Quarantine

[skatezen]

I had a fish die on me and it got me thinking about a quarantine tank. So I started researching. I found these 3 articles on RC:

Quarantine Procedures for Clownfish
Quarantine 101
Formalin: Friend or Foe

In a nut shell I found the ultimate procedure to be:
-Formalin dip 1cc per gallon for as long as the fish can sand, no more than 60 minutes.
-Hyposalinity to 1.009 for 4-6 weeks
-After one week in hypo treat with Pipzine for internal parasites for 1-2 weeks to rid internal parasites.

Is this too harsh of a treatment to insure healthy, parasite, ick, free fish? I know to keep all fish in the system this "clean and sanitized" the procedure would have to be preformed on all incoming fish, but some fish most likely wouldn't survive the procedure, so is it even worth it?

If you do QT your fish how do you do it and for what duration?

 

[alrha]

just keep him in the quarantine (with the WC water from the main tank) for about a month. he will have time to eat well (without being harrassed) and regain his strength from all the stress between the ocean and your tank.

you will be able to see if he has parasites or not. if he is healthy, he will be able to keep off the parasites, and they will just die without a host.

 

[marrone]

Unless the fish is sick you shouldn't treat. Just place the fish in a quartine tank or container and watch. If it breaks out with something then treat otherwise the fish can be moved into the main tank.

 

[herman]

For me a quarantine tank is for observation purposes only. I would never treat a fish if I did not see any syptoms. As for saltlevels I keep it the same as my main tank. There is no reason to stress the poor fish any further.

If there is something wrong with the fish - hospital tank. Small tank, fill it with water from main tank, treat the damn thing, observe, back to QT. If all goes well, fish gets to go to main tank.

All tanks run independantly ofcourse....

 

[gforce6]

How long do you observe for new fish?
I also setup 20G High quarantine tank with my main tank water about month ago and I put juv. Imperator two weeks ago. So far I don't see any syptoms. He eats like horse. I am just waiting couple weeks to put in main tank. Oh, I got him from FishTown same day they have the shipment.

Can you also tell me what kind of filteration you are running with quarantine tank and how big.

Thanks,

Jung

 

[herman]

Usually I keep them for 1~2weeks. If their appetite, coloration etc is good I stick them in the main tank. I have had fish in there for up to 1.5 months just in case.

 

[gforce6]

How big is your Quarantine tank and filteration you use?

Do you think I can quarantine med size tang in my 20L tank?

Thanks again,

 

[marrone]

I use either a 22gal or 50gal rubbermaid container and either run a power head or a small filter, just to move the water around and supply water breakage. This can last me for 2-3 weeks as long as I don't over feed the fish.

Depending on the fish and where I got it from I usally quartine for 1-2 weeks, sometimes longer. Usally after 1 week you can see if the fish has ich or is not acting well.

One thing you don't want to do is if you have fish in quartine and it start to not look good move it to your main tank and try and save it. This can lead to a big problem in your main tank and it's better to either treat the fish or just let it die.

 

[herman]

That should be fine as it is only temporary and just for observation. I just use a skimmer with regular waterchanges. My QT is only up when I get new tankmates.

 

[marrone]

How big is your Quarantine tank and filteration you use?

Do you think I can quarantine med size tang in my 20L tank?

Thanks again,

yes just place some rock or something where the fish can hide behind. Also if you can place the tank in an area without alot of light or people coming by. This will give the fish a chance to settle in.

 

[herman]

yes just place some rock or something where the fish can hide behind. Also if you can place the tank in an area without alot of light or people coming by. This will give the fish a chance to settle in.

good point, forgot to add that detail