You QT Routine

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

How do you quarantine new fish...

  • Quarantine Schwarantine - plop those fish right in!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • It depends on where they came from...

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Few Days - 1 Week

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 Weeks

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4 weeks

    Votes: 2 33.3%
  • More than 4 weeks

    Votes: 3 50.0%

  • Total voters
    6

fishorama

AC Members
Jun 28, 2006
12,681
2,125
200
SF Bay area, CA
I am a woman of many years (30+) of fish keeping & I am a firm believer in QT if at all possible. I know not everyone has a tank (or tub) for this purpose but it has many benefits.

I have, in a very few times "clipped corners" & I have been sorry more than a few times...

Along with water changes, QT is 1 of my mantras. It works!! Do it if you possibly can! It can save you money & heartache...& a whole bunch of work...
 

enrique4jc

AC Members
Oct 17, 2006
615
13
18
Russell Springs, KY
Real Name
Eric
Full disclosure, I've always been a "plop those fish right in" kind of guy. Early on I floated the bag. For the last 15 years or more I've done drip acclimation. Last night, for the very first time, I put fish in quarantine. 3 new turquoise rainbows for my 55g community. I put this question out to see what was normal for other people.
 

authmal

Pseudonovice
Aug 4, 2011
2,621
62
51
Phoenix, AZ
I normally do a month or so of quarantine. Recently, I've been just adding them to the tank because it's been low risk. Low stocking because fish have died off over the years and I hadn't replaced them until recently and a UV filter running combine to make quarantine less of a priority for me right now. As the stocking goes back up (and water quality is the bigger concern right now) and the risk becomes higher, I'll be doing a month long QT process again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dudley

the loach

AC Members
Aug 6, 2018
1,599
835
120
It depends on where the fish come from. If you have 2 healthy tanks, and move fish from one to the other you don't have to quarantine them.
If the fish are coming from a commercial seller like LFS, wholesaler or fish farm, 1 month minimum. There are diseases which will only become apparent after months.
 

myswtsins

Global Moderator
Jun 15, 2008
3,556
390
92
41
Central NJ
Real Name
Jen
Camera Used
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
I QT just about everything these days and I tend to do it for 4-6 weeks. On occasion I have dropped them in when buying from a local trusted source that I know has already QT'd (like Rachel O'leary) but even then the stress of transport could allow something to pop up. Also if I get sensitive species in I will move them to a real home sooner. Other times I QT for months, like my trapdoor snails, just cause I want to make sure they aren't carrying any hitchhikers that would affect fish but not them directly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fishorama

cubequeen

AC Members
Apr 28, 2007
145
3
18
Indiana
www.etsy.com
Real Name
Karen
I am quarantining my latest load of fish I just bought online. First time buying online. The fish were SO tiny, too small to not be considered food by the other fish. As a matter of fact, I tried putting one of the pygmy cories in with the betta. She got it by the tail and tried to eat it. It got away and I took it back out. So now I have a 3-gallon (I think) plastic tank with six very small fish, mainly as a grow-out-fish tank. Unfortunately more than half of the 15 fish I just bought have died. :(
 

enrique4jc

AC Members
Oct 17, 2006
615
13
18
Russell Springs, KY
Real Name
Eric
The turquoise rainbows I got last Friday will be moved to my main tank this evening or in the morning. That's one week, but the LFS I got them from is run by a hobbyist who had them in the store for about 2 months and had medicated when they came in. These fish are obviously healthy.

Moving those out of QT to make room for a special order I placed over the weekend. Those fish will have been medicated in his qt for 3 days, and I'll leave them in my QT for a couple of weeks at least.
 

OrionGirl

No freelancing!
Aug 14, 2001
14,053
342
143
Poconos
Real Name
Sheila
Depends on where they are from. I can't honestly recall the last time I bought fish from a standard pet shop...all my recent purchases have come from trusted local importer/breeders with strict quarantine practices or fellow hobbyists.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store