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Quarantine tank


Phillip
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What does everyone use for a quarantine tank? Am I just supposed to get a separate aquarium and leave it running when no fish are in it? We just got some guppies and put them in our tank and someone suggested we should put them in a quarantine tank first. Not sure how to go about it. 

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*Not An Expert*
 

some people have a permanent tank, some use a temporary tote or tank. I didn’t used to have a quarantine (QT) tank, but I am a full believer in them now. My fish survival rate has increased dramatically since I started using one. It could also prevent you from killing lots of your older established fish when you introduce a new fish that has disease. I think there are a couple of ways to look at this.  

If this is a brand new tank then you have little to lose introducing new fish so maybe it’s not a big deal. And you just treat all the fish once you get them.  But since it is a new tank you may start losing fish to disease before you get it fully stocked  

on the other hand even if it is a new tank and it’s 55 gallons, but one of your little fish is sick and you need treat with meds, treating 55 gallons with meds takes more meds and is more expensive than treating a 10 gallon tank. 

 If you get a QT tank I would highly recommend a 10g. All the meds come in 10g dosing packs. I could only fit a 5g in my tank stand (didn’t have anywhere to put one) and I really wish it was 10. 
 

I use my QT tank to quarantine all my new fish   I alsO use it to treat fish that end up looking sick later. With QT this happens less frequently, but have definitely saved a couple fish from wasting disease. This way. Mine is always set up and running. I have some Java fern and hornwort in there and some snails live in there all the time to keep the cycle going. Good luck

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We have a 36 gallon. So far we have 6 zebra danios and 3 guppies. We plan on adding a couple more community fish. I don’t mind getting another tank, just not sure what to do when we aren’t quarantining. An of course I already want another tank, so maybe it’s not a bad idea to get one. 

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Check out Irene's video for Aquarium Co-op. I think it's really smart, and I now have this setup. I bought 2x5g tanks and 2x10g tanks and set them up for quarantine, but unfortunately I have aquascaped and stocked them! Now, I've got an extra sponge filter in my main display tank just for this purpose and use a storage bin. Not really interested in stocking a storage bin 🙂

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29 minutes ago, AquaAggie said:

*Not An Expert*
 

some people have a permanent tank, some use a temporary tote or tank. I didn’t used to have a quarantine (QT) tank, but I am a full believer in them now. My fish survival rate has increased dramatically since I started using one. It could also prevent you from killing lots of your older established fish when you introduce a new fish that has disease. I think there are a couple of ways to look at this.  

If this is a brand new tank then you have little to lose introducing new fish so maybe it’s not a big deal. And you just treat all the fish once you get them.  But since it is a new tank you may start losing fish to disease before you get it fully stocked  

on the other hand even if it is a new tank and it’s 55 gallons, but one of your little fish is sick and you need treat with meds, treating 55 gallons with meds takes more meds and is more expensive than treating a 10 gallon tank. 

 If you get a QT tank I would highly recommend a 10g. All the meds come in 10g dosing packs. I could only fit a 5g in my tank stand (didn’t have anywhere to put one) and I really wish it was 10. 
 

I use my QT tank to quarantine all my new fish   I alsO use it to treat fish that end up looking sick later. With QT this happens less frequently, but have definitely saved a couple fish from wasting disease. This way. Mine is always set up and running. I have some Java fern and hornwort in there and some snails live in there all the time to keep the cycle going. Good luck

I guess that was my question: how do I keep it cycled when there or no fish being quarantined? I’d love to have a planted tank. Just keep some snails in there?

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Just now, Phillip said:

I guess that was my question: how do I keep it cycled when there or no fish being quarantined? I’d love to have a planted tank. Just keep some snails in there?

That’s what I do. Works for me so far. Just don’t forget to feed them. 

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9 minutes ago, Theresa_M said:

Check out Irene's video for Aquarium Co-op. I think it's really smart, and I now have this setup. I bought 2x5g tanks and 2x10g tanks and set them up for quarantine, but unfortunately I have aquascaped and stocked them! Now, I've got an extra sponge filter in my main display tank just for this purpose and use a storage bin. Not really interested in stocking a storage bin 🙂

 use

Great video and I like the idea of not having to  stock it when it’s not in use!  Since I don’t have a spare sponge filter running this time do I just cross my fingers and hope for the best??

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Others may have a different opinion and that's ok. We all learn from the mistakes we've made and successes we've had through our own experiences. It sounds like time isn't on your side. I think at this point, just keep a good eye on things - your water parameters and symptoms of disease - and in the meantime get yourself some quarantine meds. At the first sign of disease, I'd treat the whole tank. Depending on what it is you're dealing with, it could be highly contagious to your other fish and you should just assume that everyone has it. Like I said, others will have different opinions and I'm just telling you what has worked for me.

2 minutes ago, Phillip said:

Great video and I like the idea of not having to  stock it when it’s not in use!  Since I don’t have a spare sponge filter running this time do I just cross my fingers and hope for the best??

 

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I have a spare 10 gallon that I turn into a QT tank when needed. I simply just put a filter in one of my cycled tanks, and then pull the filter out and put it in the QT tank when I get new fish, this allows instant adding of fish. 

@H.K.Luterman has a great idea with a plastic tub. Here is a video Irene did on the same cheap and easy way for quarinting:

 

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