What do you guys actually practice for quarantining new fish?

[firstname-lastname]

I know there are a lot of opinions on what people should do for quarantining new fish such as the med trio for a week vs no meds but quarantine them for 6 weeks etc, but I'm interested to see what you guys actually do.

Personally my old 10 US gallon tank has become my quarantine tank so it's got gravel substrate and a plant left in it, as well as a decoration they can hide behind but still be observable. The last two times I've given into temptation and only left the new fish in there a week if they're all eating and looking healthy. I also don't medicate fish unless there are signs of illness.

So what do you guys do and why, and how has it worked for you?

[Fowler]

I have a 20 g long I set up painted the sides and back now it's full of shrimp and I also qt in an old 10 gallon that wasn't in use

[Colu]

 I use a 15gallon for Qarantineing all new fish I only treat new fish for parasites if they are wild caught and monitor for 2-4weeks depending on how they are doing before adding to the main tank 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Colu

[SheWhoConquers]

I'm currently quarantining 7 cories in about an 8 gallon storage with a sponge filter, guppy grass, gravel and pvc which some bags have bags of media stuffed inside. This is my first time not going bare bottom, but I really felt like bare bottom washes out my fish in QT. And I honestly wouldn't care if they immediately color up within a week of being added to their permanent  tank. But this has not been the case for me, the process is much longer than I would like.

Have I quarantined every single thing before adding to a tank? No, but because I am currently setting up a tank with fish in it I don't want to end up replacing. I am taking my time and doing it right 😌

[laritheloud]

Currently quarantining a honey gourami (used to be 2) in a 10 gallon tank, the gourami will go into my 29 gallon community tank when I'm sure he's healthy. I'm not setting a time limit yet except that I'm figuring it'll probably be a long quarantine stay, about 4 to 6 weeks. I initially came home with two honeys, one of them passed this morning from unknown causes; I only had him a day and he was lethargic, timid, and bottom-lying -- already dying by the time I took him home. The remaining little guy is being treated with metronidazole for now (I saw white stringy poop in the one that died before he passed, which I know could just be a sign of not eating...), and I'll move on to other meds if he starts showing symptoms.

[SWilson]

I keep a 10 gallon cycled for quarantining, when I don't have new fish in there I use a few extra endlers to keep the cycle going.  Before that I would set up temporary quarantine tubs. 

What I actually do for quarantining really depends for me - I have one store that I trust that quarantines and medicates all their fish, and I have actually lost more fish that I bought from there when I did quarantine them than when I didn't.    

But otherwise I do quarantine anything that's going into a tank with fish already in it.  I would prefer to observe first then medicate method -- I medicate if there are any issues and wait until 4 straight weeks passed without any illness or deaths before I take them out of quarantine.

But if I'm excited about a new fish or I can see that the quarantine conditions are just stressing out the fish, I will use the aquarium coop method of preventative dosing.  Even then though I will wait and redose the paracleanse after 2 weeks, especially for wild caught fish, so even then it's a minimum 4 week quarantine cycle.  

This is just for fish, I'm not sure that I would quarantine new snails (my partner is more into snails and they have never quarantined despite buying probably at least a dozen new snails in the last 6 months and never had any issues).  In theory I would want to quarantine new shrimp before adding any to my neocaridina colony but I've never tried netting shrimp and the idea of trying to get them all out of the quarantine tank sounds really difficult.  Not to mention stressful for the shrimp.  So I think I would just try to get those from as reputable of a source as I can.  Or start a new shrimp tank 🙂 

[MickS77]

I keep two 10 gallons with a sponge filter going all the time, bare bottom with plastic plants for cover. I use the med trio regardless if I see something obvious or not. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by MickS77

[gardenman]

I have a ten gallon tank that I use as a quarantine tank for fish I don't trust. Now I just got a fish order in last Friday and I opted not to quarantine them, but to isolate them instead. I got six panda cories, six albino cories, and ten cherry shrimp. Each went into a breeder box attached to the tank they'll ultimately end up in. This was done for several purposes. One, it somewhat isolates the new fish while still having them in the water they'll ultimately end up in. This limits the stress on them when they do get added to the bigger tank. They had no signs of external parasites upon arrival. All were smaller than ideal so I can fatten them up and get some growth on them while in the breeder boxes. I can observe them far more easily in the breeder box than even in the quarantine tank since all of my tanks are heavily planted. There's no risk of a fish picking on the new arrivals when they're in the breeder boxes. They don't have to compete for food with the massive hoard of fish in the big tank. They get their own food. One panda cory died for unknown reasons, but everyone else is doing great. One death after five days for 22 new arrivals isn't bad in my experience. If the panda cory had died in the bigger tank his death may have gone unnoticed. The other fish could have eaten him or he could have been hidden in the plants. By having him in the breeder box, I was able to easily find his dead body and remove it. 

What I do tends to vary with the fish I'm getting, where I'm getting them from, and how the fish look when they arrive. If the fish are small, appear to be healthy, come from a trusted source, and I have an empty breeder box, into the box they'll go. If I'm a bit iffier on any of those things they're more apt to end up in quarantine. for observation and possible treatment. 

[H.K.Luterman]

I use an 18 gallon plastic bin, which I measured out and marked off 10 gallons on. I keep the sponges seeded in my 75 gallon when not in use. I monitor for two weeks minimum, and only medicate if I see a problem. When not in use I drain it and rinse  it out, sitting dry until I need it again.

 

[Emika_B]

My set up is a clear plastic storage bin that I’ve marked off by the gallon up to 12 gallons, a sponge filter, a multi-stranded plastic plant and a few live plants (moss balls and anacharis currently).  I try to use water from my display tank for two reasons: 1) I know the parameters are settled, 2) it’s the water they’ll be living in when quarantine is over so they might as well get used to it now.  Up until I add the meds I do parameter checks and make changes as needed.

For the fish, I’m trying to observe for 3 - 4 days, feeding and checking their poop.  I’ll siphon up poo and debris as needed.  Then one day of no food and siphon up all of the poo and debris.  Next is a 10-day soak in the Co-Op’s med trio.  After the 10 days I’ll change about 25% of the water and start feeding.  Every other day or so I’ll siphon off the poo and debris and do about 25% water change.  I alternate between using water from the tap and water from the main tank for these changes.  This goes for about 2 weeks.

If I saw white poop at any point, I do another de-worming treatment according to the package directions.  Otherwise, another week or so of feeding and observation.

I get my fish from several sources, some more reliable than others, so I like to preemptively treat with the meds.  So far it’s served me well - fish may die in quarantine but I’ve yet to have anyone die in the main tank.  It’s still early days, though, so take my procedure with a grain of salt.  

[Goosedub]

I have a 10 gal QT. It has a thing layer of gravel with plastic plants and a couple real plants in pots I can remove if treating with salt. It runs all the time, I usually have some fish in it.  I have quarantined with the trio once. Right now I have a pea puffer in it and will quarantine for 4-6 weeks.  I prefer not to use the trio unless I am in a hurry and need the tank for something.  I am a healthcare provider so I am pretty in-tune with the consequences of antibiotic resistance resulting from antibiotics given to animals and then end up in the water systems. 

[binkysmom]

I have a spare 10 gallon. I keep an extra sponge filter running in another tank. So when I buy fish I set up the 10 gallon with the filter, a heater and a clump of java fern or moss. 

I'm in Canada, so we don't have easy access to medication. So I usually observe for a week and try to fatten them up. I'll treat with salt (mild) and wait another few weeks. If I don't see anything, into the display tank. If I do see anything I try to use salt, heat and time. I'll use meds if I can get my hands on them and the fish don't look like they are doing better. So quarantine has been around 1 - 2 months for me.

I did have a batch of medaka that slowly wasted away. I used the last of my General Cure. They would seem to bounce back, then start going one at a time. :( They stayed in the quarantine tank for their whole time (5 months).

[stowcenter93]

I use @Ireneplastic tub setup idea. 10 gallons, sponge filter from another tank,  heater, and med trio. Minimum 1 week I let them marinate. 

 

Normally move after that if no issues. If I need them to stay longer (for me, it was issues with the tank they were going in). I'll just change some water once a week until I'm ready.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Plastic totes, I set them up then take them down although the 30 g one I have is usually running now as it’s got a common pleco from a neighbor in it, sponge filter for one and a aquaclear 70 in the other, and pvc elbows along with a lava rock on a bare bottom. When I was quarantining cory cats I had sand in there but otherwise go bare bottom. I have a couple Eheim heaters I keep around, an extra Aquaneat and led spotlight. I do like after the initial meds are done to throw some water lettuce in. 
Meds I do the med trio to start. I have done the trio weekly for the first 2 weeks on sketchy fish and then done Levamisole for the following 1-2 weeks then watch until week 4-5.