Hospital Tank?

hlsarge

Do you keep a small (empty) hospital tank operating in a "ready" state or do you set it up on an "as needed" basis?

AND

What is the typical length of stay in the hospital...one day, one week????

Tommy Gun

Hey hlsarge - good questions!!! You are doing yourself a huge favor by looking into a hospital tank before you need one...or do you need one now?

Obviously there are at least a few different opinions as to keep a hospital tank operating and cycled when there is no fish in it. My personal preference is to run my hospital/quarantine tank's filter on my display tank when I don't need it. My reasoning for using this method is due to a few advantages it offers such as freeing up some space by tearing down the q-tank when not in use, saving me some money on electricity for the q-tank's equipment, and letting the tank to become completely dry while in storage means it is not harboring anything from last time. In the past, I would always try to make my q-tank look like it is nothing more than a small display tank by having a substrate and decorations in there, but then I found those things only complicates things; albeit slightly. Nowadays, I set it up as a bare bottom tank with an oversized filter...and one decoration that allows the fish to hide out in (hopefully reducing stress as well), but also let's me observe the fish itself.

The most important thing to remember when using this method is that you would need to replace the filter media before putting the filter back on the main tank so that you are not transporting anything between the tanks.

The length of time would certainly vary depending on the issue you are trying to treat. It is also important to know that some illnesses/diseases really require a treatment being performed in the main tank (e.g. ich) because it can be transmitted easily. I think you can cross that bridge when you get there seeing as how you will be well equipped to do so.

cichlidgirl

Ok, found it.

The first method is to keep the filter up and running on a existing tank, or the main tank, then if i need it i just siphon off water from the main tank and fill the hospital tank. Move the entire filter to the hospital tank ,I then place the fish into the hospital tank and treat.( I fill 2/3 with tank water and top off with new fresh water. )This has the benefit of being able to keep the small hosp. tank out of site inside the cabinet of the main tank. That is a big plus.

The other way is to keep the tank up and running and lightly decorate .This method has the benefit of not having to do anything to set the tank up when you bring home a new fish to quarenteen or have to act fast in an emergency. I also run no chance of re infecting the main tank by accident. I also find this can be helpful if the tank is not occupied with sick fish for placing a fish temporarly when you have multi tanks and wish to change the tank he occupies. It allows me time to observe the other tanks and choose the one i wish to move him to in a more unhurried manner. I used to do the emty tank method but recently started doing this second method since i had too many fry for my fry tank and am now putting my hosp. tank to double duty as a second fry tank. (that is probably not a good policy to shoot for since the idea of a hopsital tank is to have a tank emty and available to treat fish at any time. I would have to move all my fry and their water , replace the water with the sick fishes water before beginning any treatment.)

I used to like to do the first option, run the filter on the main tank and keep the empty ten gallon dry and under the cabinet out of site. This worked for me for many years but have recently changed to the second method where i leave it up all the time. I did this because i have so many tanks and so many fish. If you only have one tank and few fish the first method might be the better for you.

Care should be taken to be sure that the disease is totally eradicated in the hospital tank before replacing the filter to the main tank. I also replace the disposable filter cartridge before putting it back on the main tank.

So over all there are benefits to both ways of doing it. Both ways are sound. It depends on your own preferences and needs.

hlsarge

Why do you do this. It seems that you would want to remove the fish from their water (which might be the cause of their problem) and start treatment in a known "clean" environment.

Tommy Gun

I'm not sure exactly what the quote meant but to answer your question about starting with 'clean' water, you would want to avoid placing any further stress your fish by making them endure large changes in water chemistry. As I mentioned before though, if the problem is in the water itself or is easily transmitted between fish (e.g. ich) then you need to treat the main tank in most cases.

cichlidgirl

You do this so that the fish is not "shocked" by totally different water parameters. Your tank when its up and running has its own ph, hardness,any water conditioners , oxygen levels etc. A fish becomes used to its surroundings and its body acclimatized to certain norms in water chemistry. Its a good idea to have some of the water from the tank it was in present in the new tank. It is called acclimation. It seems silly but its actually quite nessasary.

In a fully cycled tank it is always best to have a fish stay in some of the water from its original tank.

You will have to use your brain as far as choosing which diseases to treat in the hospital tank. A couple common examples are:
Ick- dont treat in hospital tank, the parasite is in the main tank, you remove and cure the fish and put it back in main tank it will just get sick again.

Fin damage or injury- treat in hospital tank, fighting can cause damage to fins, this can be treated in the hopsital tank and allow the fish to rest and heal before being re introduced to main tank.

New fish: quarenteen them in hopsital tank so any contageous diseases can be stopped and cured before introducing them to main tank

Bacterial infections from poor water conditions- treat the main tank.

these were just a couple examples to show you what i mean. You should research common fish diseases and learn which ones are contageous so you can know when to use the hopsital tank.

Often a hospital tank is convienent for people who have both multiple or large tanks, its alot cheaper and easier to treat a single fish in a ten gallon than a 75 or 100 gallon tank for example.

Tommy Gun

In 99.99% of bacterial infection cases, you would always want to treat in a hospital tank because the medications you are likely to be using can be largely detrimental to all bacteria - bad and good.

My suggestion would be to cross each bridge as you get there. It would take a lot of time to explain how to treat for each and every different type of illness/disease and every variable in between. There is no doubt that having that second tank is going to come in handy in numerous ways though and there isn't one of us who would be ill-advised to have one.

Loman

This is a really important point that I think too many people (myself included at times) ignores. Most of the diseases require some stimulus. That could be a bacteria, virus, fungus, parasite or probably some others too. If you use a QT tank properly you can avoid ever introducing those issues in the main tank. Even if something happens to cause the fish to be stresses and lower immune response if the primary stimulus is not present the fish can not get sick. So an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

cichlidgirl

I hope we are not going over board here with our discussion of meds for use in hospital vs main tanks.

Not to be disagreable but i think 99 percent is not correct anymore, that it depends on what kind of situation and what form of the meds your using. I noticed in many (but not all )cases the powder form of the meds for some reason is not harmful while the capsul form was . Careful study of the packaging should always be done. fin and tail rot, open sores, eye cloud, superficial wounds that get infected can all be treated in the main tank with any of the following products. I did not want to get in a debate so i copied directly from the api website. These were just the API meds, im sure if a search was done on the other pharmacuetical companies similar results can be found.

MelaFix?

Heals open wounds & abrasions, treats fin and tail rot, eye cloud, mouth fungus and promotes regrowth of damaged fin rays & tissue. Will not adversely affect the biological filter, alter the pH, or discolor water. Safe for reef aquariums and live plants. For use in fresh or salt water.

PimaFix?

Treats fungal infections and both internal and external bacterial infections. Will not adversely affect the biological filter, alter the pH, or discolor water. Safe for reef aquariums and live plants. For use in fresh or salt water. PimaFix has been formulated to work in combination with MelaFix to enhance effectiveness against fish diseases.

T.C. Tetracycline? Powder

Anti-bacterial medication for common tropical fish diseases such as bacterial tail rot, cotton mouth fungus and gill disease. Aquarium filtration will not affect treatment. For use in freshwater aquariums. This medication will not harm the biological filter. Note: This medication will cause a slight discoloration of water which can be removed with activated carbon.

Triple Sulfa? Powder

A special formula of three sulfa medications to effectively treat bacterial infections such as hemorrhagic septicemia (blood streaks in fins and body and localized swelling), bacterial gill disease, fin & tail rot, cotton mouth disease, body slime and eye cloud for both fresh and saltwater fish. This medication will not harm the biological filter and will not color aquarium water.

Furan-2? Powder

Contains two furan compounds to combat a wide variety of gram-positive & gram-negative bacterial diseases, including bacterial gill disease, open red sores (Aeromonas spp.), body slime & eye cloud, black molly disease (Flavobacterium columnaris) and fin & tail rot. For use in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums. This medication will not harm the biological filter. Note: This medication will cause a slight discoloration of water which can be removed with activated carbon.

hlsarge

Wow, a lot of good information. I might try some of that stuff in my whirlpool, I think it might help me. Like "eye cloud"...I'm sure I've had that before.

Is there any way for me to archive this thread for future reference? If I can't save it, can I mark it somehow so it will be easy to find?