Help with setting up QT

[mel_20_20]

I got a 5 gallon Eclipse Mini Bow. I thought I could use it for a quarantine tank.

1. Should a quarantine tank be stocked?
I have two ADFs I could move one or two.
I have five ghost shrimp; could move any.
I could get a snail.

2. Should I put a plant in it?
I have an extra "short sword"

3. Should it have substrate?
I have a 5lb bag of plain gravel I could use.

4. Should it have a structure to hide in?
I have a small terra cotta saucer I could prop
up with a few medium size rocks.

Hope these aren't stupid questions....:headshake2:
Thanks for your help.

[evelyn80]

no such thing as a stupid question when you dont know about it...
if i do remember correctly this the tank your putting the otos and other non salt likeing fish to treat your ich infected tank right? ill answer when i kno this stuff

[mel_20_20]

Well... it turned out that my guppy most probably didn't have ich. I did euthanise him after the third day of his illness, though.

He had bloat/dropsy, lost some scales from his side. The speck he had fell off, but his bloat got worse. I tried epsom salts to relieve the edema. DrVader thought it might possibly be a bacterial infection of some sort. Another one suggested organ failure. I think they are probably both right.

I think that the trauma of the chlorine poisoning stressed him and weakend his immune system and caused an infection and/or he suffered organ dammage leading to failure.

At any rate, the rest of the occupants are well, and there has been no further outbreak or sign of ich.

I do want to set up a hospital tank and quarantine tank, and I don't know if one tank can be both. Please advise. Thanks

[evelyn80]

go ahead and set er up as liked melody! make it look nice my QT tank has all the set-up of a reg tank set-up

[jpappy789]

Try to keep the QT tank as bare as possible to help keep in cleaner, which usually means no substrate and minimal decor. I wouldn't stock in case you need to QT/medicate diseases fish in the future.

[jm1212]

I got a 5 gallon Eclipse Mini Bow. I thought I could use it for a quarantine tank.

1. Should a quarantine tank be stocked?
I have two ADFs I could move one or two.
I have five ghost shrimp; could move any.
I could get a snail.
nope, a QT should not be stocked with any long-term residents. only incoming fish/inverts/other animals

2. Should I put a plant in it?
I have an extra "short sword"
adding a plant only makes treating diseases more complicated. having an unplanted QT tank is one of the many reasons planted tank aquarists set them up.

3. Should it have substrate?
I have a 5lb bag of plain gravel I could use.
no.

4. Should it have a structure to hide in?
I have a small terra cotta saucer I could prop
up with a few medium size rocks.
broken terra cotta pot, plastic plant, thats it

Hope these aren't stupid questions....:headshake2:
Thanks for your help.

comments in red

[mel_20_20]

Thanks for the help:thm:
I'll be setting it up tomorrow. Now I'll be ready for new additions or any sickie that needs to go to the ER.
:)

[gcis]

nope, a QT should not be stocked with any long-term residents. only incoming fish/inverts/other animals

Just a question from a fellow noob.....but if it is not stocked with something how will it stay cycled for the addition of sick fish, etc?

[abcdefghi]

Just a question from a fellow noob.....but if it is not stocked with something how will it stay cycled for the addition of sick fish, etc?

Usually with a QT you will be carrying out daily water changes on a lightly stocked tank, so you should not run into any problems with ammonia.

Or, you can keep a spare filter cartridge in an existing tank. For my QT I keep a spare filter cartridge in a filter on an existing tank, then when I need to set up my QT I take the cartridge and move it over to the QT tank.

[SchizotypalVamp]

A good quarantine setup IMO is a barebottom one with a couple caves and maybe some java moss. I like java moss because it can help keep the water clean and a big chunk of it is easy to move, plus fish love it.

[jpappy789]

Usually with a QT you will be carrying out daily water changes on a lightly stocked tank, so you should not run into any problems with ammonia.

Or, you can keep a spare filter cartridge in an existing tank. For my QT I keep a spare filter cartridge in a filter on an existing tank, then when I need to set up my QT I take the cartridge and move it over to the QT tank.

That's the best way. Keep the Qt tank empty then fill it up and switch over the filter...an instantly cycled Qt tank ready for new/sick fish.

[cephei]

I have an extra filter which I use in my main tank to double upon the filtration because when I had messy piranhas I needed the extra power and the rio filter wasnt enough..

The spare filter is a tetratec designed to facilitate up to 200litres... so it would be more than enough for a 10g QT tank.. My question is would it be cool just to take the filter out of my main tank (the main filter would still be running) and run the spare in a QT or spawning tank if I ever need to?

[gmcb]

Usually with a QT you will be carrying out daily water changes on a lightly stocked tank, so you should not run into any problems with ammonia.

Or, you can keep a spare filter cartridge in an existing tank. For my QT I keep a spare filter cartridge in a filter on an existing tank, then when I need to set up my QT I take the cartridge and move it over to the QT tank.
This is a great thread for us newbies. I wondered too about the filter and how to keep the water cycled. I have a 10 g tank which I set up last night as a hospital tank...I thought I will take the Penquin filter and keep it running in my bigger tank; then, if I need to I can take the filter and put it onto the 10 g. tank. Will that work the same as keeping an extra filter in the larger filter?

[abcdefghi]

This is a great thread for us newbies. I wondered too about the filter and how to keep the water cycled. I have a 10 g tank which I set up last night as a hospital tank...I thought I will take the Penquin filter and keep it running in my bigger tank; then, if I need to I can take the filter and put it onto the 10 g. tank. Will that work the same as keeping an extra filter in the larger filter?

Yep, that will work fine.

[cephei]

Yep, that will work fine.

Cool I guess that applys to my situation to.. :D

[abcdefghi]

Cool I guess that applys to my situation to.. :D

Yep, same thing, as long as your main filter big enough to handle the main tank alone then running the spare filter is the easiest way to keep a QT filter handy (and always helps with the extra filtration on the main tank).

[kalabreeze]

I am also trying to set up hospital tank and I have a question, do you put that spare HOB filter back to the main tank after treating sick fish, is there a risk to contaminate your main tank?

[jpappy789]

When treating the sick fish wait a few weeks after symptoms disappear to make sure the disease is completely eradicated. The filter switch shouldn't have any contamination to give to the main tank then...