MORE QUARANTINE TANK QUESTIONS

[Mmathis]

I will eventually convert my 100 gal Rubbermaid tank into a QT. That should be large enough for goldfish. Don't really want to keep it up & running ALL the time, but only when needed. I would have a small pump & filter dedicated to the QT, and would use water from the pond to go into the QT at initial set-up each time. It would be outdoors 24/7.

I know it can take up to 2 weeks for a biofilter to mature [have thought about but not sure about the fishless method]. So was wondering if I could do something like keep a couple pieces of Matala in the main pond -- these would be there as a bio-bug substrate. Then when I have to set up the QT, move a piece of Matala from the pond to the QT. Would that even be adequate as a bio-filter start-up for the new fishies?

Also, was reading about viruses that only activate at higher temps. I can't see myself needing the QT for adding new fish during the colder months, but might need it for a sick fish. Do any of you with outdoor QT's use a heater?

 

[gardengimp]

TM, you may want to go read over the thread I have on QT'ing baby fish. The external link is very fascinating reading. The long and the short take away I got, most wholesalers routinely salt fish at about .3%. Many diseases and such will therefore have resistances to low levels of salt. Transportation and such stress a fish, and stress makes it more likely for disease to get a foot hold.

So, you bring new fish home and you put them in QT. Do you wait for them to show signs of disease or do you start to treat them as if they DO have disease at a particular level and type of treatment. The external link provides lots of good reading material.

For the dollar value of the fish I'm bringing into QT (feeder fish), I choose to go strictly with the salt for treatment route. I'm salting at .6%. This last round of fish is showing no signs of illness. The article also talks about how heat aids in 'burning up' some diseases (my words). I don't have a heater in my outside tub, but if I had one I would consider using it as a part of treatment. I DO have my tub protected, under cover of the roof, protected from winds, and wrapped in a moving pad.

I start the tub off with tap water. And I use tap water for the first 10 days or so for water changes. Then I start doing water changes with pond water. This wasn't my idea, this was recommendations from various places on the web (and we all know the internet never lies, right! tee-hee) That said, this article explains it in terms very easy for me to relate to.

When you receive your new goldfish, it should be placed in quarantine for two to four weeks. During this time, your new Rain Garden goldfish should not be exposed to other fish or the water of other fish (except as described below). Like you, I and every animal, goldfish can live comfortably in the presence of potential pathogens which we/they have developed an immunity to. However, your old fish may be immune to strains of opportunistic pathogens which your new fish have never been exposed to. So, there should be a quarantine period before your new goldfish are introduced to your old goldfish.

Since I start medicating (with salt) as soon as I start fish, I don't worry about a biofilter. I just do daily water changes. After I have stopped the salt treatment, and done enough daily water changes to not kill most oxygenators, I start to add in floating plants and other things from the pond that have biological growth to them. Less for filtration than to help the fish with acclimation towards their soon to be home.

 

[Mmathis]

TM, you may want to go read over the thread I have on QT'ing baby fish. The external link is very fascinating reading. The long and the short take away I got, most wholesalers routinely salt fish at about .3%. Many diseases and such will therefore have resistances to low levels of salt. Transportation and such stress a fish, and stress makes it more likely for disease to get a foot hold.

So, you bring new fish home and you put them in QT. Do you wait for them to show signs of disease or do you start to treat them as if they DO have disease at a particular level and type of treatment. The external link provides lots of good reading material.

For the dollar value of the fish I'm bringing into QT (feeder fish), I choose to go strictly with the salt for treatment route. I'm salting at .6%. This last round of fish is showing no signs of illness. The article also talks about how heat aids in 'burning up' some diseases (my words). I don't have a heater in my outside tub, but if I had one I would consider using it as a part of treatment. I DO have my tub protected, under cover of the roof, protected from winds, and wrapped in a moving pad.

I start the tub off with tap water. And I use tap water for the first 10 days or so for water changes. Then I start doing water changes with pond water. This wasn't my idea, this was recommendations from various places on the web (and we all know the internet never lies, right! tee-hee) That said, this article explains it in terms very easy for me to relate to.

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Since I start medicating (with salt) as soon as I start fish, I don't worry about a biofilter. I just do daily water changes. After I have stopped the salt treatment, and done enough daily water changes to not kill most oxygenators, I start to add in floating plants and other things from the pond that have biological growth to them. Less for filtration than to help the fish with acclimation towards their soon to be home.

GG, thanks! Ordinarily I might be one of those types that just adds new fish directly to the pond, and in reality, that's what I've done until I got my 2 most recent Shubies at WALLY-WORLD. Not trusting WW fish, I quarantined these guys. They did fine. But am wanting to get into collecting Watonai and Wakin, which means a bigger investment.

Guess I've been looking at quarantining strictly from the viewpoint of observation, whereas this looks at prophylaxis as well. So, DON'T start out with pond water? And treat the QT water with salt & do frequent water changes? No bio-filter? Of everything I've read so far, a mature filter is always a requirement. So I guess that's the purpose of the water changes? If you were quarantining sick fish, would you do the same procedure?

 

[gardengimp]

BTW, here is the link that Charles posted for me when I was asking QT questions. Don't let the name of the thread dissuade you, some good information buried in there. Part 9 & 14 were the interesting parts to me.

I started off my pond fish purchases with the same thought, quarantine and observe. Afterall, that's what I did with aquarium fish. Then it dawned on me, I can't really observe the fish all that well since they are in a tub and not in a clear front eye level tank.

I don't think I have any chance of keeping a bio filter healthy with a .6% 2 week minimum salting regime. And, the salting is working for me, so I'll keep it up. It is really easy (again for me) to do daily 10% water changes, and every few days do a 20%. I'm dealing with a much smaller QT tub, so that does make it easier. And yes, it is the frequent water changes that allows the QT to get by without a biofilter. I run an airstone, and have considered adding a pump, but the smallest I have would be more current than I think would be ideal (turning the water over 5 times per hour). I do not bring home new fish during the heat of the summer so the airstone has been fine.

I sure do like what I see with the Watonai, I'm hoping that in the next year or so I can get conditions in my pond well enough to bring some home.