Always Q a new fish when adding to a Community Tank

[redtailfool]

If you have a community tank that you absolutely cannot endanger, then a Quarantine tank is a must whenever you add a new fish . I , too have not followed
this advised of late ( dismantled my q tank ) and recently had my 2 tanks develop a ICH outbreak because of 3 new dats that i didnt Q.

I was lucky it was only ich. But still, it was a hassle and my tigrinus had it real bad. Had i not acted fast i couldve risked losing the tig. All of that because i didnt Q.

 

[beblondie]

My spiel on quarantine (excited huh)
QUARANTINE
Noun: a state of enforced isolation.
Why should we quarantine? In particular our bichirs are mostly wild caught this can lead them to be
carriers of all kinds of nasty things.And the importers can't catch all the bad stuff some of which may
not be evident for several days or weeks.It is far easier to observe and fix one fish than an chance
infecting an established tank.
There are two ways to quarantine new fish one is a basic bare tank.This is not a long term display
tank its meant to be emptied and cleaned and stored after the quarantine period. It can also do duty
as a hospital tank if and when the need arises. A tank sized to fit the specimen should be used for
this purpose Remember this is for temporary use.
Why don't we qaurantine?Simply because we are in a hurry to show off our new fish.However after
you have done this and wind up with a tank of sick or dying fish you will understand the importance of
quarantining fish.this applies to store bought feeders also.
The Tank 1
This is as simple as it gets Filter, Heater, and some plastic plants or some kind of structure to
hide in simple huh like I said its not long term .4 weeks in most cases should be fine.Its not pretty but
its not supposed to be .
The Tank 2 You setup the tank with substrate,plants, decorations as you would any display tank and
add the new fish and nothing more.Any future purchases for this tank will need to QT in a tank1 setup.
The Hospital Tank Is basicaly a tank 1 setup its use is to isolate and treat sick or damaged fish not
long term use As little decoration as possible is involved and the amount of water should be
measured so the correct amonut of medication is administered contrary to popular belief all tanks
are incorrectly sized and hold somewhat less water than stated.
To get the correct amount of water.
A tank holds measure the inside of the tank and calculate with those numbers.
Gravel displaces 2.4 gallons per 50 pounds. This is useful in calculating the true water capacity of your aquarium-Anne

 

[redtailfool]

cool. Thanks for adding Anne

 

[guppy]

Damn Gurl, everytime you post you say what I would but you do it in a way that removes the mistakes I would make! I do a salt bath (like ick treatment for 10 days) on feeders and new keepers. It is cheaper to quarantine then to treat dieing fish.

 

[beblondie]

Just the lil pixie aren't I lol -Anne

 

[MFK_23]

yer, is true u have to quarantine aye... I added a wildcaught tandanus eeltail catfish to my community tank without quarantining and within a month every fish in there had anchor worm. The F#$@in thing killed every fish in my comm tank. Now i always quarantine my fish, or i just ask my lfs where i work at to hold the fish i want for a couple of weeks, so that I know it is disease free by the time i bring it home

 

[TROY25]

i do maintain 2x 3ft tank for q and sort of hospital tank

 

[MossOnGrass]

I just throw them in , and never had any problems , I will add though I never buy a fish from any store where there is a dead fish in the tank where I want to buy a fish out of, but then again I live my life on the edge !

 

[Kitiara]

I just throw them in , and never had any problems , I will add though I never buy a fish from any store where there is a dead fish in the tank where I want to buy a fish out of, but then again I live my life on the edge !

That does not necessarily mean you are safe - most stores have common filtration - the water in one tank is the same as the others...

 

[AmandaP]

I always quarantine. I keep an extra smaller HOB filter running all the time on one of my tanks just to keep it cycled and ready just in case I need it for hospital or quarantine tank. That way it is ready to use with all the good bacteria already in it(no new tank syndrome). And after 4 weeks of quarantine I completely clean it and put in new filter media and put it back on other tank to get it cycled again so it is ready if needed.