Quarantine Tank Questions

[FMA4ME]

Hi all :)
I'm quarantining some fish to eventually home with my Discus. I'm interested in treating them for diseases that could possibly be transferred to my Discus weather they are showing symptoms or not. What are some diseases that are commonly transferred that I could treat? At a bare minimum, how long should quarantining be? Thanks again guys :)

[DonMD]

I can't answer your first question because I don't treat fish unless they exhibit symptoms. Your second question: I quarantine fish 2 months, minimum. I have a group of 10 Bolivian Rams that are in a QT tank now for 1 week, with my "leftover" discus. It'll be 8 weeks before I risk putting those Rams in with my display tank. I've been burned bad before by not following quarantine. Good luck.

[discuspaul]

As Don mentioned, it's not a good idea to use any medication until specific symptoms are evident.

If the fish you're quarantining do not exhibit any health problems over a period of a few weeks in QT by themselves, then add one of your discus (the least desirable one - generally referred to as the 'sacrificial lamb') to the QT tank with the other fish, and observe them over a period of some 6 weeks or more.
If at the end of that time there are no adverse developments, then you may place that entire QT group into your main tank with the other discus.
If a health/cross-contamination issue does develop, either to the discus or to the other fish, then you would want to consider appropriate medicating, dependant on symptoms and the apparent malady involved.

[FMA4ME]

Thanks for the quick response guys!! :D Guess I'd be jumping the gun treating without symptoms. I'm just afraid of fish not showing symptoms but carrying. 2 months sounds what I had in mind, sure is a long time. I've never tried the sacrificial lamb technique, might give that a shot, thanks :)

[discuspaul]

The 'sacrificial lamb' manner of quarantining is more than just a technique (which may imply there are other ways), it's a widely accepted, long used, and proper quarantining methodology approach. You really need to do that to execute an effective quarantine.

[FMA4ME]

If I add the fish from quarantine, and the fish from quarantine get sick, am I correct in assuming the original fish had the bug?

[DonMD]

If I add the fish from quarantine, and the fish from quarantine get sick, am I correct in assuming the original fish had the bug?

If I add the fish from quarantine, and the fish from quarantine get sick . . .

I'm sorry, I really don't understand your question. Normally I would put NEW fish into a quarantine tank, I have such a tank in a separate room in my house with no other tanks. Then later I would put one of my original discus in the quarantine tank. If the original discus gets sick, then we can assume that the NEW fish are carrying a harmful pathogen of some kind. In that instance I would, and indeed I have, killed all the fish in the quarantine tank, including my original discus, and then I would sterilize the tank, filters, equipment, everything associated with that system, and start all over again.

I would have lost my investment in the NEW fish, and I would have lost one of my original discus, but the rest of my original discus would still be in good shape, unharmed. You may not like the cost of losing all those NEW fish, but the alternative would have been that you would have infected ALL of your fish, and your loss would have been much greater.

Hope that helps. -Don

[FMA4ME]

If I add the fish from quarantine, and the fish from quarantine get sick . . .

I'm sorry, I really don't understand your question. Normally I would put NEW fish into a quarantine tank, I have such a tank in a separate room in my house with no other tanks. Then later I would put one of my original discus in the quarantine tank. If the original discus gets sick, then we can assume that the NEW fish are carrying a harmful pathogen of some kind. In that instance I would, and indeed I have, killed all the fish in the quarantine tank, including my original discus, and then I would sterilize the tank, filters, equipment, everything associated with that system, and start all over again.

I would have lost my investment in the NEW fish, and I would have lost one of my original discus, but the rest of my original discus would still be in good shape, unharmed. You may not like the cost of losing all those NEW fish, but the alternative would have been that you would have infected ALL of your fish, and your loss would have been much greater.

Hope that helps. -Don

Thanks a bunch Don, that was helpful :)

[metsfan421]

Don, so in fact it is possible to have new discus that could be in QT from 2-3 months, show no symptoms at all, look perfectly healthy and then once they are in the main tank after those 2-3 months in QT, they could still be carrying some pathogen that could kill the other discus in the main tank?