Hospital/Quarantine Tanks & General Tank Maintenance

[astrocreep]

I would like to know what everyone's routine is when situations arise suddenly involving suddenly sick or wounded fish, and new additions to existing tanks.

I think everyone has tackled some form of ailment whether its been wounds, parasites, ich, things of this nature.

Its not exactly feasible for most of us to take a fish to a vet with knowledge on how to treat, so we look to this forum for help and advice on how to treat.

What do you guys normally do when you come across a fish that is lethargic and not eating? Perhaps staying at the top of a tank not joining the crowd. There's no way to tell exactly what could be wrong without a microscope and knowledge of common fish parasites or bacteria.

Are there meds that every fishkeeper should have on hand?

I would like to see some experienced keepers chime in and talk about past problems that arose and what worked to help the fish get better?

 

[Mitchell The Monster]

-I have a 10 gallon running 24-7 if something happens to a fish.
-I have a sponge filter, a small HOB, and an airstone inside the quarantine tank.
-I quarintine for 3-6 weeks medicating with API General Cure and Ich-X.
-If a fish is getting lathargic and not eating, I put in seperate tank and feed bloodworms, mysis shrimp and high qualitity pellet( Soaked in meds if needed) in rare/extreme cases I feed ghost shrimp or guppies.
It is nice to have meds on hand but meds do expire so I buy when needed.
I do however keep aquarium salt on hand

 

[monkeybike]

I leave an air powered sponge filter in my sump for when I need to set up a quick quarantine tank. I have a 10 and a 29 depending on fish size.

I run a pretty good sized UV on my main tank so fortunately I haven't had any outbreaks.

 

[tlindsey]

I have powder Methylen Blue, Epsom Salt and Aquarium salt. Have spare seeded sponges in the sump for my 180 gallon.
I learned this from duanes . Also have spare totes small aquariums and heater's.

 

[astrocreep]

I have a 40 breeder that usually winds up being my hospital tank. Run sponge filters in all my tanks so can easily pull one to setup.

If I see a fish acting strange and not eating i tend to just treat as if they have parasites, pull the fish, changing water often and dosing with Metronidazole, and feed very little until they are moving around more

 

[celebrist]

All my media is in lingerie bags or pantyhose (I have gotten some odd looks) so I can set up a spare tank from the garage at the drop of a hat. My quarantine tank is also my grow out so I will buy new additions in the fall when I take my classroom fish back to school and grow them all winter before putting them in the 450. Only meds I always have are Epsom and regular salt. I think I have some prazi left over but I used it as a precaution years ago and I plan on tossing it out when I see it again

 

[duanes]

Since all my tanks are normally on sumps, there is usually at least one without any fish running on the line, but even without fish, the tank (being attached to the sump) is cycled, or there are just a few fish that can easily be moved.
If something needs quarantine, be it new, or sick, the tank is taken off line by closing a valve, and the fish that need to be quarantined put in, I also always have an extra HOB running and seeded somewhere which is then easily transferred to the Q tank.
I keep 50lb bags of salt ready for any simple ick breakouts, and a few other meds like methylene blue.
But in cases that are more serious like some bacterial infections, more often than not, I euthanize, because of the possibility of spreading a epidemic type disease throughout the fish room. It doesn't take much to do serious and long lasting damage, to 20 tanks.
I also don't consider quarantine only to keep bacteria from my current fish.
I add water gradually from the tank the new fish will be moved to, to allow it gradual conditioning of the bacteria already in the tank.
Old fish often have immunity to things new fish do not, and can turn a currently benign bacteria into a virulent epidemic if not acclimatized slowly (I'm not referring to temp, and water parameters here) but instead the normal bacteria that inhabits all tanks, in one form or another.

 

[Lsey81]

I actually have a tote that I keep cycled oxygenated water in...I also keep salt on hand but in the grand scheme of things...I'm ill prepared for serious illness or injury in my fish-cave...most my fish are all kept in individual tanks also tho...with the exception of my Oscar with bluegill and a green terror with Jardini for now

 

[Go_redfish]

I get unwanted and rescue fish fairly regularly plus I've been ordering some lately since I lost most of my chosen stock a few months ago. I keep 4 quarentine tanks running all the time and have spare tanks and equipment in one of my sheds in case i need an extra...or two. I'm chin deep into this hobby tho. For most people, just running an extra filter to throw on to a smaller back up tank works plenty well enough.

 

[astrocreep]

duanes

What is your deciding factor to euthanize? In other words, after what point do you feel there is no coming back?

I recently lost two fish i bought from the fish store, very nice looking GT fry. I quarantined and treated them with Metro for a week before introducing them to a community fry tank. Everything was fine for another few days, but then noticed one not eating, gulping for air so i removed and within hours was dead. Two days later the other fish was same situation and I decided to put it down.

Now at least a week later one of my personal fry is having trouble, but all others seem fine. Lethargic, washed out, not interested in food, didnt fight me netting it at all. My gut is telling me its over, but wondering if there are tell-tale signs that a fish has reached a point of no return.....