How long to QT a Tang??

[reefrf]

I have had a Blue Tang in my 20g QT tank for just about two weeks with no symptoms or any problems. I am not treating the tank with any medication. My question is, how much longer would you wait before placing this little guy into the DT?

Thanks,

[D to the P]

4-6 weeks is how long the fish should be in there. Feed good food with plenty of vitamins.

[reefergeorge]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12452162#post12452162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by D to the P
4-6 weeks is how long the fish should be in there. Feed good food with plenty of vitamins.
2nd, 4 weeks min., but 6 is better.

[reefrf]

Wow! That's a long time. I was thinking a couple of weeks was a safe time to insure that things like ich are not present. I'm glad I asked. WOuld this time frame apply to any fish in QT?

[stingythingy45]

Tangs a notorious for coming down with ich even after 4 weeks QT.

[D to the P]

yes. all fish, especially tangs. Even corals should get some QT time. And live rock too but we just call that curing (a little different than QT but it's the same idea of keeping unwanted stuff out of the tank).

[cbjohnston]

I dont have a qt tank. I am purchasing a blue hippo tank this weekend. I have watched this fish at the LFS for about 3 weeks. No ick. I wasnt worried about putting it in my tank, but know I am. Should I wait???

[D to the P]

going from a LFS to your house is a very stressful experience. Stressful enough to leave the tang susceptible to ich or velvet. It will be a pain for you to try and treat a 75 gallon tank for ich without bothering your corals. Get a 20long aquarium. Some big pieces of PVC tube (big enough for the fish to hide in) a heater, and a cheap HOB filter. Take the carbon out of the filter and just run a sponge. No substrate, No light, and you can fill the tank with water from your 75. That way you will be able to match parameters in your QT to your DT. It doesn't need to be established because you will be doing 10-20% water changes on the tank every 4-5 days. Why risk it when setting up a QT is so easy?

[tmz]

Yes you should wait on the hippo.

Four weeks minimum in qt. I've made the mistake of moving after 2 in he past and it's not pleasant. The fish is where you can treat it if something comes up. Patience and you'll be happy.

[qfrisco]

I read Bob Fenner (check here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/paracselfaqs.htm and find the topic "Tiny Hippos") suggest to someone pH-adjusted freshwater dipping the tang, followed by two weeks of QT, followed by another pH-adjusted freshwater dip, then transfer to display.

Now, I'm not sure if he suggested this because the tangs were small, or if they were hippos and limiting the QT period to 2 weeks minimizes the stress on them from being in such a confined area, but either way, the logic makes sense to me.

Given what I've read of the lifecycle of marine ich, I think the main thing to QT against is the possibility of having trophonts burrowed under the skin of the fish (would likely already be visible as white spots), and free-floating theronts in the water from the LFS. The trophont stage lasts 3-7 days, and the theront stage lasts 1-2 days.

By far the longest stage of the life cycle is the tomont stage which could last as long as 28 days, but this is where they've matured and fallen off the fish to the substrate to reproduce. It is possible that in the process of netting your fish at the LFS, the substrate gets stirred up and tomonts make their way to your bag, but assuming you net the fish out of the bag when transferring to QT (and don't pour the LFS water into your QT), the likelihood of transferring tomonts into your QT is lessened, although not eliminated. This is where the 4-6 week QT period comes from, but I think with good practices (not transferring LFS water, etc) the risks go down each week you stay in QT.

[tmz]

I disagree. The parasite can linger. I have seen ich appear during the 3rd week of qt on fish pretreated with a formalin bath. Perhaps the parasite lingers inside the fish for longer than you think.

[tmz]

BTW the cysts can remain vialble for as long as 72 days even though 28 is the norm.

[masher09]

Ich is a pain in the A$$. I made an awful mistake of introducing a Yellow and a Chevron tang to my tank. My tank was happy healthy. My Yellow got Ich within 3 days. My tank was a FOWLR so I did a somewhat extreme measure. I removed all inverts and did Hypo in my main DT. I am in week two of Hypo and my Yellow has ich come and go over the last month. I will start raising my salinity the first week of June if all goes well. I am at 1.010.

Since I started Hypo I set up a QT. My 2 cents would be to take the few extra minutes to set up a QT. I learned my lesson. I will QT evrything. I've lost two fish which my kids absolutley loved.

Good luck