What if im unable to have a quarantine tank?

[Slaphppy7]

More than welcome.

 

[Essjay]

Fishless cycling using ammonia means the tank can be fully stocked once the cycle has finished.
Fish-in cycling means adding fish slowly, a few at a time.
Plant cycling should also be stocked slowly unless there are a lot of fast growing plants which are well established.

 

[Rocky998]

Fishless cycling using ammonia means the tank can be fully stocked once the cycle has finished.
Fish-in cycling means adding fish slowly, a few at a time.
Plant cycling should also be stocked slowly unless there are a lot of fast growing plants which are well established.

Great to know. Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

Ok. But wouldnt that stress the bio load like... A lot?

Not if you cycle the tank first. That is the purpose of doing a fishless cycle. You let the filter bacteria develop in huge numbers and when you add the fish, there is plenty of filter bacteria to deal with any ammonia.

 

[Rocky998]

Not if you cycle the tank first. That is the purpose of doing a fishless cycle. You let the filter bacteria develop in huge numbers and when you add the fish, there is plenty of filter bacteria to deal with any ammonia.

Sounds good. Thanks.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

So going back to the 'need' for a quarantine tank...
It's always good to be prepared for emergencies and fishy crises and a small, spare tank should be on that list of must-haves.

A basic QT can be a simple waterproof container, the larger, usually, the better. A loose-fitting lid, or a lid with holes, prevents fishy escapes and gives some degree of privacy for the quarantined fish. At a push, a large bucket would do, but if you could get hold of a large, transparent, ex-sweet/candy container...
I've found one common issue with QTs is that they quickly become just another tank and another then needs to be acquired to serve as a QT. Herein lies the sorry path to MTS!
This phenomena is less likely to occur if your QT wouldn't make a useful tank for those fish you really have to have later on.

Kept indoors, you might get away without needing a heater, but a basic sponge filter would be needed. If you do want a heater, get the absolute smallest available with thermostatic control. Remember that the volume of water you'll be managing in a QT will be very, very small and you'll need to keep a very close eye on the temperature.
The airpump running the filter could also run one or more airstones, useful for extra aeration of the water.

A bushy plant and/or a piece of pipe, to provide a modicum of security/privacy can be helpful.

 

[Rocky998]

So going back to the 'need' for a quarantine tank...
It's always good to be prepared for emergencies and fishy crises and a small, spare tank should be on that list of must-haves.

A basic QT can be a simple waterproof container, the larger, usually, the better. A loose-fitting lid, or a lid with holes, prevents fishy escapes and gives some degree of privacy for the quarantined fish. At a push, a large bucket would do, but if you could get hold of a large, transparent, ex-sweet/candy container...
I've found one common issue with QTs is that they quickly become just another tank and another then needs to be acquired to serve as a QT. Herein lies the sorry path to MTS!
This phenomena is less likely to occur if your QT wouldn't make a useful tank for those fish you really have to have later on.

Kept indoors, you might get away without needing a heater, but a basic sponge filter would be needed. If you do want a heater, get the absolute smallest available with thermostatic control. Remember that the volume of water you'll be managing in a QT will be very, very small and you'll need to keep a very close eye on the temperature.
The airpump running the filter could also run one or more airstones, useful for extra aeration of the water.

A bushy plant and/or a piece of pipe, to provide a modicum of security/privacy can be helpful.

Ok. So a nice size plastic container should be ok. And then a sponge filter, heater, some rocks and a java fern on some driftwood... Sound ok? For a quarantine tank.

 

[Rocky998]

So going back to the 'need' for a quarantine tank...
It's always good to be prepared for emergencies and fishy crises and a small, spare tank should be on that list of must-haves.

A basic QT can be a simple waterproof container, the larger, usually, the better. A loose-fitting lid, or a lid with holes, prevents fishy escapes and gives some degree of privacy for the quarantined fish. At a push, a large bucket would do, but if you could get hold of a large, transparent, ex-sweet/candy container...
I've found one common issue with QTs is that they quickly become just another tank and another then needs to be acquired to serve as a QT. Herein lies the sorry path to MTS!
This phenomena is less likely to occur if your QT wouldn't make a useful tank for those fish you really have to have later on.

Kept indoors, you might get away without needing a heater, but a basic sponge filter would be needed. If you do want a heater, get the absolute smallest available with thermostatic control. Remember that the volume of water you'll be managing in a QT will be very, very small and you'll need to keep a very close eye on the temperature.
The airpump running the filter could also run one or more airstones, useful for extra aeration of the water.

A bushy plant and/or a piece of pipe, to provide a modicum of security/privacy can be helpful.

Also should a qt tank be cycled?

 

[Essjay]

Yes.

Either do a fishless cycle in the quarantine tank, then keep the filter in the main tank between uses, or run it in the main tank for a few weeks before you use it.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Also should a qt tank be cycled?

I was actually going to suggest no, with this type of QT being for emergencies only and you would use water from the original tank, to save the fish from any more environmental changes..
(This may contain whatever bug is ailing your fish, but you're going to be treating it anyways).

What @Essjay suggests would be true if you planned on having a 'proper' quarantine tank, up and always running, 'just in case', set up for quarantine purposes. The challenge then would be NOT to use it as just another tank for your growing collection.
Such a tank would be useful if you wanted to quarantine every new fish you acquired.

Edit: Last sentence added.

 

[Rocky998]

I was actually going to suggest no, with this type of QT being for emergencies only and you would use water from the original tank, to save the fish from any more environmental changes..
(This may contain whatever bug is ailing your fish, but you're going to be treating it anyways).

What @Essjay suggests would be true if you planned on having a 'proper' quarantine tank, up and always running, 'just in case', set up for quarantine purposes. The challenge then would be NOT to use it as just another tank for your growing collection.
Such a tank would be useful if you wanted to quarantine every new fish you acquired.

Edit: Last sentence added.

Ok. Thank you. I was wondering about that

 

[Essjay]

What I meant was - keep an extra filter in the main tank, then use it to set up a QT when it's needed. But putting the extra filter in there a couple of days before it's needed won't work, it needs to be cycled so it would need to be in the main tank at least 6 weeks before it was needed.


There is an alternative which I used last year. Use plants. I don't mean having it running all the time as that would just mean it would turn into a permanent tank. I keep my QT in the greenhouse, and last time I set it up I took some floating plants from my main tank and bought 2 bunches of elodea (anacharis) and just left the stems floating. I saw no ammonia or nitrite. Once quarantine was over I threw the plants away and put the tank back in the greenhouse.