QT Size

[michael_cb_125]

Hello everyone!

I am trying to decide on which size tank to use for my new QT. The fish that I will be putting through are:

Small Anthias (<3")
Dwarf Angelfish (<3")
Dwarf Angelfish (>4")
Large Angelfish (<5")
Butterflyfish (5")


Obviously these fish would all be put through the process individually.

Thanks for any help!

~Michael

 

[JHemdal]

Michael,

I think the butterfly listed above would require the most room. I just quarantined a 5" Modestus butterflyfish in a 15" by 18" by 12" chamber of a 110 gallon system (so no issue with biological overcrowding). I normally would give a fish that size an 85 gallon quarantine tank, but I had none open. The fish is doing great, still in there, been about 4 months, waiting to be moved out.
I was going to say that a 40 gallon breeder would be a perfect choice, but then I read you tagline that says you have two Elos minis - doesn't seem right to have a quarantine tank larger than your displays (grin).

Jay

 

[wooden_reefer]

Hello everyone!

I am trying to decide on which size tank to use for my new QT. The fish that I will be putting through are:

Small Anthias (<3")
Dwarf Angelfish (<3")
Dwarf Angelfish (>4")
Large Angelfish (<5")
Butterflyfish (5")


Obviously these fish would all be put through the process individually.

Thanks for any help!

~Michael

It is not obvious at all.

QTing a lot of fish at the same time demands more confidence and skills.

The skills are in disease control. And many sick fish all in the same tank is quite scary for the newbies. Not recommended for the newbies.

The size of the QT is important, but a rather large AGA is not expensive these days. A 50 gal AGA is about $60 here in SoCal. A tank that will not stop the fish from feeding is the min; otherwise not critical for eight weeks.


I always prefer to QT as many fish as I plan to have in DT. This requires more skills and confidence, but streamlines the QT process to be thorough and effcient. Fish that will not feed easily in a QT are in a different class, however, and requires special considerations. Otherwise, the amount of bioload in QT per se is not the limitation of QT.

One always cycles the medium of filtration intend for QT very well in advance so that there will be no ammonia problem, especially when no drug that impairs nitrification is used. I always have active UV in QT, when I eradicate ich, against lurking waterborne pathogenic bacteria and viruses, when I am not using a drug that is degraded by UV.

If you do not have experience in disease control, QTing fish one at a time is wiser.

 

[Chris27]

Hopefully you have a much larger system in the making if you're planing on keeping a large angel and the anthias -

With that said, 33 Long, 30-40 Breeders, and 55 Gals would all be great choices for a QT. Most of those fish are active swimmers, and QT would be that much less stressful on them if they have a few feet of room to stretch their fins so to speak.

One other option is to simply use a large plastic sterilite bin from walmart - they only cost about $10 and will serve the purpose you need them for.

Word of advise, the fish you listed are delicate fish, so do think about having a well cycled bacterial filter going prior to adding any of those guys to QT, it will simplify your life by cutting back on water changes and such.

 

[Aqua_boy]

you can use 30 long ,20-30 breeders and about 40gals is sufficent for these QT.

The fishes your have listed are delicate so be sure they are handled with care