Minimum setup for 10 gallon Quarantine tank Recommendations

[subramn]

could any one of you share recommended best practices / setup for 10 gallon quarantine tank.

i just bought the tank in black friday sale. need to set it up

 

 

[KBOzzie59]

Option #1:  Leave tank empty until you need it!  If you plan on medicating right away, you will be doing water changes in a couple days anyway.  Maybe keep some quality non living decor for it as well (in case you want to do a heavy salt treatment).

 

Option #2:  Keep it filled to keep it cycled.  I'd go this route only if you only plan to medicate if a problem arises.  The temptation to put fish in that tank will always be there if it has water in it.  Again use quality non living decor.

 

Just my two cents worth.

[subramn]

@KBOzzie59

Thanks. does it need to have hang on back filter / sponge filter or what are the minimum things i need to have it.

1 hang on back filter

1 sponge filter

some gravel substrate

some java moss

small heater

is this ok setup ?

Edited November 30, 2020 by subramn
spelling mistake

[KBOzzie59]

Sponge filter is fine.

I like bare bottom. 

If you do plants try to do them so you can remove if you do a "heavy" salt treatment. 

Yes a heater can help. 

[Garren]

Cory recommended to me to have a black background on my Quarantine tank as it is easier to see any diseases that could pop up. I already had water in it so I just used a black trash bag then cut it to size. 

[subramn]

@Garren B Thank you, so during the quarantine if a fish shows disease symptoms or passes away even though it arrived alive , does it indicate some inherent issue with the fish?

 

[Garren]

I don't have put experience as I have only quarantine my fish one time so far. I will let someone with a little more experience answer you question.

I can however say it is nice to have a quarantine tank to run your new fish through the med trio. This will  help reduce your risk of bring in a disease to your main tanks. 

[subramn]

@Garren B thank you sir. this forum is so much helpful for newbies like me.

[Andy's Fish Den]

I have a 10 and 20 gallon tall tanks that I use for quarantine. I don't keep them running all the time, I only fill with water when I'm going to need them. The two different sizes are for depending upon what fish, size, quantity etc. I keep sponge filters running in a couple tanks to use when I set the tanks up. The tanks are bare bottom, But I have painted the bottom and back, I will put some caves, plastic plants etc in there to give the fish some security. A lot of times, the tanks get set up right away, like when I come home from a LFS with an unexpected purchase, but if I know I'll be getting fish, like if I order some online, I will set up before and have it running a couple days. Main reason I don't keep them running all the time is so that I'm not tempted to turn them into a permanent tank, and if I have to use both of them, one has to be setup on a table that is used for other things in my fish room.

[gardenman]

I keep a ten gallon tank set up all of the time and somewhat populated to use as a quarantine tank. It's got both a sponge filter and a small HOB. Right now it has an adult pair of Neon swordtails and three young neon swordtails and a youngish Super Red Bristlenose pleco. It's heavily planted, probably too heavily planted, I should thin it out a bit. By keeping the tank up and running I keep it cycled, the fish in there are doing well so there's no major water quality issue. The fish in there are all more or less expendable should something drastic happen with any new fish that go into quarantine. I've got over a hundred Neon Swordtails with them churning out more by the minute and over thirty Super Red Bristlenose plecos with my most prolific male sitting on a new clutch of eggs in his cave now.

If you reset a tank each time you buy a new fish/fishes then something happens, you won't know for sure if it was a problem with the setup or the fish. By keeping the tanks lightly stocked with what are to me expendable fishes if need be, I can be sure it's not the tank or setup that's at fault. Any new fish that's small enough to go into a ten gallon tank for quarantine shouldn't bother the adult swordtails or the pleco. They're all pretty laid back fish that don't bother anyone else either, so it's a good colony to use to keep the tank cycled.

Some infected fish won't display any outward symptoms as they've developed immunity to whatever they're carrying, so having a few expendable, presumably not immune fish exposed to them in a controlled setting will let me know if they're carrying anything. Many years ago (maybe 40?) I bought a very nice koi, about six inches long, at a very good price in a local petshop. It looked absolutely perfect, no outward signs of disease, but it carried something lethal to every other fish it came into contact with. I had it in a 29 gallon tank to start with and everything else in that tank died. I moved it to a smaller tank for treatment. I treated it for everything and it still seemed fine, but any fish it came into contact with died within a few days of exposure. Not only that, but even after a thorough cleaning and even bleaching of the tanks it was in anything new added would die. It wasn't just me either. The petshop had the same issue with anything that went into the tank had housed the koi. I finally just drained the tanks and parked them for a year and then when I reused them whatever had been there had finally died.  

I've got six red and six blue ramshorn snails coming as my latest order who will hit my quarantine tank for a bit to be sure they're healthy before getting relocated. I've got more than a few pond snails in there already so I know the tank can support snails with no issue. I'll leave the snails in there for a month or so and monitor the other fish to be sure they didn't bring anything then start moving them around. Having a few expendable fish in your quarantine tank can be helpful in determining if the new fish are carrying something they're immune to, but are capable of spreading. I've got tons of neon swordtails and bristlenose plecos so if I should lose them, it's not the end of the world. It's better to find out there's a problem in a small, isolated population though than in a bigger community.

[Kirsten]

I'm planning on doing what Irene recommends and gathering supplies for a cheap 10g clear plastic tote for a quarantine tank. A couple old pieces of plastic decor, keep an extra sponge filter running in an established tank, maybe an extra heater too if it's winter

When I think about buying new fish, I'll fill it up and put in the seeded sponge filter to get it cycled, then dose the fish with all the quarantine trio at once to help clear up any non-symptomatic infections.

[starsman20]

Just now, KBOzzie59

Option #1:  Leave tank empty until you need it!  If you plan on medicating right away, you will be doing water changes in a couple days anyway.  Maybe keep some quality non living decor for it as well (in case you want to do a heavy salt treatment).

 

Option #2:  Keep it filled to keep it cycled.  I'd go this route only if you only plan to medicate if a problem arises.  The temptation to put fish in that tank will always be there if it has water in it.  Again use quality non living decor.

 

Just my two cents worth.

I agree with option 2. That's how I got half my tanks. Needed a quarantine. Kept it full. Added fish. Needed another quarantine tank...... the cycle repeats.

[Streetwise]

I setup some utility tanks, with quarantine as a one of the utility functions. However, they have turned into plant rehab and staging tanks, including for terrestrial cuttings.

[ZoeyFish]

I think it depends on whether you want to create a quarantine tank where you can observe new fish or if you want a medicine tank you put sick fish or if you plan to medicate all new fish.  If you want a tank for just observing fish and you want to have a second tank always up and ready, you could include gravel, plants and whatever else you'd like.  If you're going to always put fish in there with medicine then I think a bare bottom tank with some non-living decorations would be better suited.  Good luck!

[tolstoy21]

I use a simple ten gallon I leave empty until I need it.

I have plastic decor/plants for some cover for fish.

If I can, I try to have an extra, small sponge filter sitting in a tank somewhere, ready to go to drop in the ten gallon when I need to use it.

That's pretty much it. 

When I'm done, I break it all down, clean it out, sterilize sponge filter and drop that  back into a tank to get cycled for next time I use it.

 

[ChefConfit]

I'd keep it bare bottom and empty until you need it. As others have said if it's got water sitting in it the temptation to get fish for it is way to much for any nerm to handle (most of us can barely even resist when we don't have a home ready and waiting for new fish) Keep the sponge filter for it running in another tank so that you always have it cycled and ready to go. 

My quarantine tank is currently holding my juvenile corys that are waiting to sell because my grow out tank is getting too full. 

[Dandy Pearl]

I'd suggest an air stone if using a HOB filter. If you are using a sponge filter, the air stone is included. I top of some type would be good to keep jumpers in, and curious kitty's and other undesirables out. Maybe a light of some type to help with observing the fish.

I'm in the process of setting up my tank, and will be adding these items.

[David Ellsworth]

I use a bare bottom 10 gal with a small sponge filter and a cheap all in one led plastic hood from Walmart. You could set up a spare sponge filter, or put a bag of media in a display tank or sump to seed with beneficial bacteria so it is ready for use. Just sterilize it between uses. Also in an interview with diana walstad, I believe she said if dealing with fish TB or micro bacterium, bleach won't kill it. Isopropyl alcohol won't be stopped by the lipid barrier. Not to scare you, just an fyi.

 

For cover I bought some fake plastic plants, several tall ones and 2 long low ones that are rows of fake grass. This makes the fish feel safer and they can school between the grasses. I've seen a lot of people do pvc elbows 2-3" elbows and straight sections for small caves. 

 

I like the fake stuff because it can all be taken out and bleached, vinegar, or isopropyl alcohol. You can also use meds or salt in the water with fake stuff.

[wandaxr7]

How do I find amounts/measurements of Cory's 3med quarantine liquids to use in a small quarantine tank?

[Jeff]

You really need little as possible in there, so that you can siphon any leftover poop or food, to avoid ammonia. Having minimum clutter also allows you to view the fish better for any kind of disease that might pop up. This is the reason we QT. 
 

Heater, pvc pipe or cave for hiding, and filter. That's it IMO