Hospital Tanks

[Mariah]

For my hospital tank, what should I keep in there when theres no sick fish? Also where do I put that healthy fish when I have a sick fish?
And when the fish is healthy again what procedures do I take to make sure the tank is clean for the other fish to go back in?
Thanks

 

[Mr Miagi]

I would just keep it planted! A planted tank is just as attractive as a fully stocked one! That means you could just change your fish in and out, once he is healed or full qurantened!

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

i wouln't worry about making the hospital tank look fancy, just cover for the fish is what i would do

 

[MXPX4318]

I think the best thing to do is to buy those disposable air powered filters and hook a few up in your reg. tank out of sight (in the back behind some wood or plants is what I do, and have that running so when you need to use your hospital tank just pull one of those from your main tank and it should already be seeded and you shouldn't have to worry so much about keeping fish in your treatment tank to keep it cycled. They're cheap enough that once you're done with it you just dispose of the cartridge and put a new one in your main tank for the next time you may need it. Just a thought.

Phillip

 

[Mariah]

What about if I were to just leave the filter running in the hospital tank and some water sprite in it? Would that be ok?

 

[silvershark]

i've nearly finished building my own hospital tank.

mine will be used as a quarantine tank for discus, a hospital tank AND a breeding tank, so long as it is completely cleaned after each use, it should be fine.

as for the filter, check out this for a pretty damn good idea, very cheap and fun to do too!!

 

[RYO]

my tank is dry untill needed, then its just some plant pots for cover for the fish . Most medications will wipe out any bacteria you have there.Once tretment is finished the tank gets broken down and scrubed.

 

[yvez9]

i always keep an extra small sponge in my filter so if i ever need to setup a new tank or something, i have cycled media to put in right away!

i did that for my QT tank as well, but now there is a permanent mate in there

 

[Mariah]

What about if I were to just leave the filter running in the hospital tank and some water sprite in it? Would that be ok?

Is this ok?

 

[Bryan1957]

I think you should take down the hospital tank after each use. Remember, you won't have a source of ammonia to keep the filter media cycled.
You had fish in the tank because they needed to be quarantined and treated, you could put a fish in the tank and have another disease in the tank from the previous fish and make the fish you are trying to treat worse.
If you want to keep some sprite in the tank I would recomend cleaning the tank after using it, then putting the sprite in a freshly cleaned tank. You could put a filter in there for circulation but won't have a cycled tank or media for the next fish.
I have a hospital tank and keep a filter running all the time, it won't be cycled the next time I use it but it isn't really a problem. I will need to change the water every day and add meds anyway. The reason for a hospital tank is to quarantine a sick fish and treat the fish without adding treatments to fish that don't need the meds. I also don't want to treat my bigger tanks since the meds are expensive and would require more meds for the larger volume of water.
I found these filters at a local Petsmart. They work better than I expected in my quarantine tank and are inexpensive. I took one apart and use filter floss in the cartridge, I don't need to replace the filter when I finish with treatments, I just replace the floss.
Disposable filter
You could easily put one of these in another tank and keep it ready for when you need it. It has suction cups to attach to the inside of the tank and is small enough to be hidden behind something.

 

[Tolak]

You could leave it running with the water sprite, but it wouldn't be cycled. I usually have a tank or 2 with just water, heater & filter going, without dechlorinating the water. If I have a new fish or a sickie, I just add dechlor, swap media with one of the tanks that has 2 or 3 filters running, and add fish. I leave the chlorine & chloramine in when it's empty to keep it from getting nasty. It's a no maintanance tank while it's empty, except for topping off due to evaporation.

Tolak

 

[GSD]

my hosp is a small heated 5gal wiht a small filter.it is kept cycled with afew ghost shrimp!it is totally bare to make it easy to clean.or you could just stick the filter media in the hospital tank when its needed

 

[Ethos]

I use my hospital tank as a normal tank (Hold 2 fishes when not in use), and I keep fish in their. Its a bit of a hassel when you get a sick fish, because, you have to fish them out of their, put then in another tank, fish the sick fish out, wait a few weeks (or days), fish the use-to-be sick fish out, put it in itss origanal tank, then fish out the 2 other fish! It takes about 10-15 minuets for me to fish the 2 fish out in the end, but, It always gets done. I just need alot of patience.