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LAST WEEK, I SET UP A GROW-OUT/QUARANTINE TANK. I CURRENTLY HAVE SOME KRIBENSIS FRY THAT I PULLED OUT OF ONE OF MY TANKS. IT IS A 29 GALLON TANK. I ALSO PLAN ON USING IT AS A QUARANTINE TANK WHEN I PURCHASE NEW FISH. I RECENTLY HAD AN ICH PROBLEM IN ONE OF MY AFRICAN TANKS AND I LEARNED MY LESSON. I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ALSO HAVE QUARANTINE TANKS, DO YOU LEAVE THEM EMPTY WHEN NOT IN USE? I WAS THINKING OF THROWING SOME DANIOS TO KEEP IT CYCLED AT ALL TIMES. THAT WAY, WHEN I BUY FISH, THE TANK WILL REMAIN FULLY CYCLED AND READY TO GO WITHOUT RISKING EXPENSIVE FISH. OTHERWISE, YOU ARE RECYCLING THE TANK EVERY TIME. OF COURSE, THE WAY MY KRIBS ARE REPRODUCING, I MAY NEVER GET THE CHANCE TO USE THE TANK FOR ANYTHING ELSE. MY LAST BATCH INCLUDED 80 FRY!

Your idea is one of the options people use for maintaining quarantine tanks, and not a bad one. Not only does it prevent having to re-cycle an aquarium, it also means your set-up already has water that's already stable not just in nitrogenous compounds, but in temperature and pH (chances are when you completely fill up a tank from the tap that it's temperature is probably not in the 78 F range, so having the tank already filled is helpful!).

In any case, if you constantly have a quarantine tank ready, the only alternative I can see would be to put the filter floss from your quarantine tank's filter in one of your existing tank's filter (preferably close in water quality). That way, your existing fish can provide the food for bacteria to colonize the filter floss and you don't have to trouble yourself with keeping another tank other than filling it up from time to time. Of course, the quarantine tank should still have the filter running or something to keep it from going anaerobic if you do this. But when you buy a fish, all you have to do is take your filter floss from another tank and put it into your quarantine tank's filter. That way, you don't have to worry about any purchases beating up or eating your little danios.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.