How Do You Quarantine?

nim6us · Sep 4, 2019

So after losing a tank of fish to ich, I've begrudgingly got aboard the QT train. I tell you; it is hard seeing your brand new fish banished to some sterile tank in the basement, swimming lonely on their own. Especially having kids who are constantly echo'ing your own thoughts "can we move them over today.. how about today.. can we move them over now?" LOL

Point is I'm still new at this, and up until recently I'd been just doing the 'wait and watch'. Meaning, I'd add the fish to the quarantine tank, monitor them for signs of infection or distress. If I see something I'll medicate or treat if needed, otherwise if all looks good after 4 weeks they get to move on up to the DT.

However I've been reading articles about people who treat ALL fish that come through their QT regardless if they look sick or not. I can see the merit in this, if you're treating all your fish with low dose copper you're ensuring 99% of the time you've knocked out any potential parasites or curbed potential disease. I'm also aware that QT can be pretty tough on a fish anyway, bare bottom, no rocks, smaller water volume, less places to hide. I mean of course QT has it's perks, but it's not a fun time for the fish. To me the idea of stressing them even further by medicating them regardless seems extreme... then again as I said I'm still pretty new to QT'ing.

So what do you do, wait and watch, medicate everything? Do you hold them for 2 weeks or 8 weeks? I'm just curious to hear how others have found success.

Squidward · Sep 4, 2019

I do TTM(Tank Transfer Method). Best way to get rid of ich. No copper or chemicals. It only takes 12 days. If you want to take extra precautions, you can monitor them after the 12 days and treat for other types of illnesses that you see.

Beardo · Sep 4, 2019

I run all new fish through tank transfer and treat with prazipro on the second and fourth transfers.

W1ngz · Sep 4, 2019

You're going to get a lot of varied responses on this. Here's mine:

Observation is a perfectly valid method to QT, but it does have it's problems. If I only did observation I don't think I'd go less than 8 weeks. Particularly healthy and strong fish can fight off some things like ich. It doesn't mean they're not infected, they just don't show signs. Light coloured or white fish can be infected and you can't see anything as most of the telltales are white or grey spots and patches. Some parasites take weeks or months to become apparent, or just slowly starve the fish to death from the inside.

Personally I do 2 or 3 days observation in a clean tank with no meds, 14 days of copper, water change and 24 hours with carbon followed by 2 rounds of prazipro 3-4 days apart. Observe for a week to 10 days, and at day 40, good to go.

The generally accepted 'bible' for QT on R2R is from @HotRocks in this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/

lapin · Sep 4, 2019

Here is my QT
TTM for 2 weeks. Which means moving the fish every 2 to 3 days into a fresh tank. So you need 2 tanks.
This also keeps me from wanting to do things like move the fish to the DT tank early.
QT tanks are 10 gallon. Air stone, pvc fittings and a screen lid. I made a small 2" tall divider that sections off 1/4 of the tank. I can fill with sand in case I am QT wrasses that like to hide in sand.
On about days 6 and 12, 12 hours before the next move, I dose prazi pro.
The first few days I am getting the fish to eat with live and frozen foods.
If I do see any signs of other problems, I can dose what ever is needed.
This works for me. Others will have different thoughts.

fishface NJ · Sep 4, 2019

New fish goes into QT for 8 weeks. No meds unless it is needed. Make sure your QT isn't too small for your new purchase. If the tank is too small you will stress the fish and cause problems.