Isolating new fish- how long?

[KP]

Hey Folks, this is my first post here. Although I have been reading the board for over a month. I set up an isolation tank about a month ago and cycled it with 3 zebra danios I had in my 55 community tank. I moved them back and put 4 Pristella Tetras and 2 Siamese Algea Eaters in. They have been in there for 8 days, everything looks fine. The ? is how long should I keep them in there? I am dying to move them to the 55 so I can get a few more fish! TIA Keith

 

[something_fishy]

???????

Are you asking this for the isolation tank or how long to keep any fish isolated before adding to a community? If its for cycling a tank to be ready to accept fish, 1 week should suffice, but you can do it a lot quicker with a biological agent from your lfs(1-2 days). As for isolating fish before putting them in a community, you don't have to, just keep them in the bag from the lfs and submerge in your tank. After 1/2 hour poke a few small holes in the bag to let some of the community water in, another 15 minutes should do, you can now release the fish. It is a rule of thumb to only add 1 or 2 fish max to a tank at a time, any more could cause unneeded stress to the community.

 

[targaboy78]

Hi KP,

You asked;

how long should I keep them in there? I am dying to move them to the 55 so I can get a few more fish!

I found this page about quarantine tanks.
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/quarantine.html

If you are introducing new fish, keep them in the quarantine tank for at least two weeks, three weeks would be ideal. Observe them daily for activity and any signs of disease. If diseases do appear, treat accordingly and keep the fish in the quarantine tank an additional two weeks after any signs of the disease have disappeared. A note here. Don't medicate new fish just to be sure, medicating healthy fish weakens them and reduces their resistance to the medications. Only treat them if they are showing signs of disease.

Short answer; 2 to 3 weeks.

I hope this helps.

 

[loganj]

quarantine tank

I agree. At least 2 weeks.
Logan J