Quarantine Tank/Sick Tank

[asonitez]

Well one of my little clown fishes is starting to show signs of stress. The Chromis and everything else seems to be doing fine though. I think its because of the evolving water conditions of the tank as it cycles or because I change the filtration to live rock and they have not been coping well. In either case I thought that when I got the baby Clown that he was too young to go in a big tank right away.

This got me started thinking. If I purchased one of those All in one 2.5 or 5 gallon tanks Can I use it as a Sick Tank/Recovery tank? What kind of things would I need to put in the tank to make the fishie feel better. I'm guessing stress coat and perfect water but I'm not sure what else I need in there. I'm going to the LFS after work today or maybe even one of the commercial places because they sell those all in one things that make the task easier. I'm gonna place him in that tank and keep it running with water from the main tank and some sand to seed it with. I'm gonna place my little guy in there to get better and grow stronger change his water often and feed him well. Hopefully he will get better. Later I can use the little tank as a Frag or Coral grow out area or as a holding cell for bad fishes. What you all think?

 

[Anonymous]

It's rather small for a QT in my opinion. 10gal would be a minimum size for up to 2" fish (dilution is the solution to pollution). I would prefer 20-30gal for a beginner. Other than that, nothing more than a HOT filter, heater, and either good quality pre-mixed seawater or natural seawater are what are really needed.

It's not that he's too small to go into a big tank (think about it), it's that the water parameters aren't good enough for him to fight whatever is ailing him. You're going to have the same issues in a QT tank, and honestly, ALL fishes and specimens should be going into quarantine before being placed into a display. Gives them a chance to reacclimate to conditions you provide, you can make sure that they're eating well, and haven't come in already sick.

 

[Snowboarda42]

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/sho ... hp?t=27022

 

[Anonymous]

A quarantine tank does not have to be glass. The glass box is just for our viewing. I think a Rubbermaid tub makes an excellent hospital/quarantine tank. I keep a sponge filter in my sump so when I need to set up the fish ICU, I have an already cycled filter filled with beneficial bacteria ready to go. I also put in some cycled live rock from my sump for more filtration and hiding places. I add rigid air lines to the set up to make sure gas exchange is strong. In my basement, the room air temp is adequate to have a cool temp in the water, which is more beneficial to me because pathogens grow slower in a cooler environment. You may want to accelerate their growth in a quarantine tank, to see if pathogenic organisms are present. If you add a heater, make sure it is small. It is very easy to raise the temp in a small volume very quickly.

Try to feed the highest nutrition foods available to the specimen while it is in ICU. If the fish is not eating, try live food gutloaded with the strongest food you can find.
You can try medications in the ICU. I am not a fan of prophylactic therapy, but some are.

The cool part about using a tub or bucket for the ICU is that when you don't need it, it is great for water changes and storage!