Article Quarantine Tank: The single most important tool to have

The single most important tool to have

A Quarantine Tank (QT) is a very important accessory for the serious and responsible aquarist. But one of the pitfalls of setting up a QT is that it often ends up as another fish tank, and then when you need it, there is no place to quarantine fish! Also, some people just don't have the space to keep a QT running all the time. For this reason, it is best to have a system that can be taken down, cleaned and stored between uses, then easily set up again whenever needed.

When adding new fish to an established community, it is best to quarantine the new fish for at least two weeks prior to introducing them into the main aquarium. If the new fish have parasites or diseases, they can be diagnosed and treated, preventing the introduction of harmful organisms into the main aquarium. Some people will treat all new fish with an anti-parasitic medication even when no symptoms are present, much in the same way that cats and dogs are routinely dewormed. Wild-caught fish are very likely to have parasites but show no symptoms, and may infect the domestic-bred fish which can quickly be overcome. Or the wild-caught fish may not have been exposed to pathogens the domestic fish carry and may be overcome. It is especially important to quarantine new fish when they are intended for a tank already containing valuable fish, which would be difficult to replace. Live plants may also be quarantined to help prevent the infestation of snails and other harmful organisms.
When fish are sick or injured, it is sometimes easier, to remove them to a hospital tank and treat them separately from the main community, if the main tank is not affected by the illness. The QT is usually smaller than the main tank as well. This makes it more feasable to treat sick fish, as medication for a 40 gallon tank is less costly than medication for a 200 gallon tank. Also, many times there are invertebrates in the main tank which may be harmed by some medications used to treat fish. In the case where medication is needed for the main tank, the inverts can be removed to the QT while the main tank is being treated, then safely returned after the treatment and all medications have been removed using carbon.