On Death Row

[Kitikat]

Hi Karl

I was just thinking, it seems a shame to empty the water away from the quaranteen tank since it has been treated, but, it could be some weeks before I am ready to introduce more fish, is it better to get rid of the water and put fresh in a few days before getting new fish?

Also, I was wondering if I was to empty away the quaranteen water, if I wanted to prepare the tank quickly, could I not just siphon some of the water from the big tank into the little tank then top up the big tank of course? Obviously I would have to be sure my existing fish dont have any diseases and the water was ok?

 

[karlp]

Hi Kitikat

It sounds like the quarantine tank is also a Juwel ? so you can't transfer the filter, only the sponges ? Is this right ? In which case it's a bit trickier...

How about maturing the Rio 180 and when you want to set up the Quarantine tank again, take one blue sponge out of the Rio 180 and cut it to the shape required for the filter in the Quarantine tank and put it in there. Then add a new sponge in the Rio 180 to replace it... that would work..

With regard refilling the quarantine tank, using tank water from your matured Rio 180 is an excellent idea. this'll make sure that there shouldn't be too much of an acclimatisation problem when you move the fish from the quarantine tank to the main one.

What I'm planning to do with my quarantine tank is leave it permanently running and leave a few guppies in it all the time to keep the filter mature and also because it'll make it more interesting to look at when there aren't fish being quarantined. I'll only transfer the guppies out to the main tank if I need to use the quarantine tank as a hospital tank or new fry tank and once the quarantine tank becomes free again, move the guppies back. You get the idea.. nice and easy

Sounds like we've got very similar tanks. My main tank is an Eheim Smaragd 100 (same size as Rio 180) and I'm just getting a Rekord 70 for a quarantine tank.. I've got a little hospital tank as well, which is about to be dismantled when the Rekord 70 arrives (£33 off ebay with stand, how cool is that!)

 

[TammyLiz]

Hi Kiticat, I know I am kind of coming in on the middle of things here, but I was reading the thread and thought I would drop in a comment to hopefully help you understand how fish tanks work to keep the fish healthy. The advice the others have given you is good, and here is why.

The main concern is not really the water, its the filter. The filter is where the "good" bacteria live. These bacteria clean the water to keep your fish healthy. So it is important to make sure these bacteria stay alive.

To keep the good bacteria in your filter "safe" you should only rinse the sponges in tank water, not tap water because the chlorine will kill them. Also, don't add medications because they will also kill them. If your bacteria is doing well, your fish will probably also be doing well so you shouldn't need medication.

If you just leave your fish in your main tank and keep your sponges from your second tank in there with them, your bacteria will eventually come back. When this happens you will know because your ammonia and nitrites will be at 0 in your water. Thats when you can add more fish, but it might take a while.

The water in your quarantine tank is probably not worth saving if you're not using it. Aging the water is not as important as aging the filter.

Hope this helps clear things up a little. I know its a little basic so if you already knew all this, then just ignore me .

 

[karlp]

Also, don't add medications because they will also kill them.

What TammyLiz says is right, but it does depend on the medication. Methylene blue can damage bacteria (traditional parasite medicine) but there are now alternatives which don't. Any anti-biotic based medicine will damage the filter. Check the medicing you're buying.

The other couple of things I meant to say was...

The trick is always to keep the nitrogen cycle in balance in the tank. Once the nitrites reach 0, you must still only add a few fish each week to the tank up to your stocking level to allow the nitrogen cycle to balance itself against the extra bio-load, otherwise you'll get another ammonia and nitrite spike.

and..

Obviously if you'd been treating something really nasty in the quarantine tank, it may be necessary to sterilise it and replace filter media in there before putting anything else back in (which is why many opt for a separate bare hospital tank for treating the nasty stuff).

Cheers

Karl.

 

[Kitikat]

Hi everyone, I couldnt find my original post here, Ive only just managed to find it today, Im still working out how this forum works!

So thank you this is really good advice, I bought a few cat fish over the weekend, I dont know exactly what type they are though, but I know that one sticks to the glass to clear algae and the other two who are beautiful and behave like a couple of lovers always together they clean the bottom of the tank. At present they are in the quaranteen tank. They go through phases of being very lively swimming in a small space and then very quiet Im hoping they are alright. I have just done a water test and here are the results:

23-Jan PH 7.6
PH High 7.4
NO3 0
NO2 0
AMONIA 1
Im hoping that this means all is well.

 

[karlp]

Doh!

- Don't add any more fish.

I think Catfish are sensitive to ammonia / Nitrite and from the Ammonia reading of 1, it would appear that your tank hasn't cycled yet, so you could be about to repeat the problems you've had.

Is the Ammonia reading from the Quarantine tank or the Rio 180 ? and...

What readings are you getting from the Rio 180 ?

If the catfish are to survive, you'll need to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low (e.g, lowest level on test kit is preferable above 0), so it'll require 50% water changes whenever you notice it rise (don't change all the water or the tank wont cycle).

Cheers

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

Alot of the fish died via whitespot. Maybe its just a simple case of temperature change?

Sorry to hear about the loss. Were the tiger barbs just normal tiger barbs? If so, £1.79 is too expensive. I got mine for only 95p each, or am I just lucky?