Quarantine

[JezTaylor]

Hi all.
 
I'm looking to add a dwarf gourami to my relatively new tank. I read an article on here that strongly recommended you quarantine them first as they are prone to disease. I assume this involves buying and cycling a second tank? How long should new fish be quarantined for? And is it necessary if the LFS quarantines them first before they go on sale?
 
Thanks

 

[TallTree01]

I assume this involves buying and cycling a second tank? Yes
How long should new fish be quarantined for? People say about a month
And is it necessary if the LFS quarantines them first before they go on sale? Yes

Personally Ive never quarantined much more than sit them Ina bucket for an hour or two and haven't had problems. Maybe I'm just lucky though.

 

[fluttermoth]

You should be able to steal enough mature media from your main filter to put in a smaller quarantine tank, so you shouldn't need to cycle.
 
Two weeks is enough. Shop quarantine isn't reliable, IME.

 

[Chad]

Yes, it does require a second tank. Many people will keep filter media around that is precycled so they can set up and take down the QT as needed.
 
I recommend 8-10 weeks QT period as that tends to be more than the full lifecycle of ich which gives you a chance to make sure your new arrival doesn't have it and if it does you can treat before transfering to the main tank.