Quarantine Tank?

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**sarahp**

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So, Iā€™ve never bothered before but Iā€™ve had a bit of a scare this week. I bought some more guppies and all but 2 have died since Sunday.

All my established fish seem fine but Iā€™m terrified that I may have introduced something grim into my tank.

Now Iā€™m on the look out for a second hand tank to use as a QT tank. For those of you that have them, do you keep them running all the time or do you just set them up as and when?
 
I use a plastic storage box; if I had a proper tank, I'd probably end up putting something in it, lol ;)

I keep the sponge from an air driven filter in the filter of my main tank, which keeps it cycled enough for the few small fish that I'm usually quarantining (I actually also have a spare power filter sponge in there as well, as I sometimes take in larger fish), so I just set it up when I need it.

I also have some gravel, plastic plants, flowerpots etc that are easy to disinfect or throw away; fish in quarantine still need cover, but I don't want to risk live plants or wood that might absorb, or be killed by, any medications I might have to use.
 
20 litre and 40 litre plastic storage containers with lids.
Keep a couple of filters running in the main tank and a spare heater in the cupboard.

When you get new fish you fill the container with water from your display tank, add a heater and established filter (also from main tank), then put the new fish in the tub for a month.

When you have finished quarantining the fish you wash the container out with bleach and rinse well, then put it away somewhere until next time.

If you want ornaments then plastic plants and plastic ornaments that can all be bleached after use.
 
What a good idea - I never thought of plastic boxes - I just assumed a proper tank! A box is certainly cheaper then even a second hand tank!

Do you attach the heater to the side of the box? (Wondering if it will melt the side!!)

Does it need any ind of light or as that just for my benefit??

if I had a proper tank, I'd probably end up putting something in it, lol ;)

Think my OH was convinced that I was trying to sneak another permanent tank in under the radar!!!:D
 
Lights are so you can see the fish and to grow plants. There is sufficient light in an average room for most fish to see.

Heaters don't normally melt the containers because they are only set to 24-28C, and that is not that hot. If you are worried you can put some filter floss under the end of the heater for it to rest on.
I just have the heater in the water, not attached to anything.

Your OH is right to think that :)
 
One additional point; all fishkeepers should have a spare heater anyway, so that's not even an unnecessary extra, just a sensible precaution :)
 
There is a real benefit to using a tank as opposed to containers, though you could manage if that is all you can deal with. I am lucky to have a dedicated fish room, so a 20g tank permanently running as my QT for new fish only (I do not ever use this as a hospital tank, that is a very different thing) is easy. It runs permanently, it has a sand substrate, plants (cuttings from other tanks and floating which are very important), light, heater, sponge filter. There is a real advantage to this, as I will explain.

When you acquire new fish, they are severely stressed. The capture (wild or farm), transport, dumped into a store tank that will inevitably not be thee best environment, then being netted, bagged, transported...and finally ending up in your tank--all of this is extremely stressful and triggers the "escape predator" physiological response and it can get no more stressful for a fish. So placing them in a QT for somewhere between two or three weeks (it should never be less than two) and longer depending upon the source, the species, feeding, etc, will only mean further extending that stress if the QT is bare. Eliminating stress as quickly as possible can mean the difference between life and death for the fish, and it makes no sense to risk killing them by this one additional stress when it can be avoided.

The attached photo is my 20g QT as of August 2013. It has a floating plant cover of Water Lettuce now, but this gives the idea. The floating plants are critical as they will always calm fish.
 

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A quarantine tank is great to have.

I usually have a spare 10 gallon tank with cheap lights and spare filter and heater inside the tank along with some fake plants.

Itā€™s there if I need it when I purchase new fish but otherwise itā€™s usually stored in the cupboard.

As fluttermoth said already, the temptation to set that up for another species of fish that Iā€™d like to have is surely there but so far have resisted that temptation :lol:
 
@Byron - if I had a tank like that going spare Iā€™d have to put a betta in it :rolleyes:

Frivolity aside, however, I take your point about a QT being as good an environment as possible. So I will continue to look for a second hand tank that I can put up and take down as required. I can have plastic plants and some real floating ones that I can grab out of the main tank or the bettas.

Maybe I should start this as a new thread - but what are peopleā€™s opinions on how best to acclimate new fish to a tank. I have used the floating bag and drip water in for ages theory as well as the straight in method and not really noticed any difference. What do the rest of you do?
 
I have tried pretty much all of the acclimisation methods over the years and have not lost any fish due to acclimisation at all.

Adding a small amount of tank water to the fish transporatation bag while itā€™s floating on tank water is a common method and generally does no harm whatsoever, this is usually good for fish that have been travelling for some considerable time between the source of purchase to your home.

Drip method is a painstakingly slow process and should only be used to acclimatise wild fish from exotic locations, namely the natural home of certain fish species having a big difference in ph / hardness compared to your tap/home water.
Not all fish can be acclimatised easily so careful research is needed if you are purchasing wild fish such as altums or rare species.

But to be honest, most folks tend to purchase their livestock in LFS locally and these LFS do tend to have similar water hardness to your home, although most LFS do have their own water system that may soften or lower ph of the water but not so different.

In this case I usually tend to simply add the fish straight from the LFS transport bag straight into the tank and throwing the LFS water away down the drain. Simply because if your tank water is at the optimum ph, hardness and temperature the fish will be perfectly fine since itā€™s suited to them. Of course I do research what fish species I want before purchasing them and setting up the tank that will suit them.

Same goes for shrimps and snails actually, straight into the tank. I no longer bother to float the bag or add water over a period of time as simply a waste of time and effort but does no harm at all.

But do be aware these fish are bought locally, no more than 30-45 minutes maximum away and the water is same sort of level and the temperature of water in transportation will not drop all that much at all, hence I do not worry too much.

If buying wilds or from a LFS thatā€™s hours or even days away, then a acclimisation method is likely to be needed.

Research and doing homework is key.
 
@Byron - if I had a tank like that going spare Iā€™d have to put a betta in it :rolleyes:

Frivolity aside, however, I take your point about a QT being as good an environment as possible. So I will continue to look for a second hand tank that I can put up and take down as required. I can have plastic plants and some real floating ones that I can grab out of the main tank or the bettas.

Maybe I should start this as a new thread - but what are peopleā€™s opinions on how best to acclimate new fish to a tank. I have used the floating bag and drip water in for ages theory as well as the straight in method and not really noticed any difference. What do the rest of you do?

Plastic plants are fine; obviously you do lose the benefit of them taking up all the ammonia from the fish as live plants will (which eliminates any cycle/nitrogen issue in the QT) but the main thing is providing a tank that is not bare but full of stuff so the fish can relax immediately and reduce stress. Chunks of wood, artificial or real, excellent. And floating plants, real or artificial; even tossing in a couple of floating plants from another tank will help; these remove ammonia, and provide shade.

To the second question, as Ch4rlie said, there is varying opinion on acclimatization. Fish are not going to adapt to varying parameters within hours, not even days but weeks. However, knowing the biological truth of that, I still mix the water, more for some fish than others. Certainly float the bag to equalize temperature (and I always carefully drain out some/much of the water before I start). Once temp is equaled, which should take no more than 15-20 minutes, some will net out the fish (never let the water get into your tank), others drip, or others like me add say a cup of tank water to the bag and let sit for another 15 minutes or so. With wild caught fish which is what I mainly have, I may do this once more, or twice more if a delicate species. But I know the biological fact that fish are not likely to adapt much with this, but it has always worked and it makes me feel better, which is lessening my stress if not the fish's.

Provided the GH and pH are not widely different, you shouldn't have a problem. The TDS (total dissolved solids) are probably more important; what many consider pH shock is in fact TDS shock. Your tank water should have lower TDS than the store tanks, so that is beneficial. Going in reverse would be serious.
 
I have used the floating bag and drip water in for ages theory as well as the straight in method and not really noticed any difference. What do the rest of you do?
I always ask what they are in. My LFS has different systems, their main system has similar parameters to my tap water so they generally go straight in. If from one of their other systems I do use the drip method but try to complete in an hour.
In truth I try to avoid what's in the other sections because its too much hassle.
 
I tried to set up a QT before a few years ago in Ohio. I put some wood, anubais, light layer of sand and moss in a ten gallon and made the mistake of keeping it in my office. I put shrimp in it, then endlers, then Pygmy corys and I no longer had a QT lol. I do however only get fish from the same two stores. I got harlequins from petsmart once and it was a terrible mistake. Lost half my fish so now I only get them from Upscale Aquatics 30 minutes from home and from Liveaquaria. Have never had a problem with new fish from these places.

As far as acclimation goes I always use the drip method. 3 hours for inverts and only an hour for fish. I know it might be overkill but I do not want the reason my fish die to be that I was impatient. This is on my tank. For my pond I just float the bag for 15 minutes and plop them in.
 

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