FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I recently lost most of my fish to ammonia and ich, i have 4 remaining fish that survived (1 krib, 1 gold barb, 1 swordtail and a 2-3" goldfish that was always in my 5 gallon but still had ich at one time); there is also 1 fiddler crab that was only kept in the 5 gallon. they are now all in the 5 gallon tank. i redid my 29 gallon and am now in the process of cycling it. i plan on getting 4 tiger barbs to start off with in the near future; i plan on taking it slow to try to prevent any chance of getting ich again. i want to use my 5 gallon as a quarantine tank. should i A) take the remaining 4 fish back to the pet store or try to find someone to take them, so that the Q-tank will be empty, B) just put the tiger barbs in with the current occupants temporarily (for the 1-2 quarantining weeks), until i introduce them to the 29 gallon, or C) just put the tiger barbs directly into the 29 gallon and forget about having a quarantine tank?

Quarantine tanks are always a good idea, so I think you should keep the 5g as a QT tank. Your 5g is a bit crowded IMO as the goldish will get big as well as the swordtail. I think you should move those out of there or maybe even take them back to the lfs. As for the 29... is it already cycled? Because if it is i would put the tiger barbs in the 29g and add some other fish that you like. Beware though as tiger barbs can be nippy. As for the lone green barb maybe get it some buddies and put them in the 29 also. You should keep the 5g for QT but it is kind of small and you shouldnt keep bigger fish in it.

i_spaz_out

I have never owned a quarantine tank in 35+ years.
Please dont get me wrong. But I think somewhere along the line you went to fast or was possibly given the wrong advice.

A Quarantine tank is a good I idea but remember it must be kept going at all times to keep all the parameters correct.

Ich
It has to be introduced either by a fish, plants, DW, or water and any thing else that is with the water.

I store my prepared water for at least 7 days before it is introduced into the tank. As there is no host (fish) it will not reproduce and therefore die.

Always be very selective at a LFS if they dont practice safe and good housekeeping go elswhere.

Never buy fish that has just come into the shop wait several days to see if are all OK Make regular visits and just look.

Ask any members in FP for the name of a good LFS in your area.

When you have made your final choice post it again to make sure it is OK

Only buy a few (2-3) at a time this then will not alter the water peramiters very much at all.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

(1 krib, 1 gold barb, 1 swordtail and a 2-3" goldfish that was always in my 5 gallon but still had ich at one time); there is also 1 fiddler crab that was only kept in the 5 gallon. they are now all in the 5 gallon tank.

You have way too many fish in that tank. I am honestly having a hard time figuring out how they all fit in there.

The fish you have now need to be given larger homes asap. If that means you have to take them back to the fish store, by all means do that. If you want to keep them you will need to move them to bigger tanks. Suggested tank size for the fish you have there to keep them for their entire lives - full size is in brackets:

krib (3-4"- 20 gallons
gold barb (4" but extremely active) - 40-50 gallons
swordtail (up to 5" for males) - 40 gallons
goldfish (8-14" depending on variety)- 75-125 gallons depending on variety, pond if common golfish rather than fancy.
Hermit crabs are OK in 5 g

So, if you aren't too intent on keeping the fish, I would return them. Ich and disease in tanks are a good sign that your fish are stressed out by poor living conditions, the best way to fix that is to give them properly sized homes. Even if they are still very small, overcrowding is very stressful.

You don't need to QT the tiger barbs if you're adding them directly to an empty tank. Just put them right in. Eventually I would suggest you get at the very least 6 tiger barbs as they can be a bit nippy and aggressive unless they're kept in large schools. You can keep the krib if you want, it would do well in your 29 gallon tank. If you like the hermit crab you can also keep it in the 5 gallon tank, the choice is yours.

I personally don't keep specific quarantine tanks, I usually use rubbermaid bins because they're much cheaper than buying a whole separate tank. They work well and are good to have on hand for new fish purchases and sick or stressed fish. they also make good grow out tanks for fry.

If you want to keep something in the 5 gallon tank and decide to part with the crab, there are many great options that will not outgrow it and provide you years of entertainment. Fish kept in tanks that are too small suffer from a lot of problems. They are often diseased because it's extremely difficult to keep water quality good in a tank that's too small, they get stressed out because of overcrowding, and eventually they will suffer physical deformities and death from stunting. Nobody likes sick/dead fish, so a little bit of planning goes a long way in choosing fish appropriate to the size of tank you have.

Sorry, I'm not trying to lecture and I know it's bad news - just trying to save you a lot of heartbreak and frustration later.

Last edited by trystianity at 20-Aug-2005 20:36



Last edited by DarkRealm Overlord at 20-Aug-2005 20:44

i only put those fish in the 5 gal temporarily because my 29 gal was messed up. i know that it's too much, but it's better than leaving them in the 29 gal to die.

Actually it would have been better to leave them in the 29 and correct the water quality issue with some large water changes. In a 5 gallon tank the waste that those fish produce is far more detrimental. What I posted before still applies. You need to move them or they will die. They may not die tomorrow, but they will die well before their time in a tank that size. 5 gallons is really only appropriate for the smallest of fish.

You said you're cycling the 29 gallon - do you have fish in there or are you doing it without?

Last edited by trystianity at 22-Aug-2005 17:25

i'm cycling without fish. my specs are looking pretty good, hopefully i'll have some fish in by friday at the earliest. (today is monday). yah, i know i have to move the fish, i plan on it. i had tried to trat the bigger tank, but when you lose about 15 fish in 2 days and you've got a few left, gasping for air... you start to lose faith that a water change is going to save them. i still lost 3 fish in the hospital tank, after the move. the 3 remaining seem to be doing well tho. once i can put them in my tank or get them another home, they'll be out of the 5 gal, don't worry.