What is the function and importance of a quarantine fish tank? How to assemble it? In this article, we seek to explain some of these points.
Quarantine fish tanks are usually set up when a new fish has just been purchased. One of the reasons that leads to the setting up of these tanks is that we don’t know if the fish that are coming from the store have any type of disease, since some of them take time to manifest.
In most cases, fish are observed for a period of 2 – 6 weeks. After this period, if there is no change in the animal’s appearance or behavior, they can be introduced into the main tank.
By using quarantine, the fish that live in the main tank will not be at risk of catching diseases from other fish that have come from stores or elsewhere.
Such an tank can function as a “hospital”, where fish that already live in the main tank that have some type of disease or parasite, can be transferred to it in order to be medicated correctly, without harming other inhabitants. healthy.
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What Are The Advantages Of Quarantine Fish Tank?
There are many factors that make quarantine essential for your fish. Below we will list some of them:
- Quarantine tanks are usually small, that is, you will not need to dose a lot of medication to treat the animal;
- If a fish you buy or that is in your tank is sick, it will not affect other inhabitants;
- Some products can destroy the bacteria colonies in the filters, ending all biology created. Consequently, this will cause Ammonia peaks and later Nitrite;
- When we treat a fish inside the main tank, it means that we can weaken all fish in the fish tank and contribute to bacteria proliferation that are causing the disease;
- During quarantine, the fish will gain more resistance and become stronger to compete for food with others in the main tank.
How To Set Up The Quarantine Fish Tank?
The ideal in most cases is to have an tank of at least 20 liters. This, of course, will depend on the type of fish you have. For example, for bigger fish like goldfish, the ideal is something around 60 liters so that you don’t have to keep changing absurd amounts of water every day.
What Other Equipment Do I Need?
- A thermostat to control the aquarium temperature (for tropical fish);
- Some type of hiding place for fish (Here you can use plants or even a pipe tube to act as a hiding place and shelter the fish);
- A small filter (optional) or air pump;
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- Place the fish tank on a flat surface and in a place where it is relatively quiet; fill the tank with half new water (using a conditioner to remove heavy metals) and half the water from the main tank;
- Add the heater, the filter (preferably external – Hang on) and the hiding places;
- As soon as the water temperature in the quarantine fish tank is equal to that of the main tank, you can begin to acclimatize the fish.
Always have basic medication items with you. That way, you won’t have to rush to the store to buy the medicine if your fish gets sick.
How To Maintain The Quarantine Fish Tank?
If you are thinking of having the tank just to quarantine the new fish before introducing them to the main tank, you can use the main aquarium’s own media. That way, using a small filter, water from the main aquarium and some biological media, you won’t need to change water every day.
Now, if you are setting up a hospital fish tank, as one of your fish has a disease, using media from the main aquarium will not help, as the products are likely to kill existing bacterial colonies. In this case, you will have to change the water in the hospital fish tank much more often. In some cases up to 100% of the water to avoid ammonia spikes.
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If the quarantine fish tank for new fish has a filter already with biological media from the main tank, the water changes will not need to occur as often, only partial water changes taking into account the volume of the tank.
Remember to never leave the quarantine tank uncovered, always use tanks with a lid.
As we can see, the quarantine fish tank is essential, as it will help acclimatize new fish that arrive and even serve as a “hospital” for sick fish that are already in the main tank. Always try to work that way, acclimatizing the animals before introducing them to the environment where all your other fish are. That way, you avoid major problems and consequently get rid of numerous diseases that can affect fish.
What is your opinion on the matter? Do you have quarantine fish tanks? Tell us your experience!
