Wanting A Hospital Fish Tank . . .

[danb]

I've lost 2 fish in the last 2 days now and feel really bad so want to make sure im prepared for next time. Can anyone recommend one i can buy?

 

[minxfishy]

What size fish to you own, this may determine the size of tank you require for QT'ing fish.

 

[danb]

What size fish to you own, this may determine the size of tank you require for QT'ing fish.

I have tetra's, silver shark and clown loaches.

 

[OldMan47]

Use a plastic storage tub. Hospital emergency tanks are not meant to be left set up and you don't need to admire the fish in them. A QT large enough to hold a clown loach is too big to keep ready to go. A single clown loach should be in a tank at least several feet long but you could house one in a container no more than about 2 1/2 feet long to medicate it. You could probably get away with a 5 gallon hospital tank for most tetras, but why have two containers that are almost never used. I keep extra filters running on some of my tanks so that I have one ready to go if I need to suddenly set up a quarantine or a hospital tank. It doesn't happen often, but it saved my Corydoras hastatus tank a couple of months ago when the filter on their tank failed completely.

 

[danb]

Use a plastic storage tub. Hospital emergency tanks are not meant to be left set up and you don't need to admire the fish in them. A QT large enough to hold a clown loach is too big to keep ready to go. A single clown loach should be in a tank at least several feet long but you could house one in a container no more than about 2 1/2 feet long to medicate it. You could probably get away with a 5 gallon hospital tank for most tetras, but why have two containers that are almost never used. I keep extra filters running on some of my tanks so that I have one ready to go if I need to suddenly set up a quarantine or a hospital tank. It doesn't happen often, but it saved my Corydoras hastatus tank a couple of months ago when the filter on their tank failed completely.

Cheers for that. Would say a large plastic storage container be okay ? Do i need to get gravel for it ? I would just keep the filter sponges in my current filter all the time and just pull out if i ever need too.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[OldMan47]

I would just dump the fish into the storage container with heater and filter. When you are done with the treatments and ready to put things away, sterilize the filter and return it to cycle again, empty the storage container and put it away and put the spare heater back on the shelf.

 

[danb]

I would just dump the fish into the storage container with heater and filter. When you are done with the treatments and ready to put things away, sterilize the filter and return it to cycle again, empty the storage container and put it away and put the spare heater back on the shelf.

Thank you, so there is no point putting anything else in the box with the filter and heater? no gravel or ornaments for them to hide behind?

 

[OldMan47]

I would not bother with ornaments. Those are mainly for the people. You could toss in a couple of silk plants for a hiding place but they would need to be sterilized before being re-used.

 

[danb]

I would not bother with ornaments. Those are mainly for the people. You could toss in a couple of silk plants for a hiding place but they would need to be sterilized before being re-used.

How should i sterilize the stuff? I have just a plastic storage container, its 1ft 2 inches long, 1ft wide and 10inches high. Will this be enough for say my clown loach? No gravel at all ? Can you recommend a heater i could use for this? i think it will hold 28 litre ( 7us gallons ) so im guessing around 25 litres once heater filter gravel and plants are in.

 

[Honeythorn]

If you have clown loaches you'll need a bigger one than that. Best to get a new one ( they're cheap) at least a couple of feet long and 10-12 inches deep (deeper is fine too if that's all there is )

Just a normal 50 watt heater and a basic cannister filter (or HOB if you like) . It's a good idea to keep a spare heater and filter even if not using the tub for treating or QT'ing a fish right now.

You can cut notches out of the edge os the lid to accomodate wires and equipment. You don't need gravel or anything, in fact it's best not to as the tub is only temporary and having no gravel will help keep things clean. Just a plin tub will do with the equipment, the fish won't be in there more than a week or two anyway for most medications, so the less stuff you have in there the less hassle it is to set up and pack away.

And that's another good thing about storage tubs, they can be used as temporary or QT tanks, hospital tanks and transport tubs if you need to move fish.

I have a couple I keep Tucked away, one big one and a medium one, plus a spare filter always running in the main tank and a couple of spare heaters packed away . Very useful

 

[OldMan47]

The easiest way that I know to sterilize equipment is to start by getting it clean, then wash it in a 20 to 1 solution of chlorine bleach. Once it dries after that it is airly safe to return to a tank.