new fish in qt - how long to keep 'em there?

kolosy · 07/27/2008, 09:03 PM

i just bought a 6 line wrasse and a tailspot blenny. i've got them in the qt, but i'm wondering - since i don't have any fish in the dt, what's the harm in putting them there a bit early? if they have something, i can remove 'em and treat them in the qt, but is there anything on a fish that can hurt a coral/invert?

IslandCrow · 07/27/2008, 09:12 PM

The only issue with adding him to the DT now is if he does in fact have a parasitical infection like marine ich, not only do you have the fun job of catching a wrasse in a reef tank, but you will have to leave the tank fallow for. . .truthfully, I can't remember how long. I think it's a couple months. So, you can do it. You'll just be taking a chance. As far as how long to leave him in QT, I can never remember the accepted answer there either. I usually only QT 2-3 weeks. I figure if I don't see any symptoms in that amount of time, I'm not going to see any in 6 weeks. That's probably not the "correct" answer, but there you go.

abulgin · 07/27/2008, 09:13 PM

so then you have 2 tanks to treat rather than 1 . . . plus the chance that you won't irradicate crypt from your display after a fallow period.

Nothing good in this hobby happens fast so why make things happen fast . .. wait the 4-6 weeks.

Playa-1 · 07/27/2008, 09:14 PM

4 to 6 weeks is usually recommended.

centipede · 07/27/2008, 09:17 PM

Like IslandCrow said. If they're not showing signs in a couple weeks, you're probably ok. If they have ich, then you need to either treat with copper (which I don't recommend), or use hyposalinity, which takes 6 weeks to kill the ich.
If you get ich in your display tank, it will have to go fishless for 6 weeks to get rid of it.

Aquarist007 · 07/27/2008, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by IslandCrow
The only issue with adding him to the DT now is if he does in fact have a parasitical infection like marine ich, not only do you have the fun job of catching a wrasse in a reef tank, but you will have to leave the tank fallow for. . .truthfully, I can't remember how long. I think it's a couple months. So, you can do it. You'll just be taking a chance. As far as how long to leave him in QT, I can never remember the accepted answer there either. I usually only QT 2-3 weeks. I figure if I don't see any symptoms in that amount of time, I'm not going to see any in 6 weeks. That's probably not the "correct" answer, but there you go.

I agree and its 6-11 weeks that the tank has to remain fishless to get rid of the ich in the display tank.

Aquarist007 · 07/27/2008, 09:23 PM

Here is a lot of useful information on ich and quarantining fish

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=3

whitleyjb · 07/27/2008, 09:25 PM

I typically wait 2-4 weeks before adding fish to the DT.

Removing them later if something goes wrong is a lot of work and may require removal of the live rock to catch the wrasse (been there / done that).

07/27/2008, 09:03 PM	#1
kolosy Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 655	new fish in qt - how long to keep 'em there? i just bought a 6 line wrasse and a tailspot blenny. i've got them in the qt, but i'm wondering - since i don't have any fish in the dt, what's the harm in putting them there a bit early? if they have something, i can remove 'em and treat them in the qt, but is there anything on a fish that can hurt a coral/invert? __________________ not yet. maybe someday. Current Tank Info: 90L RR mixed reef, panworld 150ps external pump, t5/mh/led, 20g under-tank sump, 27g above tank sump, 27g fuge with 4" dsb, macro and lr rubble.

07/27/2008, 09:12 PM	#2
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	The only issue with adding him to the DT now is if he does in fact have a parasitical infection like marine ich, not only do you have the fun job of catching a wrasse in a reef tank, but you will have to leave the tank fallow for. . .truthfully, I can't remember how long. I think it's a couple months. So, you can do it. You'll just be taking a chance. As far as how long to leave him in QT, I can never remember the accepted answer there either. I usually only QT 2-3 weeks. I figure if I don't see any symptoms in that amount of time, I'm not going to see any in 6 weeks. That's probably not the "correct" answer, but there you go. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

07/27/2008, 09:23 PM	#7
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	Here is a lot of useful information on ich and quarantining fish http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=3 __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

07/27/2008, 09:13 PM	#3
abulgin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,664	so then you have 2 tanks to treat rather than 1 . . . plus the chance that you won't irradicate crypt from your display after a fallow period. Nothing good in this hobby happens fast so why make things happen fast . .. wait the 4-6 weeks.

07/27/2008, 09:14 PM	#4
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	4 to 6 weeks is usually recommended.

07/27/2008, 09:17 PM	#5
centipede Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 35	Like IslandCrow said. If they're not showing signs in a couple weeks, you're probably ok. If they have ich, then you need to either treat with copper (which I don't recommend), or use hyposalinity, which takes 6 weeks to kill the ich. If you get ich in your display tank, it will have to go fishless for 6 weeks to get rid of it.

07/27/2008, 09:25 PM	#8
whitleyjb Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntersville, NC Posts: 116	I typically wait 2-4 weeks before adding fish to the DT. Removing them later if something goes wrong is a lot of work and may require removal of the live rock to catch the wrasse (been there / done that).