I just set up a quarantine/hosptial tank for sick/new fishes. The ph in my QT tank is 7.4, which is consistent with my tap water. The ph in my main tank is 6.9 (I think is got that low due to my adding to much amquel when setting up the tank three months ago - oh well - it is stable now and goes up slowly at each water change. The chem is otherwise good in the tank). The ph at my lfs for most of the fishes is 6.8 to 7.0. My question is if I put a new or sick fish in the QT, will it get too stressed out due to the ph difference. If so, how can I fix the problem. thanks.
Q tank issues
- Thread starter mikedeb
- Start date
In my opinion, you need to acclimate the new fish, and if it is done properly, the stress will be minimized. It also depends on what kind of fish you are getting as some fish can tolerate changes in the water better than other ones.
What I do when I get new fish that are known to be fairly tolerant is, I open the bag and let the bag float in 10 liters or more of water (which I make sure is the same temperature of the aquarium, maybe a bit warmer by a degree or so) to equalize the temp of bag's water with the q-tank's water, I do this for an hour.
During this hour, I take 1/4 cup fulls of the actual water in the quarantine tank and pour that water into the bag every 5-10 mins for a total of an hour. To be on the safe side I test the bag water's PH and temp at the end of the hour to ensure that it is the same as the quarantine tank's water. Then I net the fish out of the bag and put him into my quarantine tank.
What I do when I get new fish that are known to be fairly tolerant is, I open the bag and let the bag float in 10 liters or more of water (which I make sure is the same temperature of the aquarium, maybe a bit warmer by a degree or so) to equalize the temp of bag's water with the q-tank's water, I do this for an hour.
During this hour, I take 1/4 cup fulls of the actual water in the quarantine tank and pour that water into the bag every 5-10 mins for a total of an hour. To be on the safe side I test the bag water's PH and temp at the end of the hour to ensure that it is the same as the quarantine tank's water. Then I net the fish out of the bag and put him into my quarantine tank.