How Long Should I Keep New Fish Seperate For?

[Teri]

Hiya, I've just bought some new fish, (2 cats and 2 loaches) and I remember reading somewhere that you're meant to keep new fish seperate from the main tank for a certain amount of time, so as not to introduce any illnesses or anything. I've got them in a spare tank, but its reallytoo small, even though the fish r still only tiny, and i'd like them out of there ASAP. I can't remember where i saw this about keeping them separate...can anyone help?

 

[jarcher1390]

keep them in there till ur sure there arnt any signs of illnesses or signs of stress. If you think the tank may be causeing them stress it may be adviseable to move them into the bigger tank ASAP

 

[QuotheRaven]

Teri is your tank cycled? What is the tank size in Gallons also what other fish do you own? May I ask.

 

[Teri]

Any idea how long b4 they'd show signs of illness??
The cats don't seem upset at all, they're behaving exactly the same as my one in the big tank. I've never had loaches before, they've uprooted the plants I put in there to make life more interesting, is that normal behaviour? They actually have a lot more room than in the pet shop,(that was a similar size with about 10 in it) so i guess they'll be ok.

Teri is your tank cycled? What is the tank size in Gallons also what other fish do you own? May I ask.

I'm actually not sure what "cycled" means, I'm quite new to fish. I've got 1 big bronze cat, 5 adult guppies and their offspring, and 1 white cloud.

 

[QuotheRaven]

The problem is Clown Loaches are One: Very suceptible to white spot and two get to very large sizes ( 13 inches in some cases). Plus they need to be kept in large groups with a minimum of 3. So I really need to know the specific tank size in gallons or litre's and what type of catfish are they?

Cycled means that the beneficial bacteria in the filter is built up from 1: Ammonia to then convert to 2: Nitrite and then eventually 3: NitrAte which at good values is harmless to fish however Ammonia and Nitrite are very dangerous to fish. How long has the tank been set up for?

 

[Katchan]

I assume your asking for quaratine time? I've read anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, mainly the latter type number for all the hyper-careful discus keepers out there, frankly I dont quarantine, which most people say is bad, and I'd possibly agree to some amount, on the other hand I've only ever had the occasional case of ich in my tanks (which are quickly killed off by raising the temp which does more damage to my plants than the fish) other than that I've had fin rot but that was on a group of betta that was given to us because of that fact (ie the were unsellable)

Basically what I'm saying is, if your confident in your supplier and the state of the fish then you might decide to skip quarantine though most people on these boards would disagree with me, and I bet even some of those skip it at times. Quarantine is simply up to an individual though I would reccomend for fresh wild caught fish for obvious, you may also want to use it for shipped fish though I can see the benifits adding shipped fish to a nice homely well cycled/conditioned tank compared the the sparse small not the best cycled that many quarantine tanks tend to be.

in the end only you can consider wether to quarantine and if so for how long. Do some research, see what things may carry and if any of your fish may easily catch or suffer from these possible items or on how long to quarantine and decide from there

 

[Teri]

The problem is Clown Loaches are One: Very suceptible to white spot and two get to very large sizes ( 13 inches in some cases). Plus they need to be kept in large groups with a minimum of 3. So I really need to know the specific tank size in gallons or litre's aswell as if it's cycled and what type of catfish are they?

The tank is 100litres, they're not clown loaches, they're kind of "leopard-print". The new cats are 1 bronze and 1 albino. I still don't know what "cycled" means?

 

[Teri]

I assume your asking for quaratine time? I've read anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, mainly the latter type number for all the hyper-careful discus keepers out there, frankly I dont quarantine, which most people say is bad, and I'd possibly agree to some amount, on the other hand I've only ever had the occasional case of ich in my tanks (which are quickly killed off by raising the temp which does more damage to my plants than the fish) other than that I've had fin rot but that was on a group of betta that was given to us because of that fact (ie the were unsellable)

Basically what I'm saying is, if your confident in your supplier and the state of the fish then you might decide to skip quarantine though most people on these boards would disagree with me, and I bet even some of those skip it at times. Quarantine is simply up to an individual though I would reccomend for fresh wild caught fish for obvious, you may also want to use it for shipped fish though I can see the benifits adding shipped fish to a nice homely well cycled/conditioned tank compared the the sparse small not the best cycled that many quarantine tanks tend to be.

in the end only you can consider wether to quarantine and if so for how long. Do some research, see what things may carry and if any of your fish may easily catch or suffer from these possible items or on how long to quarantine and decide from there

I'm quite confident in my supplier, all my fish have come from the same place. They have had white spot, and fin rot in the past, but I think that was as much to do with the fact i didn't know what i was doing with water and filter changes at first, than the supplier?

The problem is Clown Loaches are One: Very suceptible to white spot and two get to very large sizes ( 13 inches in some cases). Plus they need to be kept in large groups with a minimum of 3. So I really need to know the specific tank size in gallons or litre's and what type of catfish are they?

Cycled means that the beneficial bacteria in the filter is built up from 1: Ammonia to then convert to 2: Nitrite and then eventually 3: NitrAte which at good values is harmless to fish however Ammonia and Nitrite are very dangerous to fish. How long has the tank been set up for?

Ah, i think i understand. It's been set up since October, the top white filter pad is changed every 7-10 days, the one below that i've only changed once, and the bottom 2 (they're blue if that's anyuse!) i haven't changed yet. I also use a mixture of rainwater and treated tap water in water changes. Is this OK?

 

[Katchan]

cycled - basically having your filter media seeded with friendly bacteria
nice link describes the whole think