What do you use for Quarantine ?
- Thread starter rbredding
- Start date
from another thread i posted in;
Quarantine tank (QT) - I'm old school so I always QT fish in a seperate system from the main display to monitor them and make sure they are eating. The QT tank should be a quiet area and lighting should not be too bright. I use 10 or 20G tanks, bare bottom with hang on back filters and small powerheads. I add a couple of pieces of Live rock and some PVC for the fish to hide in. The biggest thing to watch for is ammonia and nitrite in the QT so I do water changes every few days, depending on how heavily I feed the fish. I have lost fish in the QT process, but I believe that they may have died sooner had I added the to the display tank and then caused potential problems in the DT. I only use a heater when it is winter time and the temp swings in my fish room. My light is usually a standard flourescent aquarium bulb on a timer for 10 hours. I use one of the ammonia alerts in the tank as a safety early warning. I do not treat unless I see some thing outbreak and I know what the disease is and how to treat it.
Quarantine tank (QT) - I'm old school so I always QT fish in a seperate system from the main display to monitor them and make sure they are eating. The QT tank should be a quiet area and lighting should not be too bright. I use 10 or 20G tanks, bare bottom with hang on back filters and small powerheads. I add a couple of pieces of Live rock and some PVC for the fish to hide in. The biggest thing to watch for is ammonia and nitrite in the QT so I do water changes every few days, depending on how heavily I feed the fish. I have lost fish in the QT process, but I believe that they may have died sooner had I added the to the display tank and then caused potential problems in the DT. I only use a heater when it is winter time and the temp swings in my fish room. My light is usually a standard flourescent aquarium bulb on a timer for 10 hours. I use one of the ammonia alerts in the tank as a safety early warning. I do not treat unless I see some thing outbreak and I know what the disease is and how to treat it.
I have a 29G with sand, live rock, koralia 2, Aquaclear 30 HOB filter with sponge, and a Current PC fixture with 2 dual 65W PCs; and I keep a ball of chaeto and some red macro algae in it.
I have it attached to my 120G system all the time and when I need to QT, I shut off the return to it and lower the water an inch or so below the overflow. Depending on what I'm QTing I do waterchanges every few days using water from the 120 system and once I'm ready to move it to the 120G display I open the return just a bit and let the system water drip back into it.
I have it attached to my 120G system all the time and when I need to QT, I shut off the return to it and lower the water an inch or so below the overflow. Depending on what I'm QTing I do waterchanges every few days using water from the 120 system and once I'm ready to move it to the 120G display I open the return just a bit and let the system water drip back into it.
does anyone dose copper while you're QT'ing fish (prior to initial introduction into your system, not as a Hospital tank)
I picked up a 3gal Eclipse system tank yesterday that I plan on putting some LR in (no sand or maybe VERY coarse sand at a later point)...
I don't plan on setting up a hospital tank but I'll use this for one if i have a fish that comes down with something after being introduced for a while....
I'll QT for 10-14 days... shouldn't that be enough?
(I'd prefer not to use copper)
I picked up a 3gal Eclipse system tank yesterday that I plan on putting some LR in (no sand or maybe VERY coarse sand at a later point)...
I don't plan on setting up a hospital tank but I'll use this for one if i have a fish that comes down with something after being introduced for a while....
I'll QT for 10-14 days... shouldn't that be enough?
(I'd prefer not to use copper)
It varies for me. I usually watch the fish closely and make sure it is eating well and does not show signs of illness. If after a couple of weeks it looks good and has been eating, I'll move them to the display tank. I know that is not long enough for some diseases to become visible but there is a tradeoff between stress in the QT system and risk of parasites/disease. My experience has been that fish that are ill or infectd usually shows signs almost immediately partially due to the increased stress of moving. I can't think ofan instance when I had a fish sucumb to an illness in my display once it had been though QT. I have lost fish but usually as a result of agression (jumping out, not able to compet for food, etc). I do not dose anything in my QT. If I am going to treat I would do it in a "hospital tank" that is only used for that purpose.
I've read all kinds of things about how to do a QT vs. a Hospital Tank....
I think that I'm going to go the route that you've described, bob.. I'm not interested in the medications and I really want the time in QT to be for observation of the new fish when it comes off the copper typically dosed in the LFS.. I would think that if anything will show up, it will probably show up relatively quickly, once copper is removed..
Thanks for all of your opinions...
I think that I'm going to go the route that you've described, bob.. I'm not interested in the medications and I really want the time in QT to be for observation of the new fish when it comes off the copper typically dosed in the LFS.. I would think that if anything will show up, it will probably show up relatively quickly, once copper is removed..
Thanks for all of your opinions...
Depending on the size of the fish, either a 10g or a 29g. I don't keep it running all the time, though I did back when I was still stocking the tank. Since I would stock with my tank's water, I can have it running in 10 minutes.
I use a HOB filte (Aquaclear 70), a heater, a cheap oscillating powerhead (ZooMed I think) and I do put in some live rock.
I use a HOB filte (Aquaclear 70), a heater, a cheap oscillating powerhead (ZooMed I think) and I do put in some live rock.
