Permanent Stocking For Hospital/quarantine Tank?

[myrtle]

Hi, I am planning to set up a permanent hospital/quarantine tank after having a sick cory and nowhere to treat him (He didn't survive as the first tank I bought as a hospital emptied itself overnight with him in it ).
I have a 20l/5g tank that I plan to use but was wondering whether to keep it to one side and use it as and when needed (small filter left running in other tank in the meantime) or to have it permanently set up with a couple of fish in to keep the filter going. Is one option better than the other? Is there a species of fish that would suit this kind of thing (it's more likely to be a hospital tank as opposed to a quarantine tank as I don't intend to add any new fish to my other two tanks). None of the fish that would be put in the hosp tank are big (tetra, dwarf pencilfish and corydoras).
Thanks, Jo

 

[pippoodle]

Do not keep it running with fish in else you will start to treat it as a proper tank

my advice is to run the filter in your current tank so that when you need it you can set the hospital up and use only when needed - thats what i do

 

[MHunt]

Yeah, the idea of a hospital or quarantine tank is to keep the sick fish away from other fish to make treatment easier and to restrict the spread of any disease. Stocking it normally just defeats the object of keeping a spare tank. Like pippoodle says keep a filter mature in your main tank so you can use straight away if you need to.

 

[smegforbrains]

run the filter in your current tank so that when you need it you can set the hospital up and use only when needed - thats what i do

So you run the risk of transferring any diseases into the main tank when you pop it back in


Not ideal I wouldn't have thought.

 

[rabbut]

run the filter in your current tank so that when you need it you can set the hospital up and use only when needed - thats what i do

So you run the risk of transferring any diseases into the main tank when you pop it back in


Not ideal I wouldn't have thought.

But you won't because you will either have cured the disease and undergone a 4 week Quarrenteen with the fish healthy again by that point, or sterilised the media having had the fish under treatment go over....

 

[smegforbrains]

Not very clearly explained then was it?

 

[myrtle]

Thanks for the replies, I know the risk of keeping the tank going partially stocked, I would find it hard to resist! I had heard it recommended though that keeping it running with a couple of fish makes life easier. I had wondered how fair this was on the few fish in the hospital tank with being exposed to diseases etc...
Thanks, Jo

 

[MHunt]

Yeah good point, steralize the filter media after treatment (although many treatements get rid of the disease from the filter too) The chlorine from running it under the tap then letting it dry out completely should kill any water bourne diseases.