How to maintain a QT?

[bethyMT]

Hi all. This is going to sound like a dumb post, and I have been at this for a long time, but I STILL don't know for sure how to maintain a quarantine tank for a sick fish. I've got a black skirt tetra who is not acting right, she's a little bloated and swimming wierd (kinda sideways), with a bit of fuzzy stuff around her mouth. I put her in the 5.5g QT because she's breathing heavily and the other skirts were nipping her.

I think I am going to treat her with maracyn 2. Now, here's the maintenance question: the QT isn't filtered (but it does have an airstone/pump and heater). How much water will I want to change per day AND does this affect the dose of the maracyn I add each day?

It would great if anyone could help me...it's so silly that I still don't know how to do this, but I don't! I don't even know if I can save her, but I'd like to try and not have her swimming about in a completely skanky QT. Thank you!!

[registereduser]

I have no idea if it's the right thing to do but I have a 2 gallon QT container and I do 100% water changes every 2 or 3 days.

[Kuronue]

I have a few qts that are a little over 1g. I do daily water changes of about 50% along with a weekly 100% water change.

If I'm QTing more than one fish. I do 2 50% changes a day, pretty much one every 12 hours.

May seem a bit extreme, but if there is something wrong where the fish is quarantined anyway, take no chances.

[Crowntails]

I own a 5.5 gallon QT tank. It's like any other tank. Has a filter, a heater, sand, and plants to make my inhabitants feel safe. The sand is a light color so I can see if their are any fecal issues. I'd put a filter on yours. I do 30-50% water changes once a week. I have fish in it right now, because I need to see if they have illnesses until they go up to my 15 gallon tank.

Since your fish isn't doing well, I'd do 15-20% water changes every other day and a huge 50% once a week.

[bethyMT]

Crowntails, I'd totally do it as you have if I didn't have a sick fish on my hands. Everything in there will have to be sterlized once this issue is resolved, so it's bare bottomed and not filtered, but everything else is there (plants, heat, air). When I set up a QT for new fish, it will look different and be filtered.


I am going to try to at least a partial change every day to keep things fresh. At this point it doesn't look like little fish is going to make it...whatever is wrong with her, it can't be visually determined and I think she's had a problem for a long time. But I am trying.