[byte12]

I recently picked up some fish for my aquarium and thought it might be good to quarantine them for awhile before putting them in the "normal" tank. Three people at the LFS had three different ideas for how long the quarantine should be. What are the thoughts here?

- Dave

 

[CaptainNemo]

I quarantine for a month after the fish are healthy. If they're healthy from the start then it's a month, if the get ich or something 2 weeks in, then it's a month from when they're cured of whatever they had. So the total time could be 2 months or more. Some may think this is longer than it needs to be, but it's worked for me and there's nothing worse than killing fish you've had for years because those fish you just bought looked "so healty"!

Edit:
I do break the rules sometimes if I'm buying fish someone I know very well has bred. If I know they're as careful as I am then I'm less concerned.

 

[gheitman]

I quarantine for four weeks. Some will use shorter periods but this amount of time will allow for ich to appear if present.

 

[CrownMan]

1 month for me also.

 

[El Exorcisto]

What are we dealing with for fish? If the tank is full of rare amazon dwarves then I'd go for a month. If I am setting up a livebearer tank, quarantine just seems like a profound waste of time and energy. It's up to you, just don't overdo it unnecessarily.

 

[byte12]

Thank you, everybody.

These are not rare fish, but they have been around for years and each has its own personality and each has its own name.

- Dave

 

[Diana K]

Better safe than sorry. I enjoy the fish even while they are in Q, and the fish can be treated without affecting the main tank.
Another reason for a long Q period is this:
If the store you get the fish from have a water chemistry that is different than your main tank you can set up the Q-tank with whatever water chemistry you like (well, that the fish like) then gradually, over a month or so change the water chemistry to match your main tank. This is much easier on the fish than a long time in a bucket getting drip acclimated.