Size and type for a QT Tank?

[pratishk]

After getting a couple of stressed fish and advice from Fresh2O and others on here, starting to research about Quarantine Tanks (QTs).

Done some searches on here and wanted to ask if I could use any of the following as QT tanks?

I can only afford space-wise a small tank - so around 10-15L - is that alright?

And so thought about a second hand Baby Biorb? or a Marina 360?

what are your thoughts/experiences...?

 

[Fresh2o]

Most folks would recommend a much larger tank (10g/40L). IMO depends on the species. We are taking about guppies so you could use a tank half this size.
I use a 6.6g (~25L) for my QT. The fish I have are guppy size and smaller. I also run a small internal filter filled with established media. I monitor tank parameters and perform regular water changes.
Could you use 10-15L? I suppose you could as long as you are prepared to perform frequent water changes as parameters can swing wildly due to the low volume.


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[pratishk]

cheers,

could I keep shrimp in it - are they quite hardened to fish illnesses? sorry if this is a very noob type question!

but read someone kept snails and shrimp in their QT?

 

[Matt68005]

I would use a cheap ten gallon with a spoonge filter and heater.
You should look up "fishQ procedures" its actually pretty cool, basically you can go the prophalactic med route, or just (probaly best) the clean water heat and observe route.
Setting the temp in the Q tank to 84 for guppies should give you a chance to notice anything wrong with them in 2-3 weeks, aside from worms, which are a pain, and alot of people "de-worm" new fish just in case even if their not sick.
Do not put any gravel or plants or anything in the Q tank. If you want, you can paint the backs of your tanks or get scene backdrops from petstores or walmart.

 

[pratishk]

Thanks Matt,

Tried searching for fishQ procedures, not sure what I'm meant to get. Do you mean search on this forum or Google?

If you have a link that would be useful,

Thanks

 

[Matt68005]

I meant just google it. I cannot find the original thing i read the other day but here are a couple links
How to Quarantine Marine Fish — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

There was a article that described a breeder's technique about medicating prophactially for the first couple weeks then observing for naother week or two
Im a big fan of using the right med and curing a disease, but im not a fan of medicating for no reason. So i would just use something like AQ salt and crank the heater up, maybe some "quick cure" for parasites on the fish body and gills (especialy if they came from a pet store with a singular water system and alot of other fish have ick)
De-worming guppies, especially if you have had worms before, or the store has (you can usually tell a guppy with worms by its sunken flat belly is not a bad idea. You could use the prazi pro or if you are really concerned go to angels plus and order some de-wormer flake food. (prazipro does not treat the type of camallus internal nematode that guppies often get and die from, and its a pain to get rid of!)
I tell you all these things sounds to the lamen hobbyist like overkill, but since guppies get sick so often, its well worth it. With new guppies you must avoid stress, maintain high water quality *(bare bottom) and provide adequate diet with plenty of veggy food and stuff like blood worms or freeze dried tubifex worms even water fleas *(daphnia) as something like brine shrimp has a high protein content and is mostly used for Fry growth. Too much protein is gonna bind up their gut and then they bloat and keel over dead. So in short, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure for new or imported fish.