Hi, I've been wanting to get some neons or some other small colorful fish for my 55g tank, but since everything has been great for over 8 months (no diseases or spikes in ammonia) I'm worried about introducing anything to it. I don't have any tank I can use for a quarantine tank, so I was wondering could I just put Melafix in with the new fish for the first week so nothing gets brought in or would that have it's own set of problems?
Adding additional fish, worried about disease.
- Thread starter djk0379
- Start date
I know people are going to go EEEEK when I say this but I've never quarantined any of my fish.So far (touch wood) I am safe.I buy from one shop where I know the staff and I've never seen more than a couple of dead fish in the tanks in the 6-7 years I've been going to the place.They will not sell if there is something wrong with the fish either.
My advice is to find yourself a good local shop and get to know them and how they look after the fish.Always buy healthy looking fish with no deformities,good colour and equilibrium.A fish should be able to hold position without effort.If it is constantly sinking or floating upward and has to work overly hard to do normal stuff don't buy it.If you see more than a few in the same tank doing the same sort of thing don't buy from that tank.Select only the healthiest fish.
I always pick out the one fish I want.I know it may be a little hard with Neons but when they are all in the bag have a look and make sure they are all good and that catching them hasn't damaged their fins.Only hand over the cash when you're sure you've got what you want.
When you get them home make sure your fish have been fed well so they leave the new fish alone and then turn the lights off and float the bag to equalise temperature for 30 mins.Check the tank water and bag water are the same PH and if necessary top up the bag with tank water in small doses every half hour to equalise the PH.You're aiming to eliminate all possible stress on the new arrivals as stress at this point will knock their immune systems down somewhat.If you have equalised the PH properly you can then release them.I just usually empty the whole bag,water and all,into my tank.
Hope this helped.Good luck.
My advice is to find yourself a good local shop and get to know them and how they look after the fish.Always buy healthy looking fish with no deformities,good colour and equilibrium.A fish should be able to hold position without effort.If it is constantly sinking or floating upward and has to work overly hard to do normal stuff don't buy it.If you see more than a few in the same tank doing the same sort of thing don't buy from that tank.Select only the healthiest fish.
I always pick out the one fish I want.I know it may be a little hard with Neons but when they are all in the bag have a look and make sure they are all good and that catching them hasn't damaged their fins.Only hand over the cash when you're sure you've got what you want.
When you get them home make sure your fish have been fed well so they leave the new fish alone and then turn the lights off and float the bag to equalise temperature for 30 mins.Check the tank water and bag water are the same PH and if necessary top up the bag with tank water in small doses every half hour to equalise the PH.You're aiming to eliminate all possible stress on the new arrivals as stress at this point will knock their immune systems down somewhat.If you have equalised the PH properly you can then release them.I just usually empty the whole bag,water and all,into my tank.
Hope this helped.Good luck.
I don't always quarantine my fish either. Where i usually buy my fish they quarantine them for two weeks and i have never ever bought a sick fish from them. I check the fish over well in the tank and in the bag. I acclimatize them then net them out and let them go. As far as the melafix goes the label states to add with new fish. I don't. Only when i know there is a problem. Now if i happen upon a fish from a chain store i always quarantine. A small 5 gal tank is great for this. It does not take up much room and is easy to set up. I keep x-tra filter media in my canisters and HOB to use in the filter for quarantine. It has worked for me.
Ok, I've just seen it mentioned too many times of this happening.
I do buy my fish from a small fish store locally here and have never had a problem, just didn't want to bring anything in since everything has been so good so far.
I did once buy a tank for a quarantine tank (an on sale nanocube) but it very quickly turned into a dwarf puffer tank, anyways thanks for the answers, I'll just look closely at what I get and keep an eye out for anything afterwards so I can get a jump on any problems quickly.
I do buy my fish from a small fish store locally here and have never had a problem, just didn't want to bring anything in since everything has been so good so far.
I did once buy a tank for a quarantine tank (an on sale nanocube) but it very quickly turned into a dwarf puffer tank, anyways thanks for the answers, I'll just look closely at what I get and keep an eye out for anything afterwards so I can get a jump on any problems quickly.
I always quarantine new fish. When you consider the potential cost of replacing all the fish in your tank, as well as the sadness of having killed all your fish, the cost of a simple quarantine setup outweighs the cost of restocking. Of course, this is just my opinion.
Melafix won't really help prevent anything.
You could perhaps do a dip for the new fish, but that can be stressful on them. Seachem's Paraguard is often recommended for dips or for quarantine tanks.
Melafix won't really help prevent anything.
You could perhaps do a dip for the new fish, but that can be stressful on them. Seachem's Paraguard is often recommended for dips or for quarantine tanks.
No one actually said it...but a 2-3+ week quarentine of the new fish is usually the best way to make sure you dont introduce any nasties to the tank, which is a VERY valid concern coming from any tank (even if its less of a risk if you checked out the fish well, the store quarentines etc...there's still a risk) Once you've had it happen...you'll realize how stupid it was of you to buy that new fish that wiped out the whole tank. If you have the space, I think most people would agree that the best idea is to quarentine new fish.
For $10 you can buy a 2 1/2 gallon with glass top, for another $10 you can buy a small Whisper 10 HOB filter which you can hang on your main tank when you're not using it for QT to keep it cycled at all times. When you get new fish, you can fill the 2 1/2, pop the filter on this tank, throw a small, cheap ornament, clay planter or some plants (real or fake) in and quarantine your fish without any worries. After at least 2 weeks and preferably more, you can move the fish into your main tank, move the filter back over as well and stow the 2 1/2 away until the next time. 