Fallow period length (no ick?)

TikiBird · Oct 15, 2016

My DT is in a fallow period right now with just inverts, after my two new clownfish (which I had put right into the DT) died on Oct. 4.

I suspect they died of internal parasites because I saw white stringy poop just before they died. They had also stopped eating a couple of days before they died. Those were the only symptoms I noticed.

I have read the fallow period for ick should be 76 days. My question is, if they did not show symptoms of ick, do I need to keep the DT fallow for 76 days?

Thanks for any advice!

mcarroll · Oct 15, 2016

It depends what you're basing your decisions on.

Some ideas have you base it on the most extreme numbers you can find....76 days or even more.

All I can say is that you'll have to take this into consideration when providing quarters. A typical (or perhaps stereotypical) QT setup is no place for a fish to spend that amount of time. But there's thankfully no rule that says your QT has to be typical.

Consider QT a period of observation – preferably at the LFS before you have money on it. (This will depend heavily on your LFS, of course....but I used to have a rule that if I couldn't watch a fish for at least a few weeks in the dealer's tank, I didn't need it.) But definitely provide for a period of observation before adding yours to the display. This would have alerted you to the stringy poop and allowed you to avoid the purchase, or at least stage an attempt at treatment if it happened later at home.

Check out fellow member @Paul B's thread's on his tank and feeding methods.
For example, this forum search:
https://www.reef2reef.com/search/1397716/?q=live&o=relevance&c[user][0]=14098