[Ellie]

how long do you guys quarantine for before adding fish to the main tank?

I have never quarantined in the past but Ive always been able to just use treatments if I had anything, which was only a couple white spot outbreaks in 4 years. But this time round I have shrimp, and after suffering a major loss of fish because they got white spot and I couldnt treat with meds and I upped temp too late, I am thinking about setting up a quarantine tank for when I next get fish.

 

[roadmaster]

Four week's for quarantine but few are able to wait this long.Better this four week's in my view, than treating whole tank of otherwise healthy fish/plant's.
I have cheated on the four week's and got lucky,have also been burned by not practicing what I preach sometimes.
Wiped out a whole 80 gal tank of largely tetra's by adding a dozen neon's straight to the tank without quarantine and what I believe to be Columnaris quickly infected otherwise healthy fishes that had been fine for month's.(year's for a few).

 

[Ellie]

:/ unlucky

 

[Diana]

A month of quarantine if they show no signs of illness and do not need any treatment.
If they need medication, then start the clock over when the medications are cleared from the water.

Treat ALL bottom dwellers (loaches, most cats) for internal parasites.

During quarantine:
1) Make the Q-tank water match the water in the bag when you buy the fish.
2) Gradually alter the water in the Q-tank to match the main tank so that at the end of the month the fish are acclimated to the main tank water parameters.

 

[Nu2Plants]

3 months, some diseases take that long to show.