Setting up quarantine.

I recently ordered medicine for my Coral Beauty's "hole-in-the-head" disease. I am assuming it is probably best to administer in a quarantine tank. I have a small 5 gallon tank. What is the best way to set it up for quarantine? Do I need sand from the display tank? Do I just transfer water and some live rock from the DT? What filtration should I use? The more details the better. :-/:-/:-/

 

Okay, I'm no expert on the quarantine thing, but this is what we've done before. I have one of those cheap 10-gallon all-in-one kits. No sand, no rock. Just a piece of PVC pipe 6 or 8 inches long with a few holes drilled for a hiding place. Just do a "water change" into the QT from the main tank. Add the sick fish and medicate as instructed. We use the heater and filter from the all-in-one kit (no carbon in the filter). After the quarantine period is over, acclimate the fish back into the main tank, empty the QT, rinse well, and just store it dry. Good luck!

 

No sand or live rocks. Anything used in the QT can NEVER come in contact with DT: net, heater, anything! No filtration as carbon will remove medicines. Maybe a piece or two of pvc.

 

Thanks for the replies. I will give it a try. I will post a picture of my QT once it is up (after I get the medicine in the mail). I will let you guys know if my fish pulls through this.

 

What I would do is keep a sponge in your main tank for a few days to pick up bactera and transfer it to your quarantine. This will establish some sort of biological filtration for the QT. Alternatively, you could put the filter cartridge from your filter in the main tank for a few days to pick up bacteria.

Here's the thing - if you have no biological filtration, you will be stuck doing water changes every 2 days or so (which in a 5 gallon isn't so hard, but you will keep having to re-titrate the medication).

 

ok, so for setting up a quarintine, it doesn't really matter how big it is and don't really need equipment inside? If this is so i may decided to put up a 5 gall quaratine as well, if it fits in my stand. So all we would need for the quartine tank is just the water from the main tank? And when getting a new fish, even if it appears healthy, how long would you leave it in a quartine tank for

 

Whoa, hold on a sec. A quarantine needs the following equipment:
1) heater
2) thermometer
3) filter (can be a sponge filter or a cheap hang on filter), but you will need some filter of some kind for biological filtration

What you don't need are protein skimmers and fancy lights. You also don't want sand or gravel - bare bottom is better and easier to clean. Just a few pieces of PVC tubing for the fish to hide in.

5 gallon might be ok, depending on how big your fish are. Personally I would go with a 10g just in case your fish get bigger.

As far as how long to keep fish in quarantine, if it is a new fish, monitor it for 3-4 weeks before putting it in the main tank. If you are treating a sick fish, read the labels on the medication. most of the time it is for 2-4 weeks.

 

First off, you are not setting up a quarantine tank. You are setting up a hospital tank There is a big difference.
Do pretty much what triple mom said. Piece of PVC pipe, heater, thermometer, cheap HOB filter. I also like to add an air stone, and added a few odd fake plants I had laying around for a few more hiding spaces. Don't bother with lights, and it is actually much better keeping the tank dark/dimly lit. Also, don't bother with the "seeding" of sponge elements and what not. They hold very negligible amounts of bacterium and you will not notice any difference in time between needing to do water changes, which should be done every 48 hours, of at least 30%.
Can you tell us more about how you have been keeping the angel? HLLE can be caused by many different things, a lot of which may not warrant a HT or medication. Were you making sure to supplement its diet with marine sponge? Are you running a grounding probe?

 

Two weeks after getting the fish, it showed signs of HLLE. Of course, I immediately consulted the opinions and expertise of 3reef... It seemed to be primarily agreed upon that frequent water changes, variety in diet, changes in activated carbon, etc. would be the least stressful remedy. I have tried it all over the last month! What started as a very small lesion above his eye now takes up half of his face and I am now turning to medicine. Water parameters seem to be prestine and the fish seems to eat everything. He started off a finicky eater, but now consumes everything from frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, 'marine cuisine', garlic, to flakes, seaweed, and formula II. I have been feeding rather heavy in hopes of providing the essential nourishment.
I must admit I do not know what a ground probe is or its benefits to my fish. I am willing to try anything to save this beautiful fish!

Quck question - - - how would my Hospital Tank differ from my Quarantine Tank rather than being inhabited by a 'sick fish' rather than a 'possibly sick fish'?

 

Grounding probes takes away stray electricity that may come from your PH or heater. If you stick your hand in the water and you get a little shock, there are stray volts that may be affecting your livestock and possibly you. You would then need to get a grounding probe.

Answer to your second question, Im not exactly sure but, a quarantine tank is set up for new inhabitants to make sure it didnt carry any unwanted diseases or critters that may create havoc in our DTs. A hospital tank on the other hand is for treating sick fish.