Meds To Always Have

[Rubyuk]

If a Q tank is not possible would this recommended dosing when adding new fish be a decent idea ie it cannot do any harm?

Sometimes there's no easy way to do things, and using Melafix to avoid keeping a quarantine tank will not work. In fact, it could lead to more problems.

MelaFix is tea tree oil (melaleuka)a mild natural antibacterial agent. While it might help clear up some minor bacterial infections, it will do nothing for other problems, such as ich, that could be introduced to your tank when you add new fish. Also, whenever you use an antibiotic you run the risk of making future generations of that bacteria resistant to the medicine.

You are better of using a quarantine tank and holding off on the medicine in case you really need it.

Sorry Inchworm it wasnt meant to sound as a replacement for a Q tank just querying whether what the manufacturer says on the bottle about adding a dose when adding new fish was correct or just more profiteering on their part.

The facts are though not everyone has the space/set up to run a Q tank full time.I know its adviseable and I understand the risks of not having one but sometimes its not always possible to have what we are ideally meant to have

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Rubyuk

I understand what you are saying. I just wanted to point out that MelaFix isn't the answer to every problem that the manufactures and lfs would like you to believe.

By the way, a quarantine tank need not be kept running all the time if you have made some advance preparation. Depending on the fish you might use it for, any small tank with a cover will do. A standard 10 gallon tank is often the least expensive way to go, and a piece of plastic will do for a cover. This is a basic box filter set up that can be used instantly if you keep a bit of floss in your regular tank filter.

In a pinch, a milk crate covered with plastic will do for a stand. It can be kept anywhere you have the room, even in a bathroom.

The whole thing can come down and be stored for future use once your fish have been moved to their regular home or cured of whatever ails them. Depending on the temperature of your climate and home, an inexpensive heater might be needed too.

I don't know what kind of tank and fish you have Rubyuk, and if this would be appropriate for you at all, but perhaps some of the other members will think about this. Considering the investment in time and money that you have in an aquarium, it's a shame for anyone to risk it all by introducing new fish to it who might be carrying a disease, yet many people do.

 

[rabbut]

^^I don't think Rubyuk has any fish yet Ichworm

I've been looking at meds and specifically Melafix as its what I see my LFS marks up on his tanks that are under Q or treatment.

While work does use it in a lot of their tanks, it isn't the only med we use Melafix, as Ichworm points out, is very weak. We use it mainly for finrot at work, because we almost always catch it in the early stages, where you don't realy need anything to clear it up. Often, with mild finrot, just keeping the tank clean and doing daily waterchanges will help to clear it up. When you have 140 tanks to look after, it becomes impracticle to waterchange 4-5 of them by 50% a day and still keep on top of the rest of the tanks with just one member of staff... These issues have to be cleared with weak meds, and caught early in work's setting Work for example patrols all the tanks three times a day where possible (it isn't always on a Saturday or Sunday) to ensure everything is caught at a stage of just starting rather than after it's become a real issue

Adding meds increases the stress on the fish. While the meds will knock back anything they are supposed to treat, they will further weaken the fishes immune system and possibly make the fish more prone to infections that the med won't treat for

If a Q tank is not possible would this recommended dosing when adding new fish be a decent idea ie it cannot do any harm?

Adding meds indiscriminately can caurse a lot of harm, for the reasons outlined above, not just by me, but Ichworm also points out issues with medication resistive disease strains. Vidulance and/or QT is the key to overcomming any potential problem. If a disease does crop up, move fast with a med for that specific problem and you shouldn't get any (major at least) losses

I don't keep any meds in stock. They become less and less effective the longer they are sat and typically have a 12 month shelf life after opening, or 24 months when sealed.

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Rubyuk]

Hi Rubyuk

I understand what you are saying. I just wanted to point out that MelaFix isn't the answer to every problem that the manufactures and lfs would like you to believe.

By the way, a quarantine tank need not be kept running all the time if you have made some advance preparation. Depending on the fish you might use it for, any small tank with a cover will do. A standard 10 gallon tank is often the least expensive way to go, and a piece of plastic will do for a cover. This is a basic box filter set up that can be used instantly if you keep a bit of floss in your regular tank filter.

In a pinch, a milk crate covered with plastic will do for a stand. It can be kept anywhere you have the room, even in a bathroom.

The whole thing can come down and be stored for future use once your fish have been moved to their regular home or cured of whatever ails them. Depending on the temperature of your climate and home, an inexpensive heater might be needed too.

I don't know what kind of tank and fish you have Rubyuk, and if this would be appropriate for you at all, but perhaps some of the other members will think about this. Considering the investment in time and money that you have in an aquarium, it's a shame for anyone to risk it all by introducing new fish to it who might be carrying a disease, yet many people do.

Thanks for that Inchworm,great advice and pics as well

I definitely cannot run a Q tank full time.

To run one part time as I think your suggestion above is though,how does that work with having to cycle the Q tank as presumably even with some filter floss added from the main tank its not going to cycle quick enough to use in an emergency for example ie fish having to go to hospital tank all of a sudden?

I can see how you could plan it for/when adding new fish.

After i've fishlessed cycle (I have an ongoing update thread with my readings if you want to look and comment on my progress) i'm planning on getting quite a % of my first in one go as members suggest you can fully stock from day 1 even though I dont plan to fully do that.

If I understand things right the first fish (all bought from same place) dont have to go in a Q tank as they are all going to be homed together whether it be in a Q tank or the main tank so there is no difference to the risk,if anything happens it happens?

After that I was going to carefully monitor any new purchases at the LFS for several weeks before buying.

I'm only going to stock from two local LFS that i'm impressed with and have been recommended to me as well by members on here.

So I was going to avoid any future additions until I know they've been in the LFS tanks for several weeks with no sign of illness.Not ideal plan I know,but some method in my madness?

Even though I have not stocked yet I'm going to my two LFS just about every weekend looking at new fish,getting ideas,researching the fish when I get home and monitoring the fish I plan to get.I've pretty much got a stocking plan in mind after several changes over the last 3 months of research.

By way of an example I'm keen on a pair of Pearl Gouramis and spotted my shop had some new arrivals but then after two weeks when I went back in they were been treated for fin rot,so I'm going to keep monitoring them before buying any.

I've read comments from some who have never had a Q tank,others say to keep new fish in Q for 2 weeks,others I've seen suggest upto 6 weeks!

I'll certainly give some thought to a temp Q tank dependent on the possible issues I've raised about having to cycle it each time it was to be set up for use?

Glad we're still mates

 

[Inchworm]

Ohhhh.....I didn't realize Rubyuk is just starting out. Let me explain a little more then. But first let me tell you the biggest problem with having a quarantine tank. That is, you start liking it with the fish in it and decide to keep them there. Then you have to get another QT, and the same thing happens. Before you know it, you can end up like I did. What you see in the bottom picture is just some of what is in what was once my living room. It's an addictive hobby!

Anyway, the stuff in the bag is the filter floss and it is the media used in what is called a box filter. This is the old fashioned way to filter the water, but it still works well. The floss is composed of fine strands of polyester fiber, like the stuff used to stuff pillows. As the water flows through the filter, the fibers trap solids and beneficial bacteria grow on the surfaces. It's powered by the air pump you see in the picture. Two or three of these filters are enough to filter a 55 gallon tank.

When I get new fish, I take some of the media out of one filter and put it on top of some floss in another filter, and grab a spare tank. It's instantly cycled because I have moved some of the beneficial bacteria from one into the other. This is a process called, "cloning a tank." The beneficial bacteria in both tanks will rapidly reproduce to support the number of fish you have put in them. That is, of course, within reason. I wouldn't divide the media from a tank with 5 fish and expect it to support 10 fish immediately. A proportionate amount must be used. If you add some of this floss to a HOB filter, or other filter with room for it, the result will be the same.

As a general rule, I would say to quarantine new fish for 2-3 weeks, but the longer you can keep them in there, the safer your tank will be. It's not necessarily the fault of the lfs that fish get sick, they have been through a lot of stress from the time they leave their native waters up to the time you get them. Sometimes it takes a while for a problem to appear. Sometimes too, bacteria that fish in one aquarium have become immune to will effect fish from another one, so it's good to give them a chance to recover from their travels, eat good food, and grow strong, before they are exposed to it.

It sounds like you've done a lot of research and given this a lot of thought. I'll look for your thread. Good luck and success with your tank.

 

[rabbut]

A QT period of 2-3 weeks isn't going to catch many issues before they get to the main tank. IMO, if you are going to bother with it, you should keep the fish in the QT tank for at least a month before moving them into their permanant home