siskiou Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 I'm thinking of getting a small tank to quarantine any future fish before putting them into the main tank, or treat sick fish, if I ever need to. I'm just not sure how to get the tank set up and have sufficent bacteria, so I won't stress out the inhabitant. Do you run a hob filter with a sponge on the main tank and transfer that to the quarantine tank? And how do you keep the tank ready and going, in case it's needed, when nothing lives in it? Siskiou Link to comment
Angel Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Do a search on quarantine/hospital tanks and you will come up with many results. Here is a starting place: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...t=hospital+tank Link to comment
siskiou Posted August 21, 2003 Author Share Posted August 21, 2003 Thanks! I did do a search and read the above mentioned thread. It didn't really answer my questions, though. It mentions that you don't have to cycle the tank, but wouldn't you basically be cycling the tank with the fish, then, which I consider very stressful. I hope to find out a bit more before I get started Siskiou Link to comment
Angel Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Since it is for fish, I would keep one running (or start some time ahead of purchasing fish) with the heater, water (some from your established tank), some type of filtration, thermometer and a few pieces of live rock. The live rock will help to keep it cycled and also works as a filtering agent. I do not keep fish, so my qt is not set up for that. Here is another link that may help answer more of your questions: http://www.aquamaniacs.net/quarantine.html and another http://www.theaquarium.tv/b2bqt.htm Link to comment
Gerard the fish Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 I agree with what angel with the exception of adding live rock. PVC would be the preferred hiding place for fish as infestations such as ICK cannot live in or on PVC. Live rock on the other hand allows ICK and others diseases a place to settle and rear there ugly heads later. Or as Steve Pro of reef magazine put it "I have found the best quarantine/hospital tanks to be bare bottomed (no crushed coral or sand) and decorated with inert, nonporous, and "easy-to-clean-and-sanitize" items. Short sections of various diameter PVC pipe work very well for shelter. Live rock does not meet these criteria and therefore I do not recommended its use. It is best to not use any calcareous materials as they will absorb and interfere with some medications. There is also another possible benefit to using all of these smooth, artificial materials in your quarantine tank. In studying outbreaks of Cryptocaryon irritans in Brown Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus tauvina) at an aquaculture station, Rasheed (1989) found that fish kept in concrete vessels routinely fell victim to Ich while those kept at the same facility with identical care, but in fiberglass containers suffered absolutely no infestations. She theorized that the cyst stage of the parasite found the smooth sides of the fiberglass tanks inhospitable. While not proven, it is very interesting and definitely something to keep in mind. At the very least, this type of setup is extremely easy to clean and disinfect if necessary." hope this helps thanks - g poopie eater head Link to comment
onthefly Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Hey Siskiou, Hospital and Quarantine are two different buggers! For a Quarantine tank....Angel is right! A simple berlin setup is perfect. But for a hospital tank, you want a heater and PH......that's it! Odds are you'll be treating the fish with broad spectrum antibiotics (Maracyn 1 and 2 are what I've used in the past), so keeping ANY substrate that contains bacteria is not ony a bad idea, it could foul the water. For hospitals, go with the bare bones set up, treat the fish with what ever you're using, do a 10% w/c daily, and feed very sparingly (like one or 2 3mm flakes per fish every day). This has worked really well for me in treating sick clowns with everything from fin rot to some "unidentified" infections. HTH Link to comment
siskiou Posted August 21, 2003 Author Share Posted August 21, 2003 Thanks for the info and links! I appreciate it! Would you consider using a product like Amquel or Prime to detoxify the Ammonia/Nitrite in a Quarantine tank, or are waterchanges enough? Siskiou Link to comment
Gerard the fish Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Live Rock in QT/Hospital tanks is not recommended. The serve no purpose in the tank other than shelter which can be achieved through the use of PVC. QT tanks are there to aid in the removal of bacterias that come in on newer fish as well many other things A Berlin Setup only gives these bacteria a better chance of making it into the main tank. thanks - g Link to comment
onthefly Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 the same compunds that "suck up" NH4 and stuff like that...could also diminish some of the medical treatment your using.....thus, that's why they say to discontinue carbon usage when hospitalizing Link to comment
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