quarantine tank question

daniella3d · #1 03-02-2011, 12:50 AM

wow, that's ridiculous.

I don't have anything in my display tank, never had. I always quarantine and always use hiposalinity to kill ick. Never had ick in my tank.

That,s such a BAD advise!

I recently quarantined a copperband butterfly fish that was very skinny. In quarantine I had the chance to acclimate the fish properly, treat it with prazipro for flukes and internal worms, and get him to eat food and fatten up, before I put it in my main tank. Without quarantine the fish would be dead. It is totaly ridiculous to assume that all tank have disease and that is a unavoidable thing. Can't believe this nonsense.

Not only quarantine does NOT stress the fish but it give the fish the possibility to acclimate withou being harrassed by other fish. Great time to get it to eat properly and to treat if needed and it is stupid to risk introducing marine velvet and kill ALL fish in the tank.

I have never lost a fish from quarantine! if you do, it,s probably because you don't do it right and have a tank that is not cycled and full of ammonia. There are ways to do it right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phreezee

IMO dont waste your time with a QT. You will inevitably catch something that ends up in your display. Concentrate on diet and health and the fish will fight off most ailments. The process of quarantining usually just creates stress and the fish ends up dying anyway.

mark · #2 03-02-2011, 01:16 PM

Amazing how fast ammonia can built up so test for, but easily handled by frequent water changes and again you don't need LR.

fishytime · #3 03-02-2011, 01:50 PM

IMO a 10g is way to small to quarantine much of anything.....and even a 20 is too small to quarantine tangs.....I briefly used a 33g as a q-tank and even that was too small for tangs...........the fish were extremely nervous and stressed and with nothing but a single piece of rock the fish never felt secure enough to start eating....I then stopped using a q-tank as I felt that the extra added stress of a) the size of the tank and lack of hiding places and b) having to chase/net/move the fish another time was not worth it.... JME

ponokareefer · #4 03-02-2011, 03:52 PM

You should look at a quarantine tank that is 25% of the size of your tank that the fish will end up in. A 10 gallon tank should be good enough for a main tank that is 40 gallons or smaller. I have a 29 gallon for my 125 gallon main tank. It is just under the 25% rule. Larger fish should be kept in larger tanks, so the size of the quarantine tank should go up with it. What is the size of your main tank? If you are putting in smaller fish to start with (least aggressive/smaller fish should be added first to a new setup), the 10 gallon should be fine.

Baldy · #5 03-02-2011, 04:07 PM

The main tank is a 75
gal. Unfortunately with everything that I have bought to switch my tank over to saltwater, a new tank that will be used intermittently just for quarantine purposes is not in the budget. I have an unused 10 gal with everything I need. As well, I don't have space for another setup. it is only going to be used for a couple of clowns.

This thread is getting off topic though. My original question was regarding whether I needed live rock to maintain the tank through the initial quarantine.

ponokareefer · #6 03-02-2011, 04:14 PM

A couple of clowns should be fine in a 10 gallon. Just make sure you do regular water changes, test for ammonia and don't overfeed. If there is food floating around after 5 minutes, you've overfed and cut back next time.

VFX · #7 03-02-2011, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

My original question was regarding whether I needed live rock to maintain the tank through the initial quarantine.

No you don't need live rock as long as you follow the advice given regarding water changes, siphoning out uneaten food & fish waste and a few hiding places for the fish.

In fact you will kill or contaminate your live rock if you medicate your QT tank.

/

ponokareefer · #8 03-02-2011, 04:56 PM

I have a few smaller pieces of live rock in my quarantine that is there permanently. If I ever treat anything in quarantine, the rock would be removed and completed dried out for months to ensure whatever disease that was in the system dies on the rock as well. Otherwise the rock is no good for another system ever again.

As VFX pointed out though, it is not a necessity. I just had extra rock rubble that I used.

daniella3d · #9 03-04-2011, 02:19 AM

Yes you do if you want to avoid ammonia. As you just said, it can raise really fast and without liverock, you would need to change water up to twice a day or more, depending on the size of the aquarium and the bioload. I never change the water in my QT...never have to. I just fill up the water evaporation and check the KH to make sure the PH is stable.

You don,t need liverock but without it you really risk losing your fish from ammonia poisoning. your choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

Amazing how fast ammonia can built up so test for, but easily handled by frequent water changes and again you don't need LR.

globaldesigns · #10 03-02-2011, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

wow, that's ridiculous.

I don't have anything in my display tank, never had. I always quarantine and always use hiposalinity to kill ick. Never had ick in my tank.

That,s such a BAD advise!

I recently quarantined a copperband butterfly fish that was very skinny. In quarantine I had the chance to acclimate the fish properly, treat it with prazipro for flukes and internal worms, and get him to eat food and fatten up, before I put it in my main tank. Without quarantine the fish would be dead. It is totaly ridiculous to assume that all tank have disease and that is a unavoidable thing. Can't believe this nonsense.

Not only quarantine does NOT stress the fish but it give the fish the possibility to acclimate withou being harrassed by other fish. Great time to get it to eat properly and to treat if needed and it is stupid to risk introducing marine velvet and kill ALL fish in the tank.

I have never lost a fish from quarantine! if you do, it,s probably because you don't do it right and have a tank that is not cycled and full of ammonia. There are ways to do it right.

Actually, I don't waste my time either with a QT... As I have stated many times, I don't believe in it, and in many ways doing a QT can stress livestock out more than its worth. Basically the less you fiddle with things, IMO the better.

So, I too recommend not using a QT, but as others stated, to each their own. This will be something that you will have to decide on yourself.

I don't think you can say that is bad advice, it is open to interpretation and to what one decides they want to do.