20 days fallow.

[Paulmarks]

I'm at 20 days fallow.
I read the stickies and everything says 4-6 weeks fallow. However the parasites only have a 15 day life cycle. So is the extra few weeks a precaution ?

Btw I'm dealing with either velvet or brook. Both fallow periods are the same length.

The reason I'm asking is my new clowns In QT are really stressing out being in a bare glass box with only a pvc pipe. I'm afraid of causing ich from stress.

 

[Maritimer]

While I'm not terribly familiar with the velvet and brook lifecycles, I know that with ich _most_ of the parasites have a shorter cycle, but in lab experiments / observations, _some_ took up to 72 days to become free-swimming. You kind of want to wait long enough to be sure the _last_ one is gone ... else the wait is for naught.

~Bruce

 

[melypr1985]

I'm at 20 days fallow.
I read the stickies and everything says 4-6 weeks fallow. However the parasites only have a 15 day life cycle. So is the extra few weeks a precaution ?

Btw I'm dealing with either velvet or brook. Both fallow periods are the same length.

The reason I'm asking is my new clowns In QT are really stressing out being in a bare glass box with only a pvc pipe. I'm afraid of causing ich from stress.

Hi. The fallow period is 6 weeks.. I wouldn't go with only 4. If it helps, you won't cause ick just from stress. If ich is there, it will show up eventually... but it will show faster with a little stress prompting it. You could possibly help ease their stress by darkening the tank some, or blacking out the sides and back. You could add more hiding places as well to help lend comfort.

Have you treated them for either disease yet? Have any pictures?

 

[Paulmarks]

Hi. The fallow period is 6 weeks.. I wouldn't go with only 4. If it helps, you won't cause ick just from stress. If ich is there, it will show up eventually... but it will show faster with a little stress prompting it. You could possibly help ease their stress by darkening the tank some, or blacking out the sides and back. You could add more hiding places as well to help lend comfort.

Have you treated them for either disease yet? Have any pictures?

I lost my original clowns to velvet or brook their so similar can't tell them apart.

My new clowns are in QT I am not medicating them. I find it unessesary to medicate animals that don't need it. Buy their hardly eating. And just stick in corners. I blacked out the tank it's completely dark in there. They don't swim stound. Just stay on seperate corners on the bottom which is what concerns me. My last clowns were maniacs swimming all over the tank. I really can't afford copper and a kit at the moment. Another reason why I'm not medicating. Plus it'll kill the BB. And I don't have enough salt for daily water changes so I'm kinda stuck in the middle here.

 

[melypr1985]

I lost my original clowns to velvet or brook their so similar can't tell them apart.

My new clowns are in QT I am not medicating them. I find it unessesary to medicate animals that don't need it. Buy their hardly eating. And just stick in corners. I blacked out the tank it's completely dark in there. They don't swim stound. Just stay on seperate corners on the bottom which is what concerns me. My last clowns were maniacs swimming all over the tank. I really can't afford copper and a kit at the moment. Another reason why I'm not medicating. Plus it'll kill the BB. And I don't have enough salt for daily water changes so I'm kinda stuck in the middle here.

OK. It sounds like there isn't much to do then at this point. Even if they are sick -I'm not saying they are- you can't medicated them so it's a wait and see game. In the mean time, try as many different foods as you have access to and get them eating. Clowns act and swim weird so I wouldn't take them sticking to corners as a bad sign. If they start displaying any other symptoms then let us know asap. Definitely wait out the whole 6 weeks fallow period though. That's free

 

[Paulmarks]

OK. It sounds like there isn't much to do then at this point. Even if they are sick -I'm not saying they are- you can't medicated them so it's a wait and see game. In the mean time, try as many different foods as you have access to and get them eating. Clowns act and swim weird so I wouldn't take them sticking to corners as a bad sign. If they start displaying any other symptoms then let us know asap. Definitely wait out the whole 6 weeks fallow period though. That's free

Okay thanks for the help

 

[melypr1985]

Okay thanks for the help

Anytime! Keep us posted on how they do. We are all here to help any way we can.

 

[Humblefish]

The fallow period for velvet is 6 weeks because in one study it took almost 3 weeks for all the dinospores (free swimmers) to be released from their tomonts.

Once released, dinospores can remain infective for up to 15 days because as a dinoflagellate they are able to use light as an energy source. By contrast, ich theronts (free swimmers) must find a fish host to feed upon within 48 hrs or die.

Add all that up and you are looking at more than 5 weeks, so I made it 6 weeks for good measure. Understand the above is worst case scenario; most strains of velvet complete their entire lifecycle in roughly 2 weeks.

And since we're talking about velvet, the longest known time period the trophonts have been known to feed on a fish is 4 days. The shortest period is just 12 hours. All depends upon strain/variant.

 

[4FordFamily]

I might add that not treating your fish is playing with fire. I can tell you from ten years experience treating nothing that I killed many fish suddenly following largely the same mindset. Too many parasites and strains out there these days, it is harder now than it was then.

Since proper preemptive treating I can keep almost any fish.

 

[TheEngineer]

I suppose this is a question for the experts... If you have fish that came from a tank that was known to have <insert parasite name here> and you put them into QT but don't treat them or do the tank transfer method, is there still value in going fallow in your DT? It would seem to me that the likelihood of reintroducing the parasite from the QT is fairly likely. Or am I misunderstanding part of the lifecycle?

 

[melypr1985]

I suppose this is a question for the experts... If you have fish that came from a tank that was known to have <insert parasite name here> and you put them into QT but don't treat them or do the tank transfer method, is there still value in going fallow in your DT? It would seem to me that the likelihood of reintroducing the parasite from the QT is fairly likely. Or am I misunderstanding part of the lifecycle?

Depending on the parasite, it will have continued it's life cycle in the QT in this scenario. It will be introduced back into the display and continue to cause problems. Now, if it were velvet or something equally deadly, the fish in question is likely to die in Qt without treatment so reintroduction isn't a fear as much as making sure future fish are treated before introduction so they don't bring it back in the tank after a fallow period.

 

[roberthu526]

15 day is an average. Some may stay active for as long as 28 days I read so 4-6 weeks is to be on the safe side.
My 40G is at two months and still counting. I have 2 QT running right now. It sucks but I want to be sure my tanks are ich free

 

[Paulmarks]

Woke up this morning to find both clowns dead. I cannot figure out why.

Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5. PH 8.0 temp 78° had surface agitation via hob filter.

In my frustration I tore the QT down I'll see about fish in January.

 

[melypr1985]

Woke up this morning to find both clowns dead. I cannot figure out why.

Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5. PH 8.0 temp 78° had surface agitation via hob filter.

In my frustration I tore the QT down I'll see about fish in January.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Maritimer]

Really sorry to hear that, Paulmarks. It hurts to work hard for something, and have it all go to pieces anyway ... Read. Learn. Understand. When you set that QT up again later in the year or early next, you'll be armed, and your new fish will be the beneficiaries.

~Bruce

 

[TheEngineer]

Sorry to hear that.

 

[puffy127]

Sorry about your loss. How long did you have them? How did you acclimate them to your QT?

 

[Paulmarks]

So in my frustration I went over to that LFS. Privately owned store not a chain store.

Took 16oz tank water. The dead fish. And my resting ***** face. And told them. 3 clownfish dead. The first pair I bought one didn't make the 20 minute drive home. They couldn't find anything wrong with the water. And admitted themselves their clowns all look pale. Never going in there again.

They offered to replace them. I made a scene and got my money back.

i took the 10G. heater. and hob filter with me and went to another small LFS. Purchased a photon clown and a black ice. A bottle of cupramine. A test kit. And paid an extra $20 and told them you quarantine them. And to my surprise he did it after hearing my story. And told me don't worry he'll get them all ready these few weeks and if for some reason he looses them he'll replace start over for free. Great guy.

 

[roberthu526]

Well first of all I would start reading about treating sick fish on the forum. I am sorry for your loss but this could happen again if you don't address the issues. Ich can grow in fish's gills and not been seen but it is deadly to the fish. Also, going fishless for at least 30 days is highly recommended. There is no shortcut in this hobby so you need to be patient.
Good luck.

 

[melypr1985]

So in my frustration I went over to that LFS. Privately owned store not a chain store.

Took 16oz tank water. The dead fish. And my resting ***** face. And told them. 3 clownfish dead. The first pair I bought one didn't make the 20 minute drive home. They couldn't find anything wrong with the water. And admitted themselves their clowns all look pale. Never going in there again.

They offered to replace them. I made a scene and got my money back.

i took the 10G. heater. and hob filter with me and went to another small LFS. Purchased a photon clown and a black ice. A bottle of cupramine. A test kit. And paid an extra $20 and told them you quarantine them. And to my surprise he did it after hearing my story. And told me don't worry he'll get them all ready these few weeks and if for some reason he looses them he'll replace start over for free. Great guy.

I"m sorry for your loss as well, but you can't trust anybody's QT but your own. I would never suggest having an LFS QT your fish for you and wouldn't trust the results.