new fish

[Fingol]

I bought some new fish today; I have them in a small spare tank, waiting to see if they get sick (one I didn't buy in the tank at the LFS didn't look too healthy).

Question is: how long do I keep them seperate?

[LYNDYLOO]

Hi Fingol,

Personally, I would keep these new Fishys in the Q Tank few a couple of weeks, as they say "Better to be safe then SORRY".

Good Luck

Lynda

[ljtan55]

Hey Fingol

IMO minimum about 2 weeks from what I've been reading. Good to do regular water changes if you used fresh water to prevent ammonia spikes, or use water directly from main tank.

All the best

[Keri Anne]

From what I've been reading (mainly American sites but their importing rulse are so lax) anywhere from 10-30 days, longer is safer.

What sort of fish were they? What was wrong with the other one in the tank. These things and the size of the Q-tank in relation to the fish are all important.

[Fingol]

Thanks for the replies.

Some more info:

They are guppies, the tank that they went into is an existing tank, it had adolescent guppies in it until yesterday (they went into the main tank). The 'sick' one at the LFS was a female. She was skinny, had slightly red gills, and her fins were clamped and she didn't move much. Also the males in the tank didn't go near her. That said as she was 'white' (or should that be golden or blonde?) I was picking that the gills might have been more noticeable anyway. But even so she didn't look in the greatest of shapes. I have in the past had female guppies look like it just after they have given birth. I also think that they arrived this week at the LFS (I go there weekly), so she might still have been stressed from the journey.

I couldn't ask many questions, as the fish sales person didn't work yesterday; the person that helped me was going to leave a note for her to see if the 'sick' female guppy needed to be put in quarantine.

[Keri Anne]

The gills often seem more red in my Blonds and albinos and I've had females looking like that after giving birth. Some come back from it... some don't. Still, better to be on the safe side. See how you feel about your new guppies after watching them for a week or so in the Q tank. I'd trust your instincts on this one... you seem to be doing everything right.

Do you add tonic salt to your water for guppies?? You'll find that a lot of pet shops do (if you ask) so I always make sure new guppies have tonic salt in their water.... if you don't like salting you can always slowly reduce the levels by doing small daily water changes and topping up with water from the tank they're going to end up in. That way they'll be less stressed when you move them.

[Fingol]

Thanks for the tonic salt tip Keri Anne. I'll remember to ask next time I am there. I don't use it myself, but like you say I could wean them off it slowly in the Q tank next time. I take a fair bit of care and time to get them used to the new water conditions. Doing the whole make sure the temp is the same, then taking out some water out of the bag and replacing it with water from the tank, repeating until I am fairly certain there is little diff between the two.

They are doing fine today, they are active and hungry. No female in the tank with them, but a bit of no contact sparring all the same

Thanks all, I'll keep them in Q for a month. Might be time to buy a new tank. 8)