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A very important but often overlooked piece of equipment for any serious fish keeper is the quarantine tank. Its purpose is to allow for monitoring of new stock for any health issues before being released into your main tank and for isolation of sick fish if disease breaks out in your main tank. That being said ideally you should keep the setup as simple as possible.
Quarantining new fish for a period of 3 to 4 weeks is recommended before introducing them to your main tank. During this time you should observe the new fish for any signs of disease which may not have been visible on the day of purchase. If after the quarantine period no problems develop, you can then introduce the new fish to your main tank.
From time to time fish in your main tank may pickup injuries or illness due to bullying, stress, disease or water quality issues. A quarantine tank allows you to remove the fish from your main tank for special treatment.
Quarantine Tank Benefits
• A quarantine tank allows you to isolate injured or sick fish and avoid the spread to disease to the rest of your stock.
• It requires less medication to treat a 10 gallon quarantine tank than a 125 gallon main tank.
• Some types of medicine could damage aquatic plants and the beneficial bacteria colony in your filter.
Keep it simple
It is best to keep your quarantine tank as simple as possible. Gravel and decorations should be avoided as sick fish may not eat and leftover food will decay and pollute the water. It is much easier to vacuum left over food and fish waste from a bare bottom tank
• Small tank (subject to the size of the fish to be quarantined) • Air Pump • Filter • Water Heater • Thermometer
Tips
• Vacuuming any uneaten food and fish waste from the bottom of the tank as well as performing small water changes on a daily basis will help keep the water quality up.
• If you are using carbon in your quarantine tank filter it should be taken out as the carbon will remove the medication from the water.
Remember your quarantine tank doesn’t need to win any photo of the month competitions. It just needs to serve a purpose.
Thanks for reading.