Question about a hospital/quarantine tank

[Buglet]

We have recently discovered the absolute necessity of a hospital/qurantine tank, as we had a relatively new fish who spread ich to the others and then developed pop eye and needed to be quarantined for antibiotic treatment.

We have a 6g tank that we would like to set up and keep cycled in case of emergency and/or to quarantine new fish.

My question is, once cycled using the fishless method, will the tank remain cycled without any fish in it on an indefinite basis? Or must we continue to add ammonia on a daily basis in order to feed the bacteria? Obviously we won't be keeping fish in it all the time, but would like to have it "at the ready".

Thanks!

 

[a1wonder]

If you have room on one of your larger thanks my advice to you would be to add an extra smaller filter with alot of room for sponges.
When you need to set up the hospital tank simply transfer over the filter and a few things from the main tank and use that to quickly cycle your tank. If you do a 20% water change at the end of the week you shouldn't need to really worry about the cycle that much.
With that being said there are some medications that result in higher ammonia levels in a tank situation do your research so you know what to expect and feed lightly.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Buglet

I agree with a1wonder

With a tank as large as the one you have, there is really no need to have a permanent quarantine tank. If an illness occurs, you can quickly enough clone your little 6 gallon tank using gravel and filter media from the main tank. Also, you don't need to keep a quarantine tank cycled if you will be doing the frequent water changes that are usually needed.

If you do decide to set one up, however, it would be a good idea to stock it with a few fish to keep up the beneficial bacteria. When it is needed for its intended propose, just move those fish back into the main tank and isolate whichever fish need it. When treatment is finished you can easily clean out the tank and clone another. Then just move the original fish back in until the next time you need to use it.