You should wait for at least 15 days to maximum 30 days before you put new fish into an existing fish tank. When you buy new fish from a pet store it is necessary that you put those in a quarantine tank and observe their behavior.
When you buy new fish, you don’t have sufficient information about, where the fish came into the store and how they were taken care of. The store must be having a big number of tanks and it is almost impossible to look after each and every tank carefully and to the fullest precautions. This leads to loopholes for the diseases to creep in the store tanks.
You obviously don’t want all those diseases in your existing tank and contaminate the water. That is why it is always better to first set up a small quarantine tank and put newly bought fish in that tank. Even if the newly bought fish is in good health and shape it is always better to treat the fish with necessary procedures. To ensure that fish is happy in new tank it must fist get himself settled in a hospital tank and get used to the surroundings.
Not every fish keeper has the talent and experience to just visually identify if the fish is sick or not by looking at him. Many times the store fish tank is housed with hundreds of fish in a single tank and it is almost impossible to identify a sick fish from a healthy one. So to make things safe for your existing tank it is always better to fist put new fish in a hospital tank, wait for at least 15 days and then shift to main tank if you don’t see any visible signs of diseases growing up.
Another reason why it is bad idea to put fish in a quarantine tank is that when you buy fish, the person at the pet store uses a small net to transfer the fish from the tank into a small plastic bag. Now this same net gets inserted in all the tanks and this is where the problem begins. Even if a particular tank is maintained with all the necessary precautions when the net is dipped in another tank, it may carry contamination on it which gets transferred into the plastic bag. If water from this bag get into your main tank, the results can be devastating.
If you buy a pair of fish of different species then also a quarantine tank will help to see if they both adjust themselves with each other’s company or not. If you see they are fighting for life then it will be really difficult in the main tank.
Fish are very delicate and any change in their surrounding environment such as water temperature, lighting conditions, water chemistry affects their health immediately. The fish at the pet store are already under stress because of the human movement around the tank. Sometimes pet store owners do not take enough care to settle the tank in proper conditions. Simple movement of crowd around the tank can create vibrations in the tank water causing stress.
Small kids visiting pet stores sometimes have a habit of tapping the tank glass from outside and this can also create stress which in unbearable for some fish. That is why it s always better to first put fish in a quarantine tank for 15-30 days and then shift them to main tank.
What to observe when fish is in quarantine tank?
While the newly bought fish is in quarantine you can make observations for several things. Fish give you definite signals if they are sick and you can take all the necessary precautions to avoid accidents or deaths. If you don’t treat fish and simply shift them to main tank, chances are they will make other fish sick as well.
1) Behavior of fish.
2) Is he too sluggish than the store tank?
3) Is he eating food or leaving too much uneaten?
4) Is he violent with other fish?
5) Is he hiding behind decorations or plants?
6) Is he gasping for air at the top of tank?
7) Is he losing balance while swimming?
8) Are his gills red in color?
9) Are there any spots on body that are not part of his normal shades?
10) Are his eyes swollen?
11) If they are a pair then check if they are fighting for life or not?
12) Check if there are any physical injuries such as injured fish etc?
Which medical products one must have to treat fish in a quarantine tank?
Once you bought a new fish and put him in quarantine tank, it is time to start observing his behavior and physical symptoms for any illness or diseases. If you find that something is really “fishy” then you must have in you possession at least these 4 product that will cure most of the diseases.
Melafix– This is used to treat all bacterial diseases
Pimafix-This is an anti fungal medicine
General Cure – This is general purpose medicine for a variety of aquatic diseases.
Super Ick Cure – This medicine kills the ich parasite
Aquarium Salt – This is used to improve gill diseases and improves breathing of fish making them healthy again.
These medicines are not antibiotics and can only be used if the symptoms you see are simple or moderate. If the disease is a serious one then these will not work to cure it.
What to do if you don’t own a quarantine tank?
Setting up a quarantine tank is the best option when it comes to following all the necessary precautions if you are really serious about fish keeping but many times it requires extra cost of setting up a new tank and installing all the necessary equipment just like main tank
This can be costly affair and when you are just starting out it could not be the best option. Not having a quarantine tank is not an option if you are serious about fish health and long term plans. That’s why the best option is to start with only a few species that are easy to manage and if possible don’t think of adding extra fish for a few years. Once your tank gets settled and you get experience then get another hospital tank and think of adding new species.
Many fish keepers buy new fish from a plastic bag and simply let the bag with fish in it immerse in main tank water for about 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes the temperature of water in both spaces (main tank and inside of plastic bag) gets equal and fish feel less stressed. However in this method, the possibility of contamination is still there and a big risk if the fish are already diseased.
You must have some basic study of which species go well with each other and how to care for fish health in general. Obviously you won’t need a quarantine tank just the next day you are starting out but keep in mind that one day you’ll require that facility if you are planning long term.
Prevention is the cure applies here as well. Prevent buying new fish frequently till you are an expert in identifying a healthy and a diseased fish just by looking at them. By learning this skill you’ll be able to identify which fish to buy at the pet store so that you don’t end up buying a sick fish and increase the risk of contamination or infection in the main tank.