The Hospital Tank: The First Step in Treating your Fish
We all know the frustration of staring into our aquarium and immediately recognizing a fish that is ailing. Suddenly we are forced to be 'fish doctors' and have little experience in making diagnoses. Well, if we had a sick family member, the first thing we would do is get them to a doctor or to the Emergency Room at a hospital. The same should go for your fish. Many people spend hours searching forums for remedies to treat fish disease and then spend money on all kinds of medications. Yet, they fail to take the most important first step to getting their fish on the road to recovery: quarantining the fish into a hospital tank.
Why Should I Buy a Hospital Tank?
1) provides refuge for the fish, away from it's tankmates, while it is weak and vulnerable
2) reduced volume makes dosing drugs easier: measuring is easier, you use less and thus can save money
3) reduces the risk of spreading illness throughout your main tank
4) allows closer observation of the fish for response to treatment
5) treating your entire main tank may subject healthy fish to the stress of chemical treatment
6) various medications and chemicals may stain your main aquarium and/or kill plants
7) antibiotics can destroy your biological filter
Isn't This Another Unnecessary Expense?
No, not if you take your aquarium seriously. Most people are under the impression that it is excess. Many aquarium stores will sell a complete 10 gallon setup for under $20. The hospital tank can be kept in storage until needed.
The Hospital Tank
Basic required equipment for a hospital tank include the following:
1) 10 gallon aquarium (larger if you keep large species)
2) basic in-tank box filter
3) air pump to drive the filter
4) heater; this does NOT need to be a top of the line model
5) a place to hide: 1 or 2 plastic plants and a cave
6) cheap thermometer
Of extra benefit:
-an airstone to help water movement and oxygenation as some medications may reduce oxygen levels
Basic Principals of Treating Your Fish
1) try and duplicate the main aquarium's water conditions in the hospital tank; if impossible, you must acclimate the fish to the hospital tank's environment
2) When transferring your fish to a hospital tank, use water; don't just net them and expose them to air. Use separate nets to avoid transferring disease back into the main aquarium.
3) Keep lighting low to reduce stress and reduce effects on medications
4) If the tank requires elevated temperature, raise it SLOWLY over hours to days
5) REMOVE ACTIVATED CARBON as it will remove treatment from the water column
6) Follow all instructions carefully on the medication bottle and do not terminate treatment prematurely. Many medications require that you treat several days more after symptoms resolve
7) Consider adding aquarium salt as a 'tonic'; fish that are sensitive to salt such as catfish and corydoras will not suffer when exposed for brief oospital treatments
8) Check water parameters; some medications may destroy the biological filter
9) Water changes during treatment may or may not be necessary. Make sure you read up on the illness you are treating or post here for questions
Convalescence
1) DO NOT rush your fish back into the main aquarium after symptoms have resolved
2) If your treatment required elevated tank temperature, return it slowly to that of your main aquarium, again over hours to days
3) Use the time after treatment to return carbon to the system to remove chemicals/treatments and add water from the main tank slowly to bring water conditions in the hospital tank back to that of the main aquarium
3) Transfer back to the main aquarium in water, not a net
After Discharging Your Patient
When your fish is finally returned 'home', you can break down the hospital tank and put it in storage. You MUST disinfect the tank first. You can use a 1:10 dilution of Chlorox in water. Make sure you rinse the equipment out thoroughly. Observe the treated fish for any recurrence of the illness and keep an eye on your main tank for appearance of the disease in other tank inhabitants.
Tricks of the Trade
There is a small trick that many of the 'pros' use in the unfortunate occurence that a hospital tank has to be set up for an ailing fish. Many will keep an extra piece of filter fiber or a spare sponge in their main aquarium filters for use as an instant source of biolgical filtration in the hospital tank. It can be placed in the box filter.
We all know the frustration of staring into our aquarium and immediately recognizing a fish that is ailing. Suddenly we are forced to be 'fish doctors' and have little experience in making diagnoses. Well, if we had a sick family member, the first thing we would do is get them to a doctor or to the Emergency Room at a hospital. The same should go for your fish. Many people spend hours searching forums for remedies to treat fish disease and then spend money on all kinds of medications. Yet, they fail to take the most important first step to getting their fish on the road to recovery: quarantining the fish into a hospital tank.
Why Should I Buy a Hospital Tank?
1) provides refuge for the fish, away from it's tankmates, while it is weak and vulnerable
2) reduced volume makes dosing drugs easier: measuring is easier, you use less and thus can save money
3) reduces the risk of spreading illness throughout your main tank
4) allows closer observation of the fish for response to treatment
5) treating your entire main tank may subject healthy fish to the stress of chemical treatment
6) various medications and chemicals may stain your main aquarium and/or kill plants
7) antibiotics can destroy your biological filter
Isn't This Another Unnecessary Expense?
No, not if you take your aquarium seriously. Most people are under the impression that it is excess. Many aquarium stores will sell a complete 10 gallon setup for under $20. The hospital tank can be kept in storage until needed.
The Hospital Tank
Basic required equipment for a hospital tank include the following:
1) 10 gallon aquarium (larger if you keep large species)
2) basic in-tank box filter
3) air pump to drive the filter
4) heater; this does NOT need to be a top of the line model
5) a place to hide: 1 or 2 plastic plants and a cave
6) cheap thermometer
Of extra benefit:
-an airstone to help water movement and oxygenation as some medications may reduce oxygen levels
Basic Principals of Treating Your Fish
1) try and duplicate the main aquarium's water conditions in the hospital tank; if impossible, you must acclimate the fish to the hospital tank's environment
2) When transferring your fish to a hospital tank, use water; don't just net them and expose them to air. Use separate nets to avoid transferring disease back into the main aquarium.
3) Keep lighting low to reduce stress and reduce effects on medications
4) If the tank requires elevated temperature, raise it SLOWLY over hours to days
5) REMOVE ACTIVATED CARBON as it will remove treatment from the water column
6) Follow all instructions carefully on the medication bottle and do not terminate treatment prematurely. Many medications require that you treat several days more after symptoms resolve
7) Consider adding aquarium salt as a 'tonic'; fish that are sensitive to salt such as catfish and corydoras will not suffer when exposed for brief oospital treatments
8) Check water parameters; some medications may destroy the biological filter
9) Water changes during treatment may or may not be necessary. Make sure you read up on the illness you are treating or post here for questions
Convalescence
1) DO NOT rush your fish back into the main aquarium after symptoms have resolved
2) If your treatment required elevated tank temperature, return it slowly to that of your main aquarium, again over hours to days
3) Use the time after treatment to return carbon to the system to remove chemicals/treatments and add water from the main tank slowly to bring water conditions in the hospital tank back to that of the main aquarium
3) Transfer back to the main aquarium in water, not a net
After Discharging Your Patient
When your fish is finally returned 'home', you can break down the hospital tank and put it in storage. You MUST disinfect the tank first. You can use a 1:10 dilution of Chlorox in water. Make sure you rinse the equipment out thoroughly. Observe the treated fish for any recurrence of the illness and keep an eye on your main tank for appearance of the disease in other tank inhabitants.
Tricks of the Trade
There is a small trick that many of the 'pros' use in the unfortunate occurence that a hospital tank has to be set up for an ailing fish. Many will keep an extra piece of filter fiber or a spare sponge in their main aquarium filters for use as an instant source of biolgical filtration in the hospital tank. It can be placed in the box filter.
