Hospital tank

[millincolin]

My lfs has brought me in two discus and they have them in a hospital tank for me because i dont have one. they had them for one week and i went in to check up on them and one had developed ick. they told me to wait a few days for them to fix the problem and then they should be able to go in their new home. Should i trust him or should i let them keep the fish for one extra week? or should i not get the fish at all and wait till i have hopital tank of my own?

[-gb-]

From my experience you should invest in a small hospital tank and quarantine the fish yourself. Ick is not a big deal if treated correctly and early. Best if you take matters into your own hands.

As for buying the fish in the first place… again in my experience you should look into getting your fish from a private breeder. You’re almost guaranteed to get a better fish.
(NO hormones or disease)

Just post your location and ask if anyone in your area is selling Discus. I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone.

[cobaltblue]

Have your lfs turn the heat up in the qt tank. My fish have never gotten ick, as i keep the temps around 84-85 degrees. YOu really should get yourself a 15 or 20g tank though to keep as a hospital tank. It comes in very handy. Especially once you get fully addicted to discus and you have like 20 of them and need to treat a 180g tank with metro.....way to expensive. lol

[Evan]

I would personally let them keep the fish.

Get your own hospital tank. You do not know if proper cleaning has been done, if they are using common nets and equipment for all of the tanks. IMO 2 weeks is not a sufficient period for QT.

[AADiscus]

I'm with Evan, I wouldn't get them. Why buy sick fish? You are asking for alot of head ache from the very beginning. IMO Sounds like if the fish have ick then they are not taking proper care of them. There is probably more problems than you can see or they are telling you.

[Jarrod]

Ditto Evan and Angela...enough work trying to keep the fish healthy and happy without added work of getting sick ones in..JMHO but invest in a 15 gal and set it up strictly as a qt/hosp tank.
Jarrod

[Kindredspirit]

I agree ~ let them keep em! Why start off with problems? Nothing worse then trying to treat sick fish on a continuing basis ~ even tho Ich is relatively easy to treat~


Good Luck!


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_4_10.gif

[Cosmo]

Ditto with everyone :p Don't buy those fish and do setup your own hospital / quarantine tank. You're simply asking for trouble otherwise IMO

Also, check in the sponsor section, many good suppliers of quality fish there :)

Jim

[millincolin]

I actualy have a 15 galon tank not in use and a sponge filter in my big tank but I m worried about culturing a new tank. I would think it would take a long time.

[pcsb23]

I actualy have a 15 galon tank not in use and a sponge filter in my big tank but I m worried about culturing a new tank. I would think it would take a long time.
If you've got a sponge running in an existing tank, chances are that already cycled and good to go. With a QT tank you should be doing large daily w/c using aged stable water. this will keep any spike under control.

a 15 is good for QT'ing 2 medium to large discus, any more than that and you won't cope.

[millincolin]

So i got my QT tank set up and going. I asked my GF to go out and get some cheep fish and put them in the tank while i was at work. I cam home and she had gotten ten of the most sickly feeders i have ever seen. what steps should be taken to clean the tank of all the desises and parasites that the feeders have brought to it.

[Evan]

I would drain it and bleach all of the equipment. Get a new sponge for the filter. After you bleach rinse with clean water and dry it off. You can use prime when you refill if it makes you feel good.

I usually keep an extra sponge in a tank, when I need to start a new tank I just take that one and it's good to go.