I have a 36 gal FOWLR tank that I am just starting. My plan is to have at the most 4-6 small (2"-3") fish and possibly one anemone plus a cleaner crew. I plan on introducing 1 fish every 6-8 weeks as recommended. I have heard so much about quarantine, freshwater dips, etc... to introduce fish into tanks. Is a quarantine tank a must? If so would one of those 5-10 gal prepackaged kits work(sold at LFS and wal-mart)? How do you maintain a quarantine tank? Do you need LR, LS and a skimmer like a regular tank? Or would a freshwater dip be satisfactory. Once my limit of fish is in the tank I wont be adding anymore and wont be upgrading to a bigger tank for years(want to master this setup first).
Quarantine a must?
- Thread starter armyvet
- Start date
IMO a Q-tank is a must- especially after spending all those bucks to get a tank up and running!
It needn't be fancy. Any sort of water receptacle (aquarium, large garbage can, large rubbermaid tote) with a sponge filter and a heater and you're set. Big PVC pipe sections for fish security but nothing in the way of live rock, and certainly no substrate. You want to be able to feed often and see to remove the uneaten bits.
It is a simple, simple process to keep new fish in there and can save you untold heartache and aggravation.
It needn't be fancy. Any sort of water receptacle (aquarium, large garbage can, large rubbermaid tote) with a sponge filter and a heater and you're set. Big PVC pipe sections for fish security but nothing in the way of live rock, and certainly no substrate. You want to be able to feed often and see to remove the uneaten bits.
It is a simple, simple process to keep new fish in there and can save you untold heartache and aggravation.
Do I use water from my main tank or freshly made SW? Do I test the water like I test the main tank (Ammonia,Nitrites,Etc..)? And lastly, how long do you guy's keep your fish in quarantine and how do you put them in the main tank. Sorry for all the questions, just never done this before. Thanks for all the help.
Weather you are putting the fish into the quaranteen tank or the main tank you must aclimate the fish. When you get a fish home. Put it into a 1 gallon pail with the water from the bag or smaller pail if not enough water from the bag. Float the pail in the tank to which the fish is going to be. Make sure you turn the lights off now( tank lights) so that heat from the lights does not make the water become hot. Depending on how much water is in the pail add 1/4 cup or just say a small fraction of the water currently in the pail. Adding larger amounts later. do so every 10 minutes for a couple hours or more. Some people use a small syphon tube pinched to drip into the pail. By using the pail instead of the plastic bags that the fish may have arrived in you can remove the fish without getting any of the water into the main tank. You do not want to add the water to your tank. does this make sense to you?
If I understand correctly, basically I do not want any water from the LFS to get into my main tank. How long should I keep the fish in the quarantine tank? Just feed regularly and keep lights off, right? Then reacclimate to the main tank when the process is over by putting fish into container of maintank water and letting it sit for a little while then putting fish in tank. Just want to do this right so as not to lose fish. Thanks.
tricksterpup
It's SPRING!!! BUNNIE RABBITS
Most people QT their fish for a few weeks, I would say about 2-3 weeks keeping the guy in your qt tank.
Once the Time is up for your fish is ready to be placed in the main tank, then you must acclimate him.
As for your tank idea, for most newbies, back off anemones. They are very hard to take care of and need proper lighting, such as Metal Halides. They need the right spectrum to thrive properly. They will only thrive in a reef style setup.
jim
Once the Time is up for your fish is ready to be placed in the main tank, then you must acclimate him.
As for your tank idea, for most newbies, back off anemones. They are very hard to take care of and need proper lighting, such as Metal Halides. They need the right spectrum to thrive properly. They will only thrive in a reef style setup.
jim
Its not a must but you'll never know if you need it until something happens. It's never going to be expected, anything could happen and if you have a QT you can at least help the situation, its way better to have one, i mean just a small 10gallon with crushed coral and an emperor will do fine, mines been up for three weeks and algae is growing without any lights, i've used it twice since it was set up, its a great thing to have. Expecially if soemthing happens to a fish and the stores are closed so you can keep it seprate to see what happens.