Quarantine Tip

[angelminx]

I've never thought about mentioning it before, but when you quarantine your fish and want to cover/darken the tank, if you just want to block light from entering at the front of the tank, and are using a 10G, a bathroom hand towel is just the right size!

This is my QT that I'm using for my new Banjo catfish:

 

I keep it covered part of the time (I have a west-facing window on the opposite wall) while they adjust (and when I have my bedroom lights on later in the evening). My male Betta and some Ghost Shrimp also live there.

Angelminx

[Carl]

Good idea!

When we received new fish in our store, the quarantine tanks were always covered.

I know a large top fish distributor (Quality Marine), covers many of their tanks with new arrivals

Carl

[angelminx]

I try to remember to cover the bucket during their acclimation period, too (also when I treated the Banjos in the bucket the other day). Sometimes I forget at 1st .  When I do the acclimation, the fish are in one specimen container (with the other one next to it to keep it from tipping over) that is sitting a (5 gallon) bucket in tank-temperature water (that I keep an eye on), with the tubing running from the tank taped in place.  I set the timer to lift the towel (the same towel as in the photo) and check both the water level in the specimen container and the temp of the water it's sitting in...and make adjustments if needed.  I add the Methylene Blue after testing the pH/KH of their transportation water (and the tank water).  In the specimen container, I start with enough water from their bag to cover the fish by 1-2", start the drip, and add the MB.  My water tends to run around 7.5, and the water they come from usually ranges from 8.0-8.3 (I check both each time I bring fish home to be sure), so after a few hours the color from the MB has lightened up enough that I can start taking readings again.  At 1st the water is usually still blue enough that I'm only getting an approximate reading, but it does give me an idea where I am/they are in the process.

When I got my Bamboo Shrimp, I had him acclimating in one specimen container (because he was going directly into the 55G--nutrition concerns if he went into the quarantine tank) and the fish in the other one ; both in the bucket, and receiving water from their respective destinations .

Angelminx

[Deleted]

Hi Angelminx,

Your post made me smile... I have old bath towels in my son's former bedroom. My son is home for Thanksgiving. After I feed the fish in the evening, I cover the aquariums (two 20 gallon and a ten gallon) so they don't get stressed when my son goes to bed --turning on the room light when it is dark. All three aquariums have blue lights so the fish are not in total darkness.

Judy