Proper use of Quarantine facility

Hi everyone,

Recently there has been some members ending up with sick fish after introducing new fish to their tanks. Most people know that new arrivals should be quarantined, but still lack in knowledge as to the proper procedure for quarantine. I decided to post this thread as a 'guide' for correct QT procedure.

Firstly, a QT tank is no more than a bare bottom tank with a heater and sponge filter. I do not use any plants or decorations as these can form a playground for any of the nasties out there. Filtration is also purely academical as many filters harbour the things we are trying to get rid off.

New arrivals should ideally be kept in QT for a minimum of 6 weeks. Thir allows enough time for all nasties to show up and also for you to do a proper clean-up on the fish.
Fish should be put in QT and fed minimally for the first few days until they have settled. Once comfortable in their new home I always treat with Metrozinadole first for internal flagellates. This is done for a period of 3 days after which I do a 50% water change and feed them bloodworm only for at least a day. The roughage helps getting their intestines cleaned out. This is an important part especially with Discus and other cichlids who seem to suffer more from flagellates.
Givd the fish a few days rest before moving to the parasite clean-up phase.

For this part I was advised by Altum and its based on his experience with cleaning up imported fish. I use Jungle parasite clear tank buddies as a dip. 40 liters to one tablet in a large enough container, and the fish gets placed in there for a 30 to 40 minute bath. In that time I change 100% of the QT water with aged/prepared water, and also replace the sponge filter with a new seeded filter from a fishless water source. This is done in order to avoid re-introducing parasites etc to the clean tank.
After the dip the fish return to the QT facility. Remember that as the filter came from a fishless source, its bacterial strength might be low, so watch for ammonia/nitrate and do regular W/C.

Again the fish are given a few days rest and in this time there is normally a marked improvement in colour and vigour.

Next I remove the filter as the final treatment phase destroys bacteria. I then add 2mg per liter crushed Dovaworm tablets to the tank. This gets rid of Roundworm. Important: as there is NO filtration beware of water conditions! I do 20% w/c daily, each time redosing the Dovaworm in the new water. This should be left for 3 days after which a 50% w/c is done and tank water filtered with a power filter containing activated carbon. After 24hrs I do another 20% w/c and return the sponge filter.

After this you should have gotten rid of most parasites, worms and flukes. I then watch the fish for a week or two for noticeable niggles like heavy breathing, scratching, bloated abdomens etc. If present that phase of treatment is repeated.

I then remove a cup of water from the tank in which these fish will be introduced and add this to the QT tank daily. This is done to see if your 'show tank' maybe has any nasties that can affect your new fish. It works great as should there be an outbreak, they are already in QT and can be treated there. This should be done daily for at least two weeks.

The final phase entails removing one of the fish from your show tank and placing it in the QT facility. If there is a negative response to any of the fish, either the new one's or the newly introduced fish, again treatment can be administered in the QT tank. Only after another two weeks of 'all ok' can one safely introduce all the fish to the main tank.

Its also important to note that QT tanks should have their own nets, syphons, tubing and filters, and these should NEVER be used on other tanks and fish unless properly sterilized.

I know this sounds tedious and drawn out, especially if one has new arrivals which you want in that main tank a.s.a.p. Yet only one outbreak of a disease and all you hold dear can be lost in a matter of a few days.

Sincerely hope this helps some members, and many fish!

Rgds.
Marco

 

Gonna close this one if you don't mind Marco... I think the database duplicated it!