quarantine tank question

fishytime · #1 03-02-2011, 01:50 PM

IMO a 10g is way to small to quarantine much of anything.....and even a 20 is too small to quarantine tangs.....I briefly used a 33g as a q-tank and even that was too small for tangs...........the fish were extremely nervous and stressed and with nothing but a single piece of rock the fish never felt secure enough to start eating....I then stopped using a q-tank as I felt that the extra added stress of a) the size of the tank and lack of hiding places and b) having to chase/net/move the fish another time was not worth it.... JME

ponokareefer · #2 03-02-2011, 03:52 PM

You should look at a quarantine tank that is 25% of the size of your tank that the fish will end up in. A 10 gallon tank should be good enough for a main tank that is 40 gallons or smaller. I have a 29 gallon for my 125 gallon main tank. It is just under the 25% rule. Larger fish should be kept in larger tanks, so the size of the quarantine tank should go up with it. What is the size of your main tank? If you are putting in smaller fish to start with (least aggressive/smaller fish should be added first to a new setup), the 10 gallon should be fine.

Baldy · #3 03-02-2011, 04:07 PM

The main tank is a 75
gal. Unfortunately with everything that I have bought to switch my tank over to saltwater, a new tank that will be used intermittently just for quarantine purposes is not in the budget. I have an unused 10 gal with everything I need. As well, I don't have space for another setup. it is only going to be used for a couple of clowns.

This thread is getting off topic though. My original question was regarding whether I needed live rock to maintain the tank through the initial quarantine.

ponokareefer · #4 03-02-2011, 04:14 PM

A couple of clowns should be fine in a 10 gallon. Just make sure you do regular water changes, test for ammonia and don't overfeed. If there is food floating around after 5 minutes, you've overfed and cut back next time.

VFX · #5 03-02-2011, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

My original question was regarding whether I needed live rock to maintain the tank through the initial quarantine.

No you don't need live rock as long as you follow the advice given regarding water changes, siphoning out uneaten food & fish waste and a few hiding places for the fish.

In fact you will kill or contaminate your live rock if you medicate your QT tank.

/

ponokareefer · #6 03-02-2011, 04:56 PM

I have a few smaller pieces of live rock in my quarantine that is there permanently. If I ever treat anything in quarantine, the rock would be removed and completed dried out for months to ensure whatever disease that was in the system dies on the rock as well. Otherwise the rock is no good for another system ever again.

As VFX pointed out though, it is not a necessity. I just had extra rock rubble that I used.

Wayne · #7 03-02-2011, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

I have a few smaller pieces of live rock in my quarantine that is there permanently. If I ever treat anything in quarantine, the rock would be removed and completed dried out for months to ensure whatever disease that was in the system dies on the rock as well. Otherwise the rock is no good for another system ever again.

Or if possible you can boil your live rock thereby killing it. Then stick it back in your system for a few months to make it "live" again.

abcha0s · #8 03-02-2011, 11:28 PM

I'm going to throw in my 2 cents.

I feel that regardless of whether you choose to quarantine or not, it is irresponsible to advise someone else not to quarantine. Especially someone relatively new to the hobby. We should all at least pretend to have the best interest of our livestock at stake and suggesting that you shouldn't quarantine because it's difficult to do properly is really inappropriate.

I understand the debate between the stress of qt vs. a parasite that a healthy fish can fight, but the advice should be limited to ensuring success while in qt -not stating that it isn't necessary because "ich is everywhere". Anyone capable of logic, reason and critical thinking can be certain that ich is not everywhere. Perhaps it's not unreasonable to recommend against qt for a tang in a 10G tank, but let's be clear on what we are saying. If a 100G tank was available, this would not be so unreasonable?

Really, it's a question of cost. If we could afford a large and healthy qt tank, then for sure it's a good idea. Who would say otherwise? By advising against qt, we are really saying "don't worry about it - it costs too much money to set up a viable qt tank".

I think it's a question of experience.

Novice = I don’t quarantine
Intermediate = I don't quarantine but I know I should
Expert = I wouldn't put a fish in my tank without quarantine

In any event – none of the true experts – people who get paid to maintain public aquariums or who write the books we read would ever recommend against quarantine.

There are of course many experienced reef keepers that don't quarantine, but perhaps they aren't as experienced as they think they are when it comes to fish. Ask these same people if the qt their corals?

Personally, I’m at the Intermediate level but I am aspiring to be an “expert”.

- Brad