Trying to plan out quarantines...

[Seisage]

Maybe some of you can help me problem solve here.

-I've got six neons in my display tank right now. They're the only fish in there, so that's their quarantine tank, essentially. Their 30 day quarantine will be up at the end of this month (Feb 28) and once it is, I plan on moving the lone neon in my 5gal into the display tank with them.
-I want to get 3-4 more neons to round out the school and I'd like to get them next week. For quarantine, they can go in the empty 20gal I have (although I'll probably only fill it halfway). Their 30 day quarantine period would be over on March 21st.
-I'm getting hatchetfish as my next species and I potentially have a chance to get some on March 8th (it'll depend on availability and condition of the fish)

So here's my question: Would the hatchets be okay to be quarantined in the 5gal? The neon would be moved by then, so it'd be available. Ideally, I'd be getting six of them, which seems like way too many for a 5gal, but the last time I was at this particular LFS, their hatchets were teeny tiny. Very much still juveniles. Maybe a 1/2inch in length, at most. And my 5gal has a good solid lid, which makes it a nice option.

If the 5gal would still be too small even for tiny juveniles, then I could probably nab a 10gal from my work's storage and it wouldn't be missed for a month or so. However, this isn't ideal for me for a couple reasons: I don't have a lid for the 10gal, which is necessary for the hatchets (and I wouldn't want to buy one, since I won't be keeping the tank), and I'd like to keep the number of tanks I'm maintaining to a minimum. Three tanks running at the same time is probably my maximum right now and if I added the 10gal as a fourth, I think I'd be overwhelmed. I'd do it if I really needed to for the hatchets, but it wouldn't be ideal.

The hatchets may not even be available when I want them, so this may not end up even being an issue. But do you think quarantining up to six small juveniles in a 5gal would be feasible? I suppose I could also just be patient and wait until March 21st when the 20gal is freed up lol, but if this plan is doable, then I'd like to get things done sooner.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Personally, I'd just want and get more neons at the same time as you get the hatchetfish. Will save you a lot of faffing around, then can all be QT'ed together for the same time period. Neons aren't hard to get a hold of, while the hatchet's will harder, so picking up the neons at the same time as the hatchets (if they look healthy of course) would make like much easier!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Or maybe once the neon is moved, get the new neons then so you can QT those in the 5g, leaving the bigger tank for the hatchets?

 

[Seisage]

Personally, I'd just want and get more neons at the same time as you get the hatchetfish. Will save you a lot of faffing around, then can all be QT'ed together for the same time period. Neons aren't hard to get a hold of, while the hatchet's will harder, so picking up the neons at the same time as the hatchets (if they look healthy of course) would make like much easier!

Yes, that's a good point, and honestly this is probably the best way to go, you're right. The LFS that usually has the hatchets in stock has a really large selection of fish so I would be comfortable betting a lot of money on them having neons too. It'd be lovely to have a fuller school sooner, but considering the neon in my 5gal has been surviving on its own for as long as it has been, I think the group of six will be fine as a group of six for a while longer haha.

Do you think it'd be alright to throw together a quarantine tank and put ten fish in it all at once? I suppose other people probably do that all the time, and as I mentioned, all of the fish would be pretty small but it does seem like a lot all at once. I do have a spare sponge filter running in the display tank right now, so that'd be what goes in the quarantine tank. And I'd also probably move some frogbit over. To be honest, I think my frogbit has somewhat of a nitrogen deficiency so who knows, maybe ten fish's worth of waste would actually do some good.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yes, that's a good point, and honestly this is probably the best way to go, you're right. The LFS that usually has the hatchets in stock has a really large selection of fish so I would be comfortable betting a lot of money on them having neons too. It'd be lovely to have a fuller school sooner, but considering the neon in my 5gal has been surviving on its own for as long as it has been, I think the group of six will be fine as a group of six for a while longer haha.

It would only be a little bit longer, or yeah, you could QT the newest neons in the 5g when that's free? Since they're smaller fish. But it's up to you!

Do you think it'd be alright to throw together a quarantine tank and put ten fish in it all at once? I suppose other people probably do that all the time, and as I mentioned, all of the fish would be pretty small but it does seem like a lot all at once. I do have a spare sponge filter running in the display tank right now, so that'd be what goes in the quarantine tank. And I'd also probably move some frogbit over. To be honest, I think my frogbit has somewhat of a nitrogen deficiency so who knows, maybe ten fish's worth of waste would actually do some good.

Since it's you, yet, absolutely think it'd be fine in a 20g to QT the group of hatchets and a few neons together for the QT, especially since the filter is already established on another tank, you'd be adding ammonia sucking live plants, and it's you - I know you'd keep on top of water quality and do W/Cs as needed!

Lots of people suggest getting whole schools at the same time when buying groups of fish, so having it being some hatchets plus some neons isn't any different really! It would just save you having to have two separate QT tanks running and different dates to juggle. I just think the 5g might be a bit tight for the hatchets, but a 20g likely to help them settle and de-stress while in QT, and also large enough for them and the few neons. But the amount of juvenile neons you'd be getting can also manage in a 5g for a month.

 

[GaryE]

Quarantine is interesting, because what a lot of hobbyists do is throw together tanks that kill fish. A QT has to be cycled, and has to provide an environment the fish won't be too stressed in.
I've read people who thought a poorly set up QT would bring out latent diseases, and I guess that's an approach. I think you're right to be concerned about how you do this, as I don't buy the disease incubator approach. I prefer fish that stay alive.
I, ummmm, have about 5 tanks running that I bought to be QT tanks, and that evolved into permanent set ups. So my advice can be dangerous. But if I were in your shoes, I would not buy the neons first. I would buy the hatchets, and QT them first. Like @AdoraBelle Dearheart , I rarely see hatchets for sale locally, even if my locality is across the ocean from hers. Hatchets are more delicate, but in my experience, less farmed than neons. Their basic health levels are generally better, even if they are easier to kill through mistakes. If they look good in the store, and there are no signs of Ich, QT is a period for confirmation of their health.
If I bought farmed neons I'd have a longer QT. The basic fish the wild neon, is tough as nails. The farmed version, for debated reasons, is delicate. It's why you get such conflicting info about them online.

 

[Seisage]

Quarantine is interesting, because what a lot of hobbyists do is throw together tanks that kill fish. A QT has to be cycled, and has to provide an environment the fish won't be too stressed in.
I've read people who thought a poorly set up QT would bring out latent diseases, and I guess that's an approach. I think you're right to be concerned about how you do this, as I don't buy the disease incubator approach. I prefer fish that stay alive.
I, ummmm, have about 5 tanks running that I bought to be QT tanks, and that evolved into permanent set ups. So my advice can be dangerous. But if I were in your shoes, I would not buy the neons first. I would buy the hatchets, and QT them first. Like @AdoraBelle Dearheart , I rarely see hatchets for sale locally, even if my locality is across the ocean from hers. Hatchets are more delicate, but in my experience, less farmed than neons. Their basic health levels are generally better, even if they are easier to kill through mistakes. If they look good in the store, and there are no signs of Ich, QT is a period for confirmation of their health.
If I bought farmed neons I'd have a longer QT. The basic fish the wild neon, is tough as nails. The farmed version, for debated reasons, is delicate. It's why you get such conflicting info about them online.

Thanks Gary. So you're saying I should get the hatchets, then only get the remaining 3-4 neons once the hatchets are in the display tank, correct?

Yeah, I wouldn't buy in to purposefully making a fish stressed to "bring diseases out". Any fish is going to get diseases if it's stressed for long periods of time, so that approach to QT doesn't make sense to me.

My QT setup would be the 20gal long filled maybe 1/2-3/4 full, lid (of course), spare sponge filter from display tank, and the frogbit. Plus the light and heater. I wasn't planning on putting any substrate in there since I've heard a bare bottom can be better for monitoring feces, but I do have some substrate I can use if it'd be better. Is there anything you'd recommend doing to make the hatchets less stressed?

The hatchets at this particular LFS are wild-caught, so no, there isn't any farming involved here. I gave them a call the other day and the owner mentioned that their hatchet supplier/wholesaler actually does a pretty lengthy QT before shipping the fish out, so the LFS usually doesn't quarantine them further. That won't stop me from quarantining them myself, but it's good to know. As an aside, do you prophylactically treat wild-caught fish at all? I've heard people recommend hitting them with prazi or similar since WCs commonly come in with parasites.