shortest QT?

[fishkid6692]

i have a QT and i just put a fish in about 2-3 weeks ago and started copper and prazi treatments the day after it went in. the fish has shown no sign of parasites so i was wondering if i can move it over to the new tank without risking anything too much. the reason i ask is because i have to take my QT tank down to get to my hot water heater to take it out. thanks!

 

[wooden_reefer]

What is your DT setup? If it is FO than the duration of QT can be less.

If you have a reef tank already well-stocked with both fish and invertebrates, DO NOT cut any QT short. You have to eradicate ich right now.

I hope that your QT has cycled medium and hence nitrification.

 

[fishkid6692]

QT has been up for a while before this. the DT tank is going to be an SPS reef but this will be the first fish. it's been about 2 1/2 weeks in QT with full cupramine treatment the whole time along with prazi. i didn't think 3 weeks was cutting it that short because 4 weeks is what i normally do unless i see something wrong with them. thanks.

 

[Gwynhidwy]

Well, three weeks is a lot less than four, but its really comes down to what you are comfortable with. Since this will be the first fish, I would say it comes down to this, if you put the fish in the DT and symptoms develop, do you have a plan? If you will be able to remove and treat the fish if needed and leave your DT fallow as long as needed, you're probably okay. If you won't be able to catch the fish, won't have space to set up a hospital tank, or are getting more fish within the next month then I wouldn't cut your quarantine short.

 

[fishkid6692]

ok thanks!. i'll wait. even 4 weeks seems short and i'm nervous about doing so because a lot of my nicest fish are going into this tank so i want to make sure it's disease free. i'm new to QT so would 6 weeks be safer? should i go longer?

 

[Gwynhidwy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15642580#post15642580 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishkid6692
i'm new to QT so would 6 weeks be safer? should i go longer?

There are lots of different quarantine protocols that people follow and have success with. I don't think that there is any one and only correct way. For me, whether or not longer is better, would depend on the fish and the quarantine setup.

The following is what I do for quarantine, not for everyone, but it has worked very well for me. I have a quarantine tank that is setup 24/7 for fish. What I am using now is a 40G, if I were quarantining any larger or very active fish I would use a larger tank. The tank has a sand bed, well established live rock, and a few snails. I feed the tank regularly for the snails and to keep the biological filter active.

When I get new fish, I put them in this tank. Once they have started eating and behaving normally, I treat with two rounds of praziquantel. Most of the fish I have quarantined this way start eating within a few days, often sooner, so they are done with the praziquantel treatment about three weeks after I get them.

Then I observe them in the quarantine tank for a minimum of four weeks. If during that time I don't see any signs of disease and they are eating well, they move to the DT. If at any point they get sick, I move them to a hospital tank with no live rock or sand and treat appropriately. Once they are over the disease they go back to the quarantine tank and I observe them for a minimum of four more weeks.

I know that this may be overkill, but I have fish that I don't want to lose, so I don't take many chances. Any fish that I quarantine spends a minimum of six weeks, and it usually winds up being more like eight before they move to the DT.

 

[fishkid6692]

ok thanks. and i may have a few fish coming in that i will need to QT but the reason i'm worried is because there fish that i really don't want to lose. i don't have many common fish so most are on the rarer side and i usually want to get them into a DT as soon as possible because it's the best set up. my QT is run all the time but it's more of like a hospital tank with sand. i am going to take the sand out today or tomorrow and put PVC in. another reason i want to get the fish that i'm QT into the display ASAP is because most of them graze and it's hard to do in a QT with no LR. i don't have room for a QT and a hospital so i have to use a single tank for both.