Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Quarantine: a little survey...

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Quarantine: a little survey...

    Sometimes I'm not a very patient person and I'm always fighting the urge to add new fish directly to my tank.  I'm just curious about the quarantining habits of the rest of you.  Any good stories about how quarantining saved you from disaster?  What about horror stories... a time when impatience had serious consequences?
    0
    more than 3 weeks
    0%
    0
    3 weeks
    0%
    0
    2 weeks
    0%
    0
    1 week
    0%
    0
    usually I don't
    0%
    0

  • #2
    Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

    what do you use as a quarantine tank?  Do you have on continuously set up or do you set one up as soon as you bring new fish home?
    There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

      for years, I had only a single comunity tank in the livingroom and new fish got a 15 minute float before they were released (water & all) into the mixture.

      I payed for it both in lost fish and in $ for massive quanities of meds to treat the entire tank and survivors.

      It is much cheaper and less stressful (on me) to release the new guys into a bare 10g tank and keep / treat them there for 2 weeks.
      'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust ...'
      He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four-year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

        i usually net out the fish after acclimating with a drip line into a bucket.

        but for my zebra and moba tank there are side tanks that i can put the fish into for a week or so before i release them into those tanks. if i buy fish for the zebra tank i quarantine the fish in a breeder net in the planted tank for the frontosa tank i have the shelldweller tank that i use and again fish in the breeder net.

        sometimes i do a little salt bath when they are in the bucket acclimating as well.
        700g Mini-Monster tank

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

          I don't have a quarantine tank. I do have another little 2.5g tank, but I keep that for sick fish. Anyway, at this point I have been very fortunate to get my fish from reliable sources (like eklikewhoa and szidlow) so I have been very confident in the quality. Besides - I am not into top dollar fish at this point so I'm not as paranoid as I would be if I had more exotic breeds.

          Other than that I go through the process of float them for 30 min., then take 25% LFS water out of bag and add my tank water. Let that float for about 10 min. and repeat one more time. Then drain the LFS water into bucket, fish in net and drop them in!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

            Yes, I quarantine ALL the time now. When I first started, I didn't and boy did that end up being a nightmare! $$$ spent in meds and new fish.

            My QT tank is a 20-ish (odd shaped tank) heated to 84 degrees, with a HOB filter. I have a runt angel in there that I can't make myself cull (he's one of my original chain store purchases) to keep the tank cycled. He stays in there during the QT also, because I wouldn't really mind losing him.

            I also quarantine because I'm really bad about buying chainstore fish, esp if they're pearlscale!! It's like I'm an addict. They spend ~ 5-6 weeks in QT. I leave them alone for 2-3 days with just clean water, then they get Parasite Clear for 3 days in a row. Then once a week for 3 more weeks.

            Before I add any QT fish in with the others, I take an established fish and put him in the QT tank. If they're all still fine after a week, then they can all leave QT!

            I also have PimaFix and MelaFix, but I've only had to use those a couple times. The Parasite Clear does a good job at clearing up any nasties the new guys might be harboring. Also, I've never lost a fish in QT after the initial 2-3 day wait. It seems like there either they're healthy enough that once they get some clean water and heat they can thrive, or they were already too far gone...

            Ellen

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

              I'm the same as you, Daisy. I usually quarantine all my fish for about a month, unless I get them from a reputable source, i.e. a person. I quarantine plants, as well, when I have the space. Problem is, my Qtanks usually end up as established tanks! This is the largest cause of my MTS, having to buy another little Qtank, which in turn becomes a "show" tank, which leaves me buying another Qtank. Case in point - the mollies from the bayou. No question that I was going to quarantine them, but then I had to isolate the female (no gill cover) while she was still in quarantine...so I bought a new tank for the 7 others. But in the recent years I've really come to rely on quarantining new fish, just because I've had some of my fish for years, and you really grow attached to them.  
              "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  A lot depends on where the fish are coming from and what tank they're going into.  For instance, if I'm going to an auction I will set up a quarantine tank in advance, but if I'm getting the fish from an individual I know and they look healthy and happy I will usually just float and add them to the tank.  The exception being my Discus tank, absolutely nothing goes in there without at least a three week quarantine.  My normal quarantine tank is a 20 gallon long, if it's busy I have a couple of extra 10's laying around.
                Reasoning with some people is like trying to nail jello to a wall...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                  A lot of good ideas here... I usually try to keep a bare 10 gallon running all the time with just a HOB and some PVC T's and elbows for hiding places.  After three weeks if FCAB (finnage, color, appetite, and behavior) seems right then they get a ticket out of quarantine.  I like to use the slow drip method for acclimation.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                    Well, I'm reviving this thread.  I learned the hard way today about ich.  Two of my tanks have it from a new fish I transferred from one tank to the other.  So I went out and bought myself a ten gallon quarantine/sick tank for all future purchases.  I used existing filter media to seed it.  I put an existing fish of mine in there to keep the cycle going (a guppy).  
                    My first question is how long should the quarantine be for?  I've heard 2-4 weeks.  
                    Secondly, should I treat each fish I purchase, regardless if they have symptoms or not?  I am keeping the tank heated at 82 degrees.    
                    Oh!  Is one guppy enough to keep it cycled?  I was thinking of breeding some snails for my puffer in there as well (those tiny ones that attach to plants).  Will this be okay even though it's a quarantine tank?  
                    If you have any other tips let me know.
                    58G Malawis
                    10G planted

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                      I'm getting ready to setup a new quarantine tank myself! Actually went to village in hopes of one but I left empty handed.

                      I plan on getting at least a 20-30g long for my qt tank though since most of the fish I plan on purchasing from here on out are either colony fish or on the big side. Before I didn't have much trouble with qt because the tank I set up was a colony/species only type tank but now I want to add tankmates.

                      What I got going now is a few powerheads attatched to sponges that are sitting in my wet/dry sumps of the bigger tanks so it is seeding now and also keep my sump well circulated. When it comes time I plan to do 50/50 water from the tank they are planned to go into and just pull the powerhead/sponge from the sump and voila....instant qt tank.

                      For meds I dont think I will be dosing anything other then some salt and warm temps. maybe feed some metro soaked foods for a few days but thats it. As for time I'm thinking about 3wks or more if needed.

                      Keep snails in a different tank if you plan on breeding them, they are sensitive to some of the meds you might have to use in the future and that might kill them causing more problems for you since you propbably wont be able to get all of them out which will cause ammonia spike.

                      What I have seen people use was a bristlenose pleco to keep the tank cycled if you need to keep it running.
                      700g Mini-Monster tank

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                        I don't think you should use your water in the qt tank. The fish you're qting have probably been exposed to many different things in dealers waters, wholesalers waters, etc. You water might have an organism in it that they're just not prepared to fight off. IMO, it's best to use clean water first and then get them used to your fish's water.

                        Ellen

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                          true...
                          700g Mini-Monster tank

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                            makes sense. i never reallly had enough space for a qt tank. and i havent been looking (at least for a few days on buying any fish, given is always great) for new additions with maybe one ex`ception. i might just qt that purchase by puting that in the tank first. then if they are all clear i will add my other guy and we will see what happens.
                            Never fear I is here
                            David Abeles
                            Vice President
                            Greater Houston Aquarium Club

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Quarantine: a little survey...

                              and of course now i will have enough space with my new rack.
                              Never fear I is here
                              David Abeles
                              Vice President
                              Greater Houston Aquarium Club

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X