Hospital Tank

[dzsigmond217]

I need to get a hospital tank set up to treat 2 of my fish and am unsure as how to do it.
Can I just use the water from my main tank or do I actually need to take out some media from the filter of my main tank? Wanna get it right so I don't kill my fishies!
Thanks a lot!
diAnne

ps..am a newbie to tropical fish so if possible keep directions simple please!

 

[Colin_T]

you can set the hospital tank up with water from the main tank. Don't bother using filter media in the Q tank because the medications will probably kill the good filter bacteria. Get a box filter and put some ammogon in it. That will absorb any ammonia produced by the fish. Have an airstone bubbling away in it and don't feed the fish very much. Monitor the ammonia levels in the tank and if it goes up then change some of the water with clean dechlorinated water and then retreat.
I use a 40litre plastic storage crate for a hospital/ quaratine tank. You can bleach them and dry them out after use and they are cheap to buy. The drawback is you can't see through the sides so it is hard to tell how the fish are going.

What sort of fish need treating? You might be able to treat them in the main tank. Depending on the disease you might have to treat them in the main tank.

 

[fourthtimelucky]

What medication are you planning on using? Not all meds kill the filter bacteria, I usually keep a small filter running in my main tank all the time then stick that straight in the hospital tank when needed so that the hospital tank is instantly cycled.

Obviously if you are using an anti-bacterial or any other filter-killing med then aeration and daily water changes are a must but if you are treating for anything else I think the above tactic minimizes stress on the fish. Just my tuppence worth though.

 

[backtotropical]

What medication are you planning on using? Not all meds kill the filter bacteria, I usually keep a small filter running in my main tank all the time then stick that straight in the hospital tank when needed so that the hospital tank is instantly cycled.

Obviously if you are using an anti-bacterial or any other filter-killing med then aeration and daily water changes are a must but if you are treating for anything else I think the above tactic minimizes stress on the fish. Just my tuppence worth though.

Agreed. Unless you are using a med which will kill the filter bacteria, you're taking a risk not filtering your hospital tank.

 

[dzsigmond217]

I will be using a filter and heater in my hospital tank.
I'm treating for flex/columnaris with maracyn & maracyn 2.
Some sites online say to quarantine the fish because it's not good to medicate the fish who don't have it
and the hopsital tank will create a stress free environment for the sick fish.
Other sites say that you can medicate the whole tank and it wont hurt the bacterial colony or other fish.
ARGH!! So which is it?

None of the other fish show any signs of stress or disease.infection.
I'm going out to buy the meds and tank n' stuff now.
Hopefully any responses I get to this thread won't be as varied as the answers I found online!!
Thanks guys!
diAnne

 

[Tolak]

Do not medicate well fish, and continue the meds for the full course, even if the fish look better. By doing this you avoid creating drug resistant strains of bacteria.

I would use half fresh water, and half tank water, in a hospital tank. When I med fish I buy meds in bulk online, and in most cases, depending on the medication, do a 50% water change daily, and remed. By doing this you provide as clean an environment as possible, and avoid any ammonia buildup. I do add a sponge filter, I have plenty of those running.

What you can do, if you don't have a cycled filter, but have gravel in a mature tank, is to buy a sponge or box filter. Put a handful of gravel on or in the filter, this, along with the daily water changes usually keeps the ammonia down to zero.

 

[Colin_T]

Anything you use to treat columnaris will wipe the filters. Columnaris will still be in the main tank and there is a big possibility it will spread to the other fish. it is highly contagious.

 

[Mikaila31]

I would take some of the filter media out of the main tank and use it in the quarantine tank. That is how I always start up my quarantine tank. I know maracyn won't harm the filter bacteria, but I'm not sure about Maracyn 2. I have gotten sudden nitrite readings when using it before. So watch out for that.