I picked up a 10g tank to use as a hospital/quarantine tank (main tank will be 90g FOWLR). Based on posts I had read on this topic, and the fact that I'd only be quarantining one (sometimes two) fish at a time, I figured this was more than adequate.
But from reading a recent post here about Ich, I learned that ALL the fish in the tank need to be removed, not just the one(s) with obvious symptoms, to not only treat them, but to allow the parasites in the main tank to die a lonely host-less death. Now I'm a little worried and slightly confused.
What size quarantine tank do I really need to temporarily house ALL the fish from a fully stocked 90g? I really hope the answer is not "another 90g"!!! I realize that, in normal circumstances, the number of fish I can have in my tank is based on numerous factors. But is there a bare minimum "X inches of fish per Y gallons of water" stocking rate to use as a guideline?
I mean, at the LFS, I'll see tanks that look like they're about 20g, with a BUNCH of fish in them. That doesn't mean that they could thrive (or even survive) long-term, but apparently there are ways to biologically support that many fish in a relatively small tank. If I upped the quarantine tank to a 15 or 20 gallon, and provided a powerful internal filter and perhaps an airstone, would that be sufficient to house my fish for a month or so?
--Mike
But from reading a recent post here about Ich, I learned that ALL the fish in the tank need to be removed, not just the one(s) with obvious symptoms, to not only treat them, but to allow the parasites in the main tank to die a lonely host-less death. Now I'm a little worried and slightly confused.
What size quarantine tank do I really need to temporarily house ALL the fish from a fully stocked 90g? I really hope the answer is not "another 90g"!!! I realize that, in normal circumstances, the number of fish I can have in my tank is based on numerous factors. But is there a bare minimum "X inches of fish per Y gallons of water" stocking rate to use as a guideline?
I mean, at the LFS, I'll see tanks that look like they're about 20g, with a BUNCH of fish in them. That doesn't mean that they could thrive (or even survive) long-term, but apparently there are ways to biologically support that many fish in a relatively small tank. If I upped the quarantine tank to a 15 or 20 gallon, and provided a powerful internal filter and perhaps an airstone, would that be sufficient to house my fish for a month or so?
--Mike
