49 Days Fallow

[jaredrah777]

Been 49 days so far fallow at about 83-85 degrees been mixing up the sand bed every so often… had a bad mix of velvet/ich/brook outbreak that wiped out my tank….

how much longer do you guys think? i know some people were saying 45-50 days but i want to be safe…

@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

 

[Jeffcb]

Never done it knock on wood but I have read high 70s of days. I wouldn't take a chance.
As long as you can. I would not take a chance.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Been 49 days so far fallow at about 83-85 degrees been mixing up the sand bed every so often… had a bad mix of velvet/ich/brook outbreak that wiped out my tank….

how much longer do you guys think? i know some people were saying 45-50 days but i want to be safe…

@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

Technically you should be ready. What do I suggest- take it to one more week and add cheap fish or even a black Molly as a test fish. If no parasites after a week, Slowly stock

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Been 49 days so far fallow at about 83-85 degrees been mixing up the sand bed every so often… had a bad mix of velvet/ich/brook outbreak that wiped out my tank….

how much longer do you guys think? i know some people were saying 45-50 days but i want to be safe…

@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

Fallow periods are all just a guess. If you truly had three diseases at once, you might want to opt for a longer period.

Do you have a strong reason not to go 76 days? If not, I'd go that long. If you need to move the fish sooner, you will probably be o.k., because you are beyond 45 days and have been above 81 F.

Failed fallow periods are very often a result of failed biosecurity - the fish themselves weren't fully cured and had been harboring a latent infection, new invertebrates were added during the fallow period that carried new disease into the tank, things like that.

Remember that the only study of fallow periods was on marine ich, velvet and brooklynella have not been studied. Brooklynella does not seem to have a cyst stage, so that one won't be a problem. Velvet (Amyloodinium) does have a cyst stage. Noga's book indicates these emerge after two or three weeks....so Ich is the long outlier.

Jay