Help with quarantine?

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

Ok so my 20 gallon long planted tank is cycled, and I plan on getting a betta fish for it, but I want to make sure that I do everything properly. 
 

Is it ok to put a betta fish in a planted tank that isn’t balanced yet? 

I wasn’t sure if the plants melting would be considered a “habitat change” and stress out the fish, especially if a plant dies and I’d have to remove it. 
 

Can I “quarantine” fish in my main display planted tank? 

I know it wouldn’t be quarantine technically, so I guess I’m asking if I could dose the medication trio in my main tank? I don’t know if it’s a good idea or if it will affect whether or not I could put fish in that tank I the future. Would the medicine affect the plants or beneficial bacteria? I just figured since my main tanks already cycled and if the medications are safe for plants and bacteria it might be worth considering? 

 

For an actual quarantine tank does it need to be cycled?

I’ve read some conflicting information about this. Some say medication will kill beneficial bacteria so it’d be pointless to cycle the tank and to do frequent water changes instead. Others say medication will not affect beneficial bacteria and not to do water changes as it will affect the medicine dosages and what not. Thoughts? 

How to properly acclimate fish?

I’ve seen many people say to float and drip acclimate, but I saw one person say that drip acclimation could be harmful for fish that are shipped. Something about as soon as the bag is opened the CO2 releases and causes the ph to rise and then the ammonia becomes deadly or something? Does that only applies to fish that are shipped? Should I just float or drip acclimate too? 
 

Normal vs abnormal betta fish behavior?

Im very paranoid about not being able to recognize whether or not my fish is stressed or sick. What behaviors should I expect from my betta fish if it’s happy and healthy? What behaviors should I be concerned about? I know that once I add the fish to the tank it might be stressed, but how long is too long for it to be stressed out do to it’s rehoming? I’m going to do more research on this before I get the betta fish but I figured I’d also ask while I’m here.

 

Is it ok to not feed the fish for the first week while in quarantine? 

I know it’s one of the steps for medicating the fish, but I just wanted to triple check and make sure that’s safe? 
 

Should I bother trying to raise kh?

the kh in my tank is super low <1 and the gh is really high. Should I try to raise kh? I know most people say that messing with gh or kh can cause more headaches than they’re worth and not to worry about it, but just as many people say that kh that low is dangerous. Thoughts? 

Thanks in advance :)

[Flumpweesel]

Any other fish in the tank?

[HillstreamBoy]

Better leave the plant in to help the tank cycle

quarantine tank does not need to be cycled the bacteria dies anyway from some medication

you dont feed the fish in quarantine normaly and if yes you do a little because the tank isn't cycled

it applies for shipped fish, just drip aclimate for store bought fish

[Flumpweesel]

If no other fish no reason to use separate quarantine tank as no population to protect. Unless to save on meds you have a smaller vessel you could use.

I can't comment on the meds I don't use them as they aren't available to me.  

 

[HillstreamBoy]

fish can eat dirrecly when you put them in the tank others need time it depends  on the fish

tipicaly betta fish by the next day they are fine, if a fish eats and is curius and moves around it is fine 

fish in quarantine feed them in the middle of the week and then at the end 

i don't quarantine fish when i get them, i feed them like other fish for 2 weeks and do water changes. after the 2 weeks i quarantine if i see bad things for a week and in quarantine i don't feed 

[Flumpweesel]

I have never used drip accumulation I collect from store normally so I just let the bag float then when the temps feel about right net the fish in (nasty bag water discarded). If the fish has been in there bag a long time the nasty bag water will probably be more stress than a temp change. Most fish are pretty ok as long as it's a move to better water

[HillstreamBoy]

don't bother with kh just put a handfull  of crashed coral and don't think about it

[Flumpweesel]

I always feed fish when I get them ( not immediately but when I do the normal feed) eating is a good test of health and then I know when they last ate. If I need to stop to treat something at least I know how long they are going to be hungry for. 

Oh and don't over think the plant moving it won't bother them fish it will just think it's in a new bit of the pond. As long as it still has something to mess about, hide and rest in.

That plant might bounce back yet.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Flumpweesel
Correction

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/22/2021 at 12:53 PM, HillstreamBoy said:quarantine tank does not need to be cycled the bacteria dies anyway from some medication

Thank you so much for the helpful information! So if if the quarantine tank isn’t cycled how do you prevent ammonia build up? I’ve heard you don’t want to do water changes while medicating but how else would you keep ammonia down?

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/22/2021 at 12:59 PM, Flumpweesel said:

If no other fish no reason to use separate quarantine tank as no population to protect. Unless to save on meds you have a smaller vessel you could use.

I can't comment on the meds I don't use them as they aren't available to me.  

 

Thank you so much for this helpful information! Currently there are no fish in the tank, the one I’d be quarantining would be a betta fish. If I used medication in my main tank that was safe for plants and bacteria would that prevent me from getting future fish? I only ask because all the guides I’ve seen about setting up quarantine tanks say to thoroughly disinfect quarantine tanks after use, which I was confused about because what is there to worry about since the medication should get rid of anything harmful? Obviously I can’t disinfect my main tank after so would that mean I couldn’t get more fish in the future? 

[Flumpweesel]

Disinfecting is good practice for storage, so you know it's clean and nothing is sitting dormant in there waiting for a new chance. If you have to medicate your main fish tank you would just give it a good couple of cleans (gravel vac and filters) some big water changes and generally you are fine to restock.

As I mentioned I don't have access to meds most people use on here so I can't give a best practice for them.  Maybe worth asking the question " 1st Betta no other fish should I use the quanteen trio " and see what other Betta keepers say.  Sorry I just don't want to give the wrong advice. 

You are being so much more careful than most on a first fish 

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/23/2021 at 11:54 AM, Flumpweesel said:

Disinfecting is good practice for storage, so you know it's clean and nothing is sitting dormant in there waiting for a new chance. If you have to medicate your main fish tank you would just give it a good couple of cleans (gravel vac and filters) some big water changes and generally you are fine to restock.

As I mentioned I don't have access to meds most people use on here so I can't give a best practice for them.  Maybe worth asking the question " 1st Betta no other fish should I use the quanteen trio " and see what other Betta keepers say.  Sorry I just don't want to give the wrong advice. 

You are being so much more careful than most on a first fish 

Ok thank you so much for the help! I just want to make sure I’m 1000% prepared for anything and everything just to be safe. Thanks again! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

While in qt, you should check ammonia and nitrite/nitrate. If you’re medicating them then I often will put in some water conditioner like Fritz or prime every day. When not waiting for medication periods I change water frequently sometimes daily if not every other day while they are in qt. I often use aquarium salt particularly for livebearers. 

[Hobbit]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:06 PM, BeginnerFishKeeper said:

If I used medication in my main tank that was safe for plants and bacteria would that prevent me from getting future fish? I only ask because all the guides I’ve seen about setting up quarantine tanks say to thoroughly disinfect quarantine tanks after use, which I was confused about because what is there to worry about since the medication should get rid of anything harmful? Obviously I can’t disinfect my main tank after so would that mean I couldn’t get more fish in the future? 

You can definitely get other fish after “quarantining” a fish and treating it in your main tank. Obviously you won’t want to quarantine the new fish in the main tank—they’ll need their own quarantine tank where they’re separate from your healthy fish. The only time you wouldn’t want to put new fish in the main tank is if your first fish has a nasty disease that you aren’t able to treat. Then that bacteria/parasite may still be living in the water, and you’d need to wait at least two weeks after the fish died to make sure the bug dies, too. Some people wait longer to be even safer. Others would tear down the tank and disinfect everything at that point. It just depends on how safe you want to be.

On 10/22/2021 at 2:20 PM, BeginnerFishKeeper said:

Is it ok to put a betta fish in a planted tank that isn’t balanced yet? 

I wasn’t sure if the plants melting would be considered a “habitat change” and stress out the fish, especially if a plant dies and I’d have to remove it. 

I have heard of some bettas who are very sensitive to environmental changes, and others who don’t care one bit. You may just have to see what your betta is like!

On 10/22/2021 at 2:20 PM, BeginnerFishKeeper said:

Normal vs abnormal betta fish behavior?

Im very paranoid about not being able to recognize whether or not my fish is stressed or sick. What behaviors should I expect from my betta fish if it’s happy and healthy? What behaviors should I be concerned about? I know that once I add the fish to the tank it might be stressed, but how long is too long for it to be stressed out do to it’s rehoming? I’m going to do more research on this before I get the betta fish but I figured I’d also ask while I’m here.

This is a tough one. Honestly it’s really hard to tell until you have some experience watching different fish. There’s a fine line between happy-active vs frantic-active, or laziness vs sluggishness. Generally if your fish is eating and exploring, those are good signs. Fish do sleep though, so expect that it will be “laying” somewhere unmoving once in a while. You should always see their gills moving in a gentle, regular pattern.

Bad signs include constantly clamped fins, rapid or large gill movements, unusual pale color, spending all their time at the top of the tank, or all their time at the bottom.

In terms of how long it’s normal to be stressed, I know my betta took almost a week before he would eat, even though he didn’t look out of sorts.

The good news is if you’re not sure you can take a video, upload it to YouTube, and post it here, and others can chime in whether they think it looks normal. 😊

On 10/23/2021 at 2:54 PM, Flumpweesel said:

You are being so much more careful than most on a first fish

I agree! And I do want to add that you can do everything right and something may still go wrong. You seem like quite a planner, which is awesome! I just don’t want you to get discouraged if something happens, because things happen to all of us, even the most experienced. You will be far more prepared than 99% of new fish owners, so you are off to a great start. At some point you just have to dive in and get your hands wet. 😃

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/23/2021 at 8:07 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

While in qt, you should check ammonia and nitrite/nitrate. If you’re medicating them then I often will put in some water conditioner like Fritz or prime every day. When not waiting for medication periods I change water frequently sometimes daily if not every other day while they are in qt. I often use aquarium salt particularly for livebearers. 

I see, thank you so much for your response! 

[BeginnerFishKeeper]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:10 PM, Hobbit said:

You can definitely get other fish after “quarantining” a fish and treating it in your main tank. Obviously you won’t want to quarantine the new fish in the main tank—they’ll need their own quarantine tank where they’re separate from your healthy fish. The only time you wouldn’t want to put new fish in the main tank is if your first fish has a nasty disease that you aren’t able to treat. Then that bacteria/parasite may still be living in the water, and you’d need to wait at least two weeks after the fish died to make sure the bug dies, too. Some people wait longer to be even safer. Others would tear down the tank and disinfect everything at that point. It just depends on how safe you want to be.

I have heard of some bettas who are very sensitive to environmental changes, and others who don’t care one bit. You may just have to see what your betta is like!

This is a tough one. Honestly it’s really hard to tell until you have some experience watching different fish. There’s a fine line between happy-active vs frantic-active, or laziness vs sluggishness. Generally if your fish is eating and exploring, those are good signs. Fish do sleep though, so expect that it will be “laying” somewhere unmoving once in a while. You should always see their gills moving in a gentle, regular pattern.

Bad signs include constantly clamped fins, rapid or large gill movements, unusual pale color, spending all their time at the top of the tank, or all their time at the bottom.

In terms of how long it’s normal to be stressed, I know my betta took almost a week before he would eat, even though he didn’t look out of sorts.

The good news is if you’re not sure you can take a video, upload it to YouTube, and post it here, and others can chime in whether they think it looks normal. 😊

I agree! And I do want to add that you can do everything right and something may still go wrong. You seem like quite a planner, which is awesome! I just don’t want you to get discouraged if something happens, because things happen to all of us, even the most experienced. You will be far more prepared than 99% of new fish owners, so you are off to a great start. At some point you just have to dive in and get your hands wet. 😃

Thank you so much for the extremely helpful information! I first realized that research might not always beat experience when I got my plants, I was so confident about being able to have them thrive but oh was I wrong haha. Although that helped me realize I shouldn't expect everything to go according to plan and to be ready in case anything might go off the rails. Thanks so much again for the help!!!