New Fish tips

[quixand]

Hey guys,

After my recent troubles with fishes purchased at my LFS, and having to throw up a QT to hospitalize my clowns.....I've come to a conclusion that acclimation only isn't the best way to get your fishes healthy.

I spoke with my vet, and she explained to me that any new fish should be quarentined for 30 days prior to main tank introduction to make sure the fish is healthy and stress free.

My question to you guys is, don't you need an established QT for such a purpose? Essentially, if you break down the QT and put it up only when bringing a new fish home, you'd be cycling with the already stressed out fish.
Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Currently I'm just using a 10 gallon tank, with a sponge filter, and air supply, and a heater.

What are your thoughts on the best way to bring fish home? Keep in mind, I either don't trust my LFS to QT the fish for me, or would be ordering from an online shipper like LiveAquaria.

 

[roka64]

Some folks keep a QT all the time, others will break them down and cycle when/if needed. If you keep it up all the time, you can feed it with flakes or other food two times a week to keep the bacteria alive. If you break it down, you can reseed it with your main tank, just test the water, to make sure it is cycled.

 

[alaher2]

I prefer to keep my QT running all the time, since it is in my bedroom I find the sounds of the water very soothing. I do exactly what was mentioned above, I put a few flakes here and there just so the bacteria have something to live off of. But then in case of an emergency I do have a hospital that is set and ready to go.