Is Two Weeks Really Enough??

[fishfood]

In reading the posts I see most people suggesting to keep new arrivals in the QT for two weeks. Are there any parasites, or other problems that could go unnoticed for 2 weeks? I also noticed that someone said to use copper treatment on all fish put in the QT tank.
I guess i was just curious because i didn't use a QT up until this point but now i will. The problem is that if the fish is not put under any stress in the QT and doesn't show signs of a problem how can you be sure. I put a new fish in my tank and then 2 months later i had an ich outbrake which killed everything. Didn't catch it in time because i was out of town.
Can you be 100% sure??

 

[beth]

There is a practice in the fish trade that some apply to the home hobby, and that is to stress the fish in the QT in order to provoke any diesease that might be dorment. If the fish survives the disease and treatment, then, I guess, you supposedly have one heck of a strong fish. If the fish, under stress, does not surcomb to diesease, then, again, you have a healthy fish from good stock.
I personally do not ascribe to this practice.

 

[fishfood]

I was going to QT my fish for 3 to 4 weeks anyway but was just curious. My LFS QT my fish but not that long. With the tang that i thought brought the ick to my tank if he wasn't stressed in a QT either than the ick may not have shown up. So basically there is no way to make sure you have a 100% healthy fish. I agree that it doesn't make sense to medicate the fish or even hypo the fish if there is nothing noticably wrong with them.

 

[shrink]

I know that a lot of people are going to disagree with me and not be too pleased that I am spouting off "bad advice" but I personally have never quarantined my fish.
Ah- I take that back. One fish I have quarantined- a male pink anthias. He eventually died, but that was completely my mistake as I should have seen he was not healthy at the LFS.
I don't QT my fish because I don't have the money or the space to set up a QT tank. Also, if I buy a fish that has been at the LFS for a minimum of 2 weeks after being stressed by shipping and moving and being in such an ever-changing environment...I figure I have a pretty good fish. Take him home, acclimate him to my tank, and watch. I suppose I am lucky in that the only problem I've had until now was with the anthias. Right now I have a dwarf lion that I believe to be sick, but as he did not develop any symptoms until put in MY tank with MY other fish...I don't think I would have seen a chance did I QT him. So basically, I don't QT my fish. What I DO do is make sure I buy fish that have been at the LFS for at least 2 weeks, have been eating, have been watched by ME to see if they are healthy and behaving normally. Anything past that on a regular basis, such as putting a fish in a QT tank for up to 4 weeks, I personally feel would be overkill.
Of course, I'm not talking about upwards of $100 fish here, or incredibly large fish, or anything spectacularly unusual. I guess if I was putting a $150 beauty in my tank I'd take some excessive measures. But not normally.

 

[fishfood]

I am that guy who had never quarantined my fish. I thought that since the lfs kept all of thier fish for 2 wks before selling them that i'd be ok. Well we got ick while on vacation and boom it was too late. I may have been able to save my fish if we wouldn't have been out of town. I'll quarantine all of them now. I just originally posted this to see how likely things get by the QT.
How can you not afford it. all you have to do is go to wal-mart and buy a complete setup for $30 or whatever it is. A 10g should be fine for anything you put in your 55.
Terry, Is it ok/or necessary to hypo all fish? I thought i read in one post that either you or beth said not to unless there is a problem.

 

[fishfood]

Terry/Beth,
Sorry if i mis-quoted you in saying not to hypo all fish. I know i read something along that line and to go back and find it in all of these post could be a headache. I do see how you could get the fish to eat by using hypo. The clown that is in hypo right now basically jumps out of the water to get the food and he always seems hungry. Thanks for breaking it down further for me.