New Quarantine Tank Questions

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redstart

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Jun 16, 2016
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I have a 60 gallon tank of mostly livebearers and tetras to which I added a new angelfish (which shame on me, I did not quarantine). Long story short, the angelfish never ate well and started to decline quickly after a few days. It is now doing very poorly and most likely will not make it through the night. While the angelfish never had visible signs of ich, I suspect it has it as now several of my other fish have some spots. I think I have caught it early enough as most of the fish are spot free and even the infected ones and very active and eating well. I started treating the tank last night with Super Ick Cure at half dose as I have a clown pleco.


If the angelfish does not make it, I would like to replace it after things have calmed down. I would like to setup my old 20G high as a quarantine tank so it will be ready when the time is right. Since I am treating the main tank with medication, taking filter media from the main tank and putting it in the quarantine is not an option. I do have some Tetra Safe Start and was wondering if I could use that to get things going. If I do use Safe Start, do I need to add something additional to help get the tank established or will that be enough? Also, how many weeks would you recommend waiting before adding fish to the main tank (once the ick appears to be gone)? If I could have a new fish starting quarantine while I am at the end of waiting period for the main tank that would be ideal. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
 

Rbishop

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I'd put another filter on the main, which would be for the QT tank. Run it there while the tank is treated and right up to the time you need to set up the QT. Then move that filter over to the QT when you put the new fish in it.
 

redstart

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Thanks so much for your reply! Any concerns with the medication killing off the good bacteria in the filter?
 

Rbishop

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I never use store bought meds for rich...just table salt and high heat.
 

Kannan Fodder

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Safe Start helps get the cycle going, but it doesn't cycle a tank on its own. You will still need something in the tank to keep the beneficial bacteria going.
 
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