How long to quarantine?

[colettem]

Very excited - got my first fish today. They are hiding behind a piece of live rock in my QT. They are 5 small green chromis. How long should I quarantine them for? I thought 2 weeks - then hopefully any ich will make itself known.

 

[mike89t]

I would say that 2 weeks should be the absolute minimum. Just make sure to watch them closely. In my experience Ich isn't as noticable when a fish first gets it. However the second time around after the Ich has multiplied it will be easy to see as the fish will be completetly covered by it.

Twice I've fought Ich. Both times I've been lucky it was conifned to my QT.

 

[colettem]

That's interesting. I know some people say quaratine for 6 weeks but that does seem like overkill to me.

 

[mike89t]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6741402#post6741402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by colettem
That's interesting. I know some people say quaratine for 6 weeks but that does seem like overkill to me.

The safest bet would be 6 weeks and that would pretty much garentee that no Ich is present.

I QT for 4 weeks but carefully observer my fish every day for disease. 2 weeks is cutting it close but is better than nothing.

 

[ledford1]

The life cycle of Ich can be up around 28 days, but can take up to 40 days, going through its various stages of life: theronts, tomonts, tomites.

Just becasue you don't see the cysts on the fish doesn't mean the Ich is gone - it could just be in a different stage of its life cycle. That's why you hear some people suggest up to 6 weeks of quarantine. And the 6 weeks are supposed to be disease free. If a disease shows and is treated, you might want to start another 6 weeks once the disease is treated.

Two weeks, four weeks, or six weeks, it's ultimately up to you. Just know the risks.

 

[Andrew]

I so no less then 4 weeks. I QT some of my fish for more then that.

 

[NbMaxx13]

Longer the better ... as long as you can stand it ... it's for the health of your tank

 

[One Eyed Bunny]

I've found most aquarists QT for 4 - 6 weeks on average.