brawlymcknuckles

I had my water tested and my tank finally appears to be cycled and believe that the worst of the ICH outbreak is behind me.

10 Gallon brackish tank w/ 1 guppy
- temp 84 F
- pH 7.2
- ammonia 0
- Nitrites 0 (for the most part...slight slight color but def. less than .1)
- Nitrates 5

I am going to wait another 2 weeks before adding more fish. Two questions

1. I assume before adding another type of fish I assume I should give my guppy a few friends?

2. I don't have a quarantine tank setup and it is highly unlikely I will have one in the foreseeable future. Is it worth isolating the fish for a few hours in a fish bowl while I get them used to my tank water (rather than letting my bag float). I basically want the best possible/least stressful transition. I am so terrified I will get another ich outbreak and wipe out my tank again ( I do believe my first outbreak was a combo of unhealthy fish and assuming my tank was cycled when in fact it was not.

Thanks
Jason

Nick G

Why do you have Guppies in a brackish tank? Guppies arer freshwater fish and don't need salt. It's always best to quarentine fish if you can.

agabr123

well first off, the guppy does not need brackish water. mollies have been kept in freshwater so long that less than 10% actually need the brackish, they are perfectly healthy and happy in freshwater, but not guppies, they're only freshwater.

also, yes, i'd definitely get a couple more guppies. if you have a male now and you don't want fry, just get two more males. i have three males in my 10 gallon, and they're all perfectly healthy and happy. if you get females, you need at least 3 to keep aggression down, and you are almost guaranteed to have fry.

as far as your quarantine issue.....you can very easily set up a quick and dirty QT, i'll find the thread for you

agabr123

Quick and dirty quarantine setup

here's the link, relatively cheap, quick, and easy!

brawlymcknuckles

I know guppies don't need a brackish tank. I started using salt to keep ich under control. I have been reading many benifits to keeping a slightly brackish tank so I belive I will keep this way. and stick to fish that can tolerate it.


Great link on the quaratine tank, thanks much! Still not certain I can keep something like this set up full time. Cost of another tank was never an issue, it is the space of leaving another tank running. (one more thing on a counter or the floor and I think my wife will choke me :-) )

Should I go down this road how long do I leave the new fish quarantined? If not, is there a point of isolating them for a couple of hours in a small fish bowl before the transition?

Nick G

Not really, a couple of hours won't do anything, and might stress them, which can lead to a ich outbreak. I'd just acclimatise them normally if you can't use a Q-tank.

Shawnie

a couple of hours in a bowl wont make much difference...as nick said, that would only stress them more and thats not the purpose of a qt tank ...I know about the sig other killing because of tanks...im borderline on the hit list now LOL

agabr123

you wouldn't need to keep it set up all the time at all, you can just put the filter media in one of your current tanks, and set it up on the fly when you need it


and i understand about the significant other too....i'm at the limit i think but i keep pushing!!!

brawlymcknuckles

Thanks all for the info!

If I do set a Q-tank up with media from existing tank does it take long for the cycle to kick in? Can I just hide a media bag (ammonia, active carbon, or just about anything) behind some decorations in my tank and just take it out when I want to jump start a cycle in q-tank?

agabr123

it should cycle pretty much immediately.

hmm......i would put it in your filter just to be sure. what kind of filter do you have?

Shawnie

yes you can..I would use one without carbon as that is only good for a few weeks ...just the pad is great...I have some always hiding in my established tanks in case I need an immediate tank cycle for a new fish

Amanda

Yeah, I'm fighting the same battle with tank space. I also don't have room for a QT. It's a big risk not having one, but for some of us, it's a risk we have to take