Quarantine tank

[nikon70]

Hi,

I've finally decided to do a little tank for my tykes i buy from the shop and for the plants.

can i use some gravel from my existing tank and water to pre-cycle my quarantine tank? also by putting the filter in my current tank to get bacteria in it then putting in my quarantine tank?

then what do i need to do with the fish in there? medicate them? how long should i leave them in there?

and anything else i should know before i start ?

was looking at a 8gallon tank is this enough?

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

8 gallons is plenty big for a quarantine tank. As long as you keep it running with a fish to keep the bacteria colonies alive. If you use gravel from an existing tank and a filter from an existing tank, then you have skipped the cycle, although you will possibly still have some start-up algae problems.

It is best to quarantine new fish for a couple of weeks. Ick and internal parasites are the two big things to look out (and medicate) for.

 

[nikon70]

cheers for the reply, i thought as much but just wanted to check, never started a quarantine tank before but as i have moved house i have the space under my tank now

when i buy plants is there anything that i should add to the water to clean them from parasites as i think the last batch i got infected my fish with some wierd worm things (see my other post under diseases - red worms from anus)

is melafix good enough to clean plants, i rinse them in water before hand anyway.

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

So that's what the red worms from anus thread was about. I think I steered clear of that one altogether. Isn't it bad enough all of us plant people use enemas everyday?! I have heard that people dip their new plants in potassium permanganate solutions, but I've never done this myself. I think they may actually do that more to rid the plants of unwanted algae than for parasite removal though. I try at all costs to stay away from chemicals, I guess it's the naturalist in me. I'll probably pay a dear price one day for that. You should probably get someone else's advice on parasite removal treatments. Remember, I'm the one who doesn't bake my gravel I gather in the wild. I just rinse the mud out and dump it in. I think a little bit of nature is not necessarily a bad thing. But parasites are bad no doubt, I just never specifically targeted them for removal.

PS: The enemas are a cheap source of PO4 for our plants, not for our butts.

 

[Lotus]

Great choice on setting up a Q-tank... you won't be sorry you did.

It's usually best to have no gravel in a Q-tank, and just use a cycled filter for it. If you need to break down the tank and sterilize it, it's a lot better without gravel. I usually throw a couple of plant clippings in the tank to give the fish a little decor/cover.

You can medicate, if you want, but it's not necessary if you don't see any signs of disease. I have used something called Paraguard in the Q-tank to help get rid of harmful microorganisms.

If the fish are tank-bred, then 2 weeks may be enough. Some people quarantine for up to 2 months. Some of the bottom feeders like plecos or loaches can seem fine, but then show symptoms of internal parasites a month later.

I treat plants with potassium permanganate solution to get rid of bugs/snail eggs (although I do have snails in almost every tank already).

For the red worms, I would recommend a med for internal parasites. Medicated food is usually the way to go, although some have had success with food soaked in garlic juice.

 

[nikon70]

thanks for the info, actually quite looking forward to this little adventure.

will just have to use trial and error with meds, we get different ones here in the UK.

how small would you normally go for a a Q tank? 3gallon??
as i have seen some posts where people use a 1.5g etc thats tiny.

 

[Lotus]

I think the size of your tank depends on what the size of your main tank is, and what size fish you intend to get. Obviously, you can't keep a 6" fish in 1.5g (6 liter) tank, even for quarantine. We have a 10g for a quarantine tank, and even that seems too small sometimes.

 

[nikon70]

well i was going to use a 10g tank but looks like that has been nominated for a marine trial for a puffer.

so looks like a 3g will have to be purchased

or if i can make space 55g and have a move about. i think i need to move house to have a larger tank. yes thats what ill do ill move house

 

[Lotus]

Just so you know, there aren't any marine puffers that would work in a 10g tank. There are some brackish ones that might, but most of those need something three times the size.

 

[nikon70]

oh.... ok... i love puffers! they are so cute! maybe a clown fish, just to get started then, always wanted a marine tank, just want something small to start dont fancy shelling out 1000's of my hard earnt cash for it all to go horribly wrong.

anyway kinda off topic.

thanks for all the advice and comments tho people!

 

[Lotus]

Yeah, puffers are cool A marine toby (looks like a puffer) needs at least a 50g tank, and most marine puffers need at least 150g (depending on the species). They're certainly not beginner fish.

Freshwater or brackish puffers don't need tanks that large, but they do need a tank to themselves (most other fish will get attacked).

A quarantine tank is still a really good idea if you're still stocking your main tank.

 

[nikon70]

still stocking my main tank even tho its kinda at its brim, but would like to have one just in case, for plants i get and just in case of disease.