Hospital/quarantine Tank- Worried About Stressing Fish

[trianglekitty]

So I set back up my hospital/quarantine tank in prep of adding a few new fish to my main tank. The tank is a 2.5 gallon with filter and heater. No gravel, no light- just a plain tank.

Because of the size of the tank, I'm assuming I'll have to do water changes even if I seed it from the main tank. Wouldn't this stress the new fish? Say I add 3 ember tetras or 3 rasboras- of course I'll test the tank, but I'm just thinking frequent water changes to brand new fish isn't going to do them any good.

Do I need a larger tank? What size is good for a quarantine tank?

 

[KittyKat]

Ideally, I recommend 5-10 gallons as good quarantine tanks because for quarantine to be effective, it should last for at least 4 weeks, which is a long time for fish.

You should have some décor in the tank, maybe a 5 mm layer of dark sand on the bottom, some sacrificial plants out of your main tank (or artificial ones), a dark background, some ornaments which can be disinfected if needed. All these things reduce stress to the fish. It is still important that you can observe the fish on a daily basis, of course. You will also need a separate net for the quarantine tank from the main tank.

As long as you have properly acclimatised your fish to your tap water parameters, large water changes should not be stressful or harmful if done correctly. On the other hand, even small amounts of ammonia can harm the fish in the long term.

There are also a few other things to consider: does your LFS quarantine new fish? How long have the fish been at the LFS? Do they share nets between different tanks? For example, I happen to know that my LFS orders harlequin rasboras in every 2-4 weeks, has one net per tank (which reduces disease transfer) and one independent filter per tank, so if I buy some the day before the new order arrives, they have already been almost quarantined for at least 2 weeks.

 

[trianglekitty]

Ideally, I recommend 5-10 gallons as good quarantine tanks because for quarantine to be effective, it should last for at least 4 weeks, which is a long time for fish.

You should have some décor in the tank, maybe a 5 mm layer of dark sand on the bottom, some sacrificial plants out of your main tank (or artificial ones), a dark background, some ornaments which can be disinfected if needed. All these things reduce stress to the fish. It is still important that you can observe the fish on a daily basis, of course. You will also need a separate net for the quarantine tank from the main tank.

As long as you have properly acclimatised your fish to your tap water parameters, large water changes should not be stressful or harmful if done correctly. On the other hand, even small amounts of ammonia can harm the fish in the long term.

There are also a few other things to consider: does your LFS quarantine new fish? How long have the fish been at the LFS? Do they share nets between different tanks? For example, I happen to know that my LFS orders harlequin rasboras in every 2-4 weeks, has one net per tank (which reduces disease transfer) and one independent filter per tank, so if I buy some the day before the new order arrives, they have already been almost quarantined for at least 2 weeks.

I do have a silk plant in there that because of the size provides cover across most of the tank. I can add some gravel too. The tank is in a quiet room that doesn't have much activity. I have a separate net and bucket.

My LFS certainly doesn't use separate nets and the filters are connected.

I was going to use the 2.5 because of space issues, but I'm willing to upgrade if it means healthier fish in the end.

 

[KittyKat]

I do have a silk plant in there that because of the size provides cover across most of the tank. I can add some gravel too. The tank is in a quiet room that doesn't have much activity. I have a separate net and bucket.

My LFS certainly doesn't use separate nets and the filters are connected.

I was going to use the 2.5 because of space issues, but I'm willing to upgrade if it means healthier fish in the end.

With a few exceptions, bigger is better, but never having a trace of ammonia in the water is more important than the difference between a 5 and 2.5 gallon for quarantine. It would be easier to maintain good water quality in a larger tank.

I cannot recommend a 2.5 gallon in the long term for most fish, but I can't honestly say that I know what effect it would have on a specific fish if only used for 4 weeks.