I've been struggling with strange deaths in my tropical tank recently and for no apparent reason. Every now and then, fish will suddenly over a couple of days go into hiding or hang about at the top of the tank then peg it! It isn't so regular that i have felt the need to treat it until now. I have suspected a bacterial infection in the tank, so i have treated with Interpet 9 and am waiting to see if the deaths stop.
My stats are all fine, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH are all where i want them to be.
The real point of this post is to ask that when I am happy with the state of my tank, ie the deaths stop for a length of time, and i want to restock i am going to use a quartantine tank. I have been stung with a bout of white spot from infected fish already and it's not happening again, even from my trusted LFS's, i'm taking no chances.
I'm going to get a 10g ish basic tank, get a small air powered filter, a small heater and somewhere for the new occupants to hide, fake plants, plant pots etc. I am not going to have a light on the tank as this will calm the fish to be in relative darkness and some meds work better in the dark anyway.
As a matter of course when i get new inhabitants should i treat them with something like Interpet 9 baterial infection treatment, melafix or primafix? Even if they're 100% healthy it's only going to kill any harmful bacteria, it won't harm the fish. Then I would wait perhaps 1 to 2 weeks for any illness to develop and treat as necessary. All being well they can be introduced to my main tank after 2 weeks.
Am I on the right track with this? Anything i've missed or am about to come a cropper with please let me know.
My stats are all fine, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH are all where i want them to be.
The real point of this post is to ask that when I am happy with the state of my tank, ie the deaths stop for a length of time, and i want to restock i am going to use a quartantine tank. I have been stung with a bout of white spot from infected fish already and it's not happening again, even from my trusted LFS's, i'm taking no chances.
I'm going to get a 10g ish basic tank, get a small air powered filter, a small heater and somewhere for the new occupants to hide, fake plants, plant pots etc. I am not going to have a light on the tank as this will calm the fish to be in relative darkness and some meds work better in the dark anyway.
As a matter of course when i get new inhabitants should i treat them with something like Interpet 9 baterial infection treatment, melafix or primafix? Even if they're 100% healthy it's only going to kill any harmful bacteria, it won't harm the fish. Then I would wait perhaps 1 to 2 weeks for any illness to develop and treat as necessary. All being well they can be introduced to my main tank after 2 weeks.
Am I on the right track with this? Anything i've missed or am about to come a cropper with please let me know.
