How long should a fish stay in Quarantine?

Question

I've quarantined fish for a month, but I wanted to know if the fish looks healthy after two weeks...no signs of anything, is it okay to put in the main tank?

Answer 1

I'm assuming the fish is new stock. If so 2 or 3 weeks should be a sufficient quarantine. Introduce the fish into the main tank using the "drip method" so none of the quarantine tank water is introduced into the main tank. If you need instructions for this you can e-mail me through this forum.

Answer 2

Yes, two weeks is the minimal time a new fish should be quarantined to keep any disease it might be carrying from infecting your community tank. Do a very close inspection of the fish before adding it to your other tank.

Most common diseases will present before two weeks and give you plenty of time to treat them.

Never put the water from the fish store into the quarantine tank, just net the fish from the bag and place it in the tank, then dump the water down the drain. Many nasty things can be swimming in fish store water because of the overcrowding that they do in their show tanks. Many different fish from many different places can bring many different problems.

Answer 3

I "Q" all my new livestock with it be fish, corals, or inverts for 4-6 weeks. If its a SPS or LPS coral i will as give it a iodine dip to get any parasites off the coral. I also prefer the drip method of acclimation. I drip the livestock when i first get them to my "Q" tank, then when they are ready to go into the main display, i drip them again. You still want to keep your water parameters of the 2 tanks as close as possible.

HTH

Answer 4

It depends on why you isolated him, bacterial or fungus related disease.

Most of them will kill the fish in a months time. Some if you treated it only partially will seem like the fish is cured but he/she may still be able to pass it on. Two weeks is to soon.

Answer 5

Yes, just be sure to doctor the tank before returning him to it.