[solchitlins]

I've had some lemon tetras in quarantine for a couple weeks. All eating well, no sign of sickness. This morning out of nowhere I found one dead. So do I have to start over now?

 

[philipraposo1982]

Any symptoms? Not start over but give more time. Few more weeks to see if anything else happens.

 

[solchitlins]

No signs. His mouth was open like he choked on something like too big of a pellet, but that could be my imagination

 

[touch of sky]

I would give them two more weeks in quarantine just to be on the safe side. However, sometimes fish just die. I was looking at one of my tanks one day, and an angel fish was swimming and then just suddenly dropped to the substrate dead. I couldn't believe it. I don't know if fish have heart attacks or strokes or what, but that is what it seemed like happened.

 

[philipraposo1982]

There is always a cause of death, but not all of them can be detected in a quarantine tank.

Even once you introduce the new fish I to the main tank it doesn't mean you are safe. The idea behind quarantine is so that 1. You can watch for weird behavior or I'd some physical illness. If the fish colors up, eat great, displays normal behavior for that species then the fish is likely okay. Assuming this has been the case for 3-4 weeks.

2. We also quarantine to ensure that the fish is in IDEAL condition healthy wise and lose stress. This is because there ARE pathogens in each aquarium. All it takes is a stressed fish to enter it and the weakened fish is now sick. But if that fish just came from your other tank which not stressed and well fed etc etc. Then the chances of the fish getting sick in the new tank is far less likely.

So we want to ensure the new arrival is healthy but also in good enough condition to fight off anything that is in the main tank.

If the quarantined tank is poorly done, the fish inside that tank will surely be stressed their entire stay. This could been months, but that doesn't mean that it's healthy and ready to go into the main tank. That's why is so critical to setup QT tanks with ideal habitat for that species. Not like a hospital tank where you want it bare as can be cause you know the fish is sick.

QT tanks is to isolate till the condition of said fish is 100% good to go.

Hope this helps clear things up.

 

[Tazalanche]

We quarantine for a minimum of 2 weeks after the last sign of illness or death in the tank. Since immunities can vary from fish to fish, we keep a few sacrificial guppies in our 20H quarantine tanks, to keep some active bacteria in the tank, plus to see if anything wrong with the new fish affects known healthy fish.

 

[jrill]

I know, everybody gonna say I'm crazy but I never quarantine. Been keeping fish both fresh and salt for 50 years and never had a problem. But then again I'm not constantly adding fish either. I generally choose a species and go with that for a few years .

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