TANK CRASH! Please learn from my mistake

Well the tank has been "dead" now for about two weeks while I wait for any pathogens to expire. During that time the snail population has exploded. Bad news? No way, my plants, which were getting a little dingy looking with no algea eaters in the tank (they eat my fry and eggs) are now sparkling clean!! The tank has never looked better. So FYI while apistos will not eat full grown pond snails they do keep pop in check by eating the babies.

Here's the big news. Some of my fellow fish friends were over the other night, and someone said they saw something move in the tank. I thought they were joking with me, but on closer inspection we found a single cacatuoides fry cruising around the bottom. apparently my females were closer to breeding age than I thought, and one must have spawned shortly before the crash. The fry rode out the "fishflu" as eggs/wigglers, and one or two have surrvived. Amazing. Of course now I face the desicion to either restock the tank (which would mean the fry becomes dinner) or maintain a 29g tank for a single 4mm long fish.
 
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The easiest QT is a rubbermaid container heater and air pump with cycled sponge on the end. Plastic plants can help btu no light is needed. Of course the problem is that it isn't always easy to see the fish in a rubbermaid or similar container so it is hard to see small issues like ich right away. Fish can always be scooped into a glass for inspection.

Keep your eyes out for used 5 or 10 gallon tanks as well. I keep a 5 gallon tucked away for new fish and sick fish. 5 gallons is suitable for me as all of my fish choices are quite small.
 
The problem is getting the fry out without destroying the tank. It's very heavily landscaped and planted. Plus I only see the little bugger once every couple days. Right now there aren't any dwarfs available that I'm interested in, so he/she is safe for a little while.
 
That's a shame. But I've learned something here. Quarantine. I really never put much thought into it honestly. My LFS seems to always have healthy tanks & fish (I've not ordered from the mail before).

So I have a 7.5 gallon tank sitting in my shed. In order to make this my QT, I would just need to look at getting a sponge filter right? I have a small Whisper filter and a heater already. I still need a small air pump though to push through the sponge filter right? Does the tank need to be setup constantly or can I do this "as needed"? Just making sure I understand this.

This was going to turn into a tank for some fry (I hope) from my new Mollies, but after seeing this I think I realize having a tank for QT is very important. I can always keep an eye out for a 10G tank later.
 
it'll be cool to see if the fry will do ok if you feed them (or it) and see if they(or it) grow(s) up... are you feeding the fry?

also yea snails are the best algie eaters if they are in full force!
 
You don't have to keep a Q-tank up all the time. I just take the sponge off the sponge filter and cram it in the filter of one of my other tanks. This ensures there will always be enough bacteria on it to handle the modest bioload that you'll have in most q-tanks.

I've been dumping in some live bbs once a day. Although a single apisto fry could probably almost grow to adulthood in a well-planted 29g without ever being fed. Maybe i should enter some kind of "Lowest Bioload" contest or something.
 
amen on the wallmart thing .. my most recent clownloach.. ( cries ) i got from there and he passed away. it was only within three days and wallmart says they will replace him, eh screw that ! you can keep your fish and my money, and ill spend the next 50 or so years telling all my friends NOT to by fish from you.. of course, i have had several other fish from there die too, gupies, kennyi, gouimies, or however you spell them
 
I don't buy anything from Wal-Mart just on my own principles alone. But Petco is pretty crappy around here as far as fish health goes. Most Petsmarts here are actually okay, with the one closest to me being almost immaculate. In fact, I would wager that they have the healthiest tanks of fish I have ever seen in a pet store. I am almost exclusive in buying my fish from them. And this is coming from someone who boycotts corporations whenever possible.
 
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