# Quarantine Tank Questions



## Kups (Aug 26, 2008)

Hi Everybody!

I brought home 5 clown loaches today and they are in a 5 gallon quarantine tank. I taped a black garbage bag around the tank to keep it dark for them. I'm running an fluval+1 internal filter, heater and an elite 799 air pump. I've also put on a lid that keeps the tank dark. There are three small flower pots and a piece of pvc pipe in there too. 
So...I'm wondering if it's okay to keep them in total darkness or if I should be giving them some light? I was thinking I could slowly lower the garbage bag on one side of the tank over the next few days.

Also, my air pump seems quite strong. I don't want to stress them but for all I know they could like it  Does anyone with clown loach experience have any suggestions as to whether or not I should leave the air pump alone or try to reduce the air flow. 

Thanks!!


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

i believe clown loaches enjoy a relatively strong current. hopefully someone else chimes in here.

JOC, how long can you keep clown loaches in a 5g?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

How big are thses loaches? Hopefully no bigger than .5 - 1 inch, as theres a lot inthere for 5g of water. Are you using a cycled filter or are you doing regular (everyday) water changes?

Darkness is fine, but it's also fine to give them a normal day night cycle


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi Kups.

Hm, never heard about keeping fish in total darkness in a QT. That is not their natural environment. I suspect that as long as they have places to hide then there's no need for that unless the tank is in a high traffic area where they're constantly being disturbed.

Does the QT have a bare glass bottom or substrate? I've always believed that bare glass was the best but just lately I was chewed out by a leading Corydoras expert who said that a sand bottom was best for bottom feeding fish as the bare glass, under a microscope, can be quite sharp and abrasive. Take from that what you will.

I always dump some plants in my QT. Not only does it give them additional hiding spots, but it also helps to control the nitrate.

I think 5 loaches in a 5 gallon is pushing the envelope. It helps to have an over sized cycled filter. But I'd keep a close eye on the nitrate levels. If all the readings are 0 then there's no need for daily water changes, just regular weekly.

Good luck and cheers.


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## Kups (Aug 26, 2008)

*Crowded*

Yeah, the 5 gallon is definitely not ideal as they're over 2" but I do have a good filter and an air pump going. The tank bottom is bare currently. The filter has some good bacteria in it and I'm using only water from a cycled tank. I'm changing maybe 20% of the water daily as the tanks are the same temp and right next to each other. I took down the garbage bag on one side of the tank last night and I'm leaving it down. They all seemed to be in good shape so far, full colour, eating, swimming around but it's only been a day. Nitrate was under 10 this morning, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite. I had added a bit of salt when they first went in as well as tiny bit of Tetra Easy Balance. 
I plan on leaving them in there for at least a week? Ideally I would quarantine them for a month but it's just too small to do so. If any ick shows up or any other problems I guess I'll have to go bigger, maybe a rubbermaid container or something. 
The guy at the lfs seemed to think a 5 gallon was fine but also thought that quarantine was not necessary.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Wow, that awfully crowded to put 5 2" clown loach in a 5G tank. Keep testing the water because I think that much fish will definately set off a cycle in such a small tank.
As for blacking out the tank, I don't get it. Why in the world would you black out a tank as a QT method?

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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Kups said:


> .
> The guy at the lfs seemed to think a 5 gallon was fine but also thought that quarantine was not necessary.


Famous last words...

I kept 3 adult and 11 juvenile Corydoras in a 2.5 for 4 weeks once. Long story but they all survived. The key is clean water, twice daily 25% water changes with bottom siphoning, excellent aeration, and prayer.

Your dilemma here is do you take the chance of possibly infecting your main tank or of having your loaches die in the 5.

Consider: If you do due diligence with the 5 then there's an excellent chance they'll survive, if they have no ailments. If you add them to the main tank and they are infected them you just may lose your whole tank. The first one you have control over, the second you don't.

"Do ya feel lucky punk? Do you?".

Ultimately it's your call.

Good luck and cheers.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

why not just use a larger QT tank? ummm...guess it depends on how many spare tanks you have....MTS makes you forget that sometimes.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

IMO, if you get ick with the loaches, you're pretty SOL, as loaches are extremely sensitive to the medications for ich, being scaleless fish.

I'd qt them long enough that you can go through any treatment regimes you have set up (anti-parasitics, etc), and then put them into the DT, as the longer they are cramped into the qt, the more stressed they will be.

As for the bare or not, I think bare is the way to go, as it makes cleaning that much easier, and also monitoring them becomes easier, and seeing their stool to monitor for any signs of parasites becomes easier.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> IMO, if you get ick with the loaches, you're pretty SOL, as loaches are extremely sensitive to the medications for ich, being scaleless fish.
> 
> I'd qt them long enough that you can go through any treatment regimes you have set up (anti-parasitics, etc), and then put them into the DT, as the longer they are cramped into the qt, the more stressed they will be.
> 
> As for the bare or not, I think bare is the way to go, as it makes cleaning that much easier, and also monitoring them becomes easier, and seeing their stool to monitor for any signs of parasites becomes easier.


So, what regime do you go through?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

lol good question.

I now qt for just a few days (usually no more than three) looking for signs of internal parasites and any other outward maladies, I put the fish through a round of prazipro just in case they're carrying any parasties, and then put them into the DT. I dose with a reduced dose of mela/pima fix for the next few days just as a precaution. Has worked well so far for me.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> lol good question.
> 
> I now qt for just a few days (usually no more than three) looking for signs of internal parasites and any other outward maladies, I put the fish through a round of prazipro just in case they're carrying any parasties, and then put them into the DT. I dose with a reduced dose of mela/pima fix for the next few days just as a precaution. Has worked well so far for me.


Hmm. The 'fix regimes state that the treatment be done for 7 days. Aren't you afraid of shorting the treatment and creating super bugs?


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## Kups (Aug 26, 2008)

*Interesting...*

Would it be possible for me to add medication to the tank in hopes of speeding this process up? I realize there is still a risk but to me it seems like even if I go 2+ weeks I'm running a risk due to the tank size.

I could also go out and get a 20 gallon high at big als. My filter would probably be fine as I'm doing water changes daily. I would need to get a heater for it too as I have a 50 watt currently.

I just don't want to go to the bigger tank if it's not going to be a significant benefit as it's more work, more money and more stress on the fish to move to another new home.

Let me know what you think, thanks.


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

I would stay with the smaller tank. I use 5 gallon tanks for my QT and Isolation needs (one for salt and one for freshwater) and have had no issues with mini-cycles or other such adverse water qualities issues due to a fairly similiar regimine.


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## Kups (Aug 26, 2008)

*Thanks*

Thanks for the advice everyone!


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

personally Iuse 5gl buckets from dairy queen (ip from sunstar)
I have 7 extra AC and extra heaters ,and if I dont have an empty tank I use them .
The only hard pART is looking at them .

ONCE I have used a bucket I toss it as DQ(food grade safe for fish) saves their buckets for me so I always have lots!!
gl


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I would be worried about the 5gal too. If the filter was a filter for a 30g aquarium with a huge sponge, then the biofilter would handle the load, but you'd get really fast buildup of final products like nitrates. But if he's really changing some water almost daily, it should be okay. For the amount of work all that water changing would be, I'd be tempted to grab a 20g bare tank at the LFS, and just go with that for QT. 

Is there any Ich meds that are known to be less brutal on loaches and other scaleless/microscaled fish?

W


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