Quarantining Kole Tang

[petoonia]

I am getting a kole tang for my 75G tank. I am going to be quarantining it in a 10G tank. Im not going to do any treatments like hypo unless it shows signs of ich. I am a little worried about putting the tang in a 10G tank for an extended amount of time. Could the confined space of a 10G cause too much stress? How long should I keep it in there if it shows no signs of illness?

 

[Jan]

I just bought a 20 gallon QT tank for exactly that reason. I would be afraid to keep a larger fish like a tang in a 10 gallon for any length of time. I just saw a beautiful tang in the LFS in a too small tank and it was "pacing" back in forth like a caged lion....looked very unhappy to me.

 

[mmkeeper]

A word of advise put a cover over the tank.

 

[Brenden]

I would try to get something bigger. The 29 gal tanks at walmart are cheap. That is what I use.

 

[petoonia]

Thanks everyone. I'll have to look into the 29G at wal mart. Are those 29G tanks 2 or 3 feet long? I will definitely cover the tank too. I would really hate to add any unnecessary stress to the tang!!!

 

[aquarookie]

I know of someone who put a healthy regal tang into a 10 gallon tank for a week (they were getting ready to sell me the fish and wanted to catch it while they could). Well, by the time I got him, he had ick and all sorts of other yuck. Don't put your tang into such a small tank, please do invest in something bigger. If you were "local", I would let you use my 55, but of course that's a moot point...

 

[Brenden]

I think the 29 gal was 30" If you want me to measure it I will. I bought 2 of them and stands to use as QT's

 

[petoonia]

30" sounds about right. I'll probably go take a look at the 29G this week.

Does anyone just do dips in either fresh water, or something like Paragurad and then add the fish to the main tank? It seems to me the dip would probably be really stressful. Has anyone successfully used this method? Someone suggested this to me, but I'm a little uneasy about just doing a dip.

 

[aquarookie]

I have done FW dips, and in my experience they did not help. I think Ick (and other things) only falls off in FW when it is on the outside. But if I am not mistaken, ick also lives inside the gills and FW does not always get to all of it. Just my 2 cents

 

[petoonia]

Thanks aquarookie!!! I think I'll definitley use my QT tank. It just seems like a dip really cant be that effective.

 

[Jan]

I read the same thing that Aquarookie said, that freshwater dips don't remove ich from the gills....

 

[ronj]

FW dips don't do much of anything for ich...they can relieve the fish of a few trophonts that aren't embedded deeply, but they aren't a good treatment for ich, by any means.....also, if you use the 10g, which isn't the best(but i have done it ), you should definately keep the tank covered and dark, with only ambient room light..this will cut back on stress for the fish..also,keep up with the water changes on a small tank like that..if you do go with a bigger QT tank, try a 20long...the length is better for the fish ,and it has more surface area for gas exchange

I know of someone who put a healthy regal tang into a 10 gallon tank for a week (they were getting ready to sell me the fish and wanted to catch it while they could). Well, by the time I got him, he had ick and all sorts of other yuck.

if it got ich, it wasn't healthy to begin with, or the tank got contaminated somehow..stress does not cause ich.... it has to be present for the fish to get it..

 

[redrooster]

The ich problem has got to be a west coast thing. Or a bad dealer thing. I've never quarenteend and don't know anybody around here that does (don't get me wrong I'm not knocking it I think its a good idea) I know about 30 people with tanks who over the last five years have owned a least 200 fish. Zero cases of the ich. Almost all the fish have been from the same 2 dealers though. I'm not trying to make a point, I just find it odd that here in Chicago ich is pretty much unheard of. I first heard of qurantining on here and most people around here I mention it too are like "what the hell are you talking about". You'd be hardpressed in my area to find a fish with ich unless you go to petsmart. Maybe the dealers by me "****can" anything that shows any sign of illness upon arrival?

 

[petoonia]

More than likely they probably medicate all of their fish. The LFS where Im getting my tang also medicates, but I still dont want to take the chance of introducing something to the tank. There are other things besides ICH that can be passed along to the main tank. You never know what a fish could be carrying when it is caught in the wild. Id rather be safe than sorry.

 

[ronj]

i heard that!!!