# new fish in quarantine



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

I just bought 3 corycats from Petco today and they are now in my quarantine tank. I wrote a detailed description about my quarantine process in my blog:

Many Hats of Me: My Quarantine Process for New Aquarium Fish

Thanks for reading.


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Nice link and great info that all should read.Lots of help for people with ill fish or those who just want to add new fish correctly.Thanks!


----------



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

I just added a potassium permanganate section to my blog. I've used PP to treat stubborn bacterial infection with new black tetras I purchased a few months ago.


----------



## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Great Link---I think I will set something up quite similar...So Methylene Blue
is the preferred seems to work fine with a variety of fish? Sometimes you just never know what you are buying and would rather stop it before they hit the big tank! So you still feed them correct? And the sponge filter and air pump give enough oxygen to the fish? So you just use uncycled water--just dechlorinate the water and get temp correct?


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I'll jump here and say,water doesn't cycle your filters do.She can get away with an uncycled sponge due to water changing daily.I use sponge filters in all my breeder tanks(up to 75g) and they work as well as anything else and are super easy to matain.You have a sump(refugium) Jim so like myself you can keep a sponge filter going in your sump and pull it out to QT and have cycled filter all the time.Using portable containers or not always having QT set up prevents them from becoming just another stocked tank.All my tanks with sumps(even the salts) have a sponge filter in them so I could always set up QT and have cycled filter in an instant.
Plenty of oxygen also.MB should be in everyones emergency kit along with ich meds IMO.I treat as soon as I see anything.Everything(almost) is cured much easier if treated early on.


----------



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Jim Albright said:


> Great Link---I think I will set something up quite similar...So Methylene Blue
> is the preferred seems to work fine with a variety of fish? Sometimes you just never know what you are buying and would rather stop it before they hit the big tank! So you still feed them correct? And the sponge filter and air pump give enough oxygen to the fish? So you just use uncycled water--just dechlorinate the water and get temp correct?


Thanks for reading! The quarantine process works for all fish, just heed the temperatures that the fish like. For instance, I would use a heater for tetras and discus. I actually put one in my corycat tank now since so many of you have told me to do so. 

For feeding, when I change the water in the AM, I don't replace the Methylene blue so that I can observe if they are eating. If I were to replace right away, the water would be too dark and blue to see anything. 

In the evening, I change the water again to suck up any ammonia, poo, and uneaten food. It's a snap with a water pump and hose. 

If you change the water 2x a day, you won't get any ammonia problems at all. Do a 50% in the AM and 50% in the PM. Replace any drugs you have taken out with the water change in the percentage of water taken out (if you drain 50% of the water, redose 50% of the drugs). The only exception is the Metro. You should dose full strength AM and PM. Its only effective for 8 hours.


----------



## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

ok --I think I get it...I can buy sponge filter--use it in my refugium and pull it out when I need to quarantine whatever. So I use dechlorinated tap water in quarantine container and I will be changing that 2 times per day (50%) and keep adding meds for the water I took out. Do this for a week then put them in clean water for a week. Right? (close..haha) So it wont hurt my big tank by putting that medicated sponge filter back into my refugium? And with my african cichlid tank I should get a cheap heater as well I suspect?


----------



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Jim Albright said:


> ok --I think I get it...I can buy sponge filter--use it in my refugium and pull it out when I need to quarantine whatever. So I use dechlorinated tap water in quarantine container and I will be changing that 2 times per day (50%) and keep adding meds for the water I took out. Do this for a week then put them in clean water for a week. Right? (close..haha) So it wont hurt my big tank by putting that medicated sponge filter back into my refugium? And with my african cichlid tank I should get a cheap heater as well I suspect?


Methylene blue actually kills off nitrifying bacteria so a new sponge filter will do. I don't use cycled sponges since I need to sterilize them anyways after QT so any pathogen is dead, including any nitrifying bacteria. Fish-keepers use the seeded sponge filter for QT when there are no meds involved and just observation and clean water is needed. I believe (my belief only) that if the fish are so sick that you need meds, the sponge filter needs to be sanitized before its next use. If you read my blog, there is instructions for sanitizing all your QT gear with potassium permanganate.


----------



## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Sorry but a bit still confused.....So if I used this sponge filter in my refugium and take it out for quarantine use --I need to sterilize it before so? Just wondering now why I would use this sponge in my refugium like bandit said. I guess I am a bit slow today..Sry...And this is a proactive treatment of new fish or sick fish coming out of main tank, so some of these fish getting Methylene may not be sick at all-- So i am misunderstanding what Berylla means when she says " I believe (my belief only) that if the fish are so sick that you need meds, the sponge filter needs to be sanitized before its next use."


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If your not medicating but observing new fish then the cycled sponge will help.Most meds(even the MB)will have an effect on filter bio life.If your medicating and going to change water as needed then there would be no need for cycled filter.Sterilizing any equipment that comes in contact with any infection is crucial in not spreading it around(espescially if you have multiple tanks).Most common equipment used in the spread of infection from tank to tank?The net.Air drying works to some extent(if you can truely dry it for 24+hrs),otherwise even(especially) nets need to be sterilized.


----------



## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Got it! What I do now is I have a 20 gall aquarium for new fish---cycled filter water. Then if I don't see reason to medicate I put in big tank after a couple of weeks. I was thinking that if I received new fish I could do what Berylla does first then put into my 20 gall. Does that make sense? Thx for your guys patience...Trust me I was getting frustrated....


----------



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Jim Albright said:


> Sorry but a bit still confused.....So if I used this sponge filter in my refugium and take it out for quarantine use --I need to sterilize it before so? Just wondering now why I would use this sponge in my refugium like bandit said. I guess I am a bit slow today..Sry...And this is a proactive treatment of new fish or sick fish coming out of main tank, so some of these fish getting Methylene may not be sick at all-- So i am misunderstanding what Berylla means when she says " I believe (my belief only) that if the fish are so sick that you need meds, the sponge filter needs to be sanitized before its next use."


No worries - quarantine is an important process to get right or you will infect all your fish!

*Sponge Filters*

1. You don't need a seeded or cycled sponge for quarantine since you will be changing the water 100% a day. Any sponge filter will do.

2. Seeded or cycled sponges are used for observation and fresh water changes only. Many fish perk up and heal just with water changes alone. 


*Sterilization*

I agree with Coral bandit about cross-contimination. As a rule, any nets, hoses, pumps, filters, etc. that are used in quarantine should be disinfected after every use. So after the 2 week period and your new fish look ok and you place them into the main tank, disinfect the QT, and all that gear you used with Potassium Permanganate solution. 

*Using Bleach*

For major diseases that were treated in the QT, I would soak everything in a solution of BLEACH and WATER (1 part bleach to 3 parts water), since bleach kills EVERYTHING for sure. The reason I say this is that *flukes have survived potassium permanganate baths*. They are really stubborn nasties.

*Sterilize Sponge filters*

When you start medicating in the QT because there is strong evidence that the fish is afflicted with a specific disease, the sponge filter must be sterilized before using it again in your main sump or tank by potassium permanganate, or bleach, depending how nasty the bug is.

To use the sponge again, make sure you rinse the sponge well. With bleach, I would soak with a strong solution of dechlorinator overnight. Give it a sniff - if it smells like bleach, make a new dechlor solution and soak again.


----------



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Jim Albright said:


> Got it! What I do now is I have a 20 gall aquarium for new fish---cycled filter water. Then if I don't see reason to medicate I put in big tank after a couple of weeks. I was thinking that if I received new fish I could do what Berylla does first then put into my 20 gall. Does that make sense? Thx for your guys patience...Trust me I was getting frustrated....


20 Gallon is very large for a quarantine tank unless your fish are big (3 inches across or more). The reason I don't like big tanks are that more meds are required and that gets very expensive. Also they take up alot of counter space.

*HOWEVER* if you have the room on your counter, you can always half-fill your 20 gallon so that it only measures 10 gallon in water volume to reduce the amount of meds required.


----------



## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Finally ---I got it!! Bleach is probably cheaper as long as I soak and dechlorinate overnight and it doesnt smell like bleach anymore....


----------



## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Jim Albright said:


> Finally ---I got it!! Bleach is probably cheaper as long as I soak and dechlorinate overnight and it doesnt smell like bleach anymore....


Yup. Bleach is great. Cheap and good.


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The treating bleached objects in heavily(double at least)dechlorinated water is important as bleach is chlorine based(basically strongest chlorine substance most will handle).


----------

