Another fishissue...about qt'ing

[newtankgirl]

One of my fish and my pleco had ich last week, as I stated in a different message, I treated them and they seem fine now. I'm keeping the temp raised cause you're supposed to treat for 4 weeks??? (I heard) So since they seem okay now, can I get more fish, then if they are sick, or whatever they are going right into a [acronym:8e7d5af47e="quarantine or quart depending on context"]qt[/acronym:8e7d5af47e] anyhow. ??? I don't know so I thought I'd ask. I 'd like to populate my tank, since the two fish I have just don't fill up the 20gallons very much

[patryuji]

if you get new fish they should go directly into the [acronym:43ac8ce2e2="quarantine or quart depending on context"]qt[/acronym:43ac8ce2e2] for a few weeks. This gives you time to observe them to make sure no new illnesses are brought into your tank. You could get a something new and put it in [acronym:43ac8ce2e2="quarantine or quart depending on context"]qt[/acronym:43ac8ce2e2] right now. When its [acronym:43ac8ce2e2="quarantine or quart depending on context"]qt[/acronym:43ac8ce2e2] period is over your main tank should hopefully be ich free and you can move them in. Just remember to add new fish slowly and don't increase the bioload too much or the extra waste could stress the fish already in the tank.

[Allivymar]

Yes, [acronym:0676b4bb16="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:0676b4bb16] all new fish no matter what; even if the fish in the main tank look healthy. You never know what the new fish will bring along with them in terms of disease. You could get them now, and keep them in the [acronym:0676b4bb16="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:0676b4bb16] tank for a minimum of 2 weeks. The fish in the main tank should be disease free for at least a week; if after 2 weeks of the new fish in [acronym:0676b4bb16="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:0676b4bb16], the fish in the main haven't been disease free for a week, just keep the new guys in the [acronym:0676b4bb16="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:0676b4bb16] tank. Won't hurt em. Also, if any of the new fish turn out to be ill, keep in mind [acronym:0676b4bb16="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:0676b4bb16] starts all over again once they are healthy.

As for the heat treatment times, its about 2 weeks, or a week after the last sign of ich if it does not start to go away after 4-5 days.

[TheMadNucleus]

NewTankGirl,

I'm just a bit curious - did you figure out where you think the Ich came from? I ask this because it is a good idea to figure this as to be sure not to repeat the infestation. A few possible causes: Fish stress (most commonly quick or large changes in [acronym:5c76364792="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]PH[/acronym:5c76364792], quick or large changes in Temperature), infected by new introduction to tank.

Also - as for adding new fish, I'm not sure if your plans were to add more than one at a time but if your tank is recovering from a disease outbreak, I have always found it useful to start slow with re-introduction. For your first addition (and after the [acronym:5c76364792="quarantine or quart depending on context"]Qt[/acronym:5c76364792] as suggested above) only pick one fish and monitor it closely for 1 to 2 weeks in your display aquarium (29gl). This reduces stress on the existing fish and your new addition and minimizes your risk exposure if you have another outbreak.

Just some additional thoughts on the subject.

Tom

[Christmasfish]

What I read from this is that she wants to add new fish to old fish in the same [acronym:a71fc22e20="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:a71fc22e20] tank.... and wait them all out together in order to add a population to the tank all at once.
What are the thoughts on THAT?

If that is what she means...I would suggest against it. Since her fish were sick, she will be exposing the new fish to something different. And making the [acronym:a71fc22e20="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:a71fc22e20] a bit crowded.
And you neeed your first fish to start the cycling anyway.

[Menagerie]

[acronym:2ae596e725="In My Honest Opinion"]IMHO[/acronym:2ae596e725], let your ill fish recover and not introduce new fish right away. Better safe than sorry!

[TankGirl]

I agree about waiting. Patience is one thing that I am learning in this hobby, and it is not easy...