Good Size Hospital Tank For My Cichlids

[didz04]

Hi I was looking to buy an extra tank to turn it into a hospital tank. What size hospital tank would you recommend for my cichlids, they average around 3" long. Would a 2ft be fine, found one really cheap for sale a tank alone 2' x 12" x 12" for £3 would that be ok? What size hospital tanks are you using? Have you used any gravel in yours?

Thanks

 

[minxfishy]

If your cichlids are dwarf species than a 2ft tank is fine for a hospital/qt tank. You dont really need substrate in them, just a few plants for cover to make them feel more secure for the short time they would be in it.

 

[didz04]

ok well I do have a spare pack of gravel which I could just use then it will be easier for me to dig in the plants otherwise they will be just floating around. Actually they are not dwarfs they are mbuna so how much more bigger? I would have thought a 2ft would have been fine since its only temporary and it would be easy for me to maintain.
What about the business with making the tank fully cycled, would it be a good idea to squeeze my filter sponge from the main tank onto the filter i'm gonna use for the hospital tank?

 

[minxfishy]

I dont know the sizes mbuna get to, obviously is you have a 10" fish its not going to comfortable in the 2ft tank, but if they are relatively small up to 5" then its fine, otherwise Id say a 3ft.

To get a filter ready for when you need it, just keep one running in your main tank and take it out when needed, if you are using the tank because a fish has a disease, its best to discard the media in the spare filter once its been used and replace with new, then just return the spare filter to the main tank to cycle it again. You can of course just take some media from the main filter and pop it into the spare when needed too.

 

[didz04]

Thanks , yeah they are still small under 3" so a 2ft will be fine and I just need to buy a small filter, any sponge one will do. There is a 2ft tank for sale nearby really cheap and he is free all day on wednesday so i will pick up that day. I should have everything setted up for next friday so hopefully I can put the wounded fish in then & back to main tank once he's recovered. Just hope he is still fine by then as he is in a bucket at the moment. thanks for the advice