed, take them out

Never dip longer than 5 min

At about the 2-3 min mark you will see a whole bunch of small white swiggly things coming off the fish, those are flukes.

 

[LuizW13]

My fish didn't start showing symptoms until maybe a week after settling in the QT. So, give it a good while just in case.

There's a thread in the fish disease section that explains common symptoms for different diseases.

I haven't noticed them scratching against anything, no heavy breathing, and they don't hang near the surface either. They do hide when I walk by sometimes, but they come right back out. What would you recommend when it comes to freshwater dipping? What is the appropriate procedure?

Yes, i used Metroplex+Focus and garlic extract mixed in with pellets and mysis.

 

[lagatbezan]

I do 12 days of tank transfer (every 2 days), prazipro followed by min of two weeks observation. Recently I started doing a formalin bath on the first day of arrival as well.

 

[shaginwagon13]

I am going to actively QT all new fish as well, and this is new to me as well.

Do know how to do a freshwater dip so I plan to dip all new fish and then put them in quarantine.

Should I run any medications on a preventative basis and 'treat' them as if they were sick with ich, flukes, ect?

 

[monkeysee1]

Six weeks.

 

[Dmorty217]

I would say a min of 4 weeks. Some things to just pay attention to though:

Fish scratching off rocks
Rapid breathing
Hanging near the surface
Hiding

You will not always see spots on a fish that is infected. A lot of fish will have ich in their gills and flukes as well. It's not a bad idea to learn how to freshwater dip a fish either. This can confirm if they have flukes and give them relief from other parasites as well.

It is a learning curve to learn how to QT so ask as many questions as you need to. Fish diseases and parasites can make this hobby very frustrating. If you take care of them in the beginning, it will reward you.

+1 I would invest in some good disease books too. I would QT 6-8 weeks if it were me. Rushing things in this hobby always ends badly, you're in it for the long haul so take it slow. Nothing worse than adding a sick fish to a thriving tank that is disease free only to lose everything or have to catch and treat all the fish again. Patience is a virtue and a MUST have in this hobby. I personally don't FW dip, but formalin bath all new arrivals before going into the QT

 

[zheka757]

i added so much more work to my self for not QT my fish properly. from now on I strictly will do TTM on all of my new fish and then observe it for another week probably. After watching what ttm does to getting ick from fish... and knowing that it does work.

 

[shaginwagon13]

i added so much more work to my self for not qt my fish properly. From now on i strictly will do ttm on all of my new fish and then observe it for another week probably. After watching what ttm does to getting ick from fish... And knowing that it does work.

ttm?

 

[zheka757]

tank transfer method

 

[shaginwagon13]

tank transfer method

Ah I see. Do you dip or formaldehyde dip also?

And to ise the ttm I'm assuming you have 2 tanks to utilize every 2-3 days?

 

[zheka757]

Ah I see. Do you dip or formaldehyde dip also?

And to ise the ttm I'm assuming you have 2 tanks to utilize every 2-3 days?

yep. in my case i used 32 gallon bins from home depot. i had to remove all my fish from tank, and do ttm on them at same time.

 

[scooter31707]

Ah I see. Do you dip or formaldehyde dip also?

And to ise the ttm I'm assuming you have 2 tanks to utilize every 2-3 days?

Yes, I do formalin dip upon arrival, then into TTM w/ PP, then into the QT for 4-6 with a round of CP.