Setting Up My First Qt Tank!

HI everyone!

I am going to buy some fish tomorrow, YAY! I have a 29 gallon tank and I'm going to buy three honey gouramis and 5 or 6 julI corydoras. I already have 1 thick-lip gourami and 4 julI corys as well as 5 neon tetras in my display tank. (NOTE: I am still in the slowly stocking stage of my tank and I will buy more neons as soon as I can.) I am setting up my first ever qt tank!

I have a 10 gallon tank set up and ready to go for my qt tank. I have done tons of research and think I'm on the right track. I have a heater automatically set for 76 degrees Fahrenheit and a filter that will have some already cycled filter media from my other tanks. The tank is completely bare which I hear is good for a qt tank, but i've been wondering if that's entirely ok.

I read that the main reason a fish can get sick is from stress. Don't you think that after being handled out of a store, put in a bag, and handled again to be put in a tank with nothing to hide in would just add stress? Wouldn't it be better to have some plants or a cave for fish to hide in a feel secure? What's the point of a bare qt tank?

Another question: It makes sense why substrate isn't added to qt. However, what about my corys? Will they be ok without substrate while they're in qt? Do I still drop food in the bottom of the tank and they'll just have to do without sand for a while?

Also, qt lasts for 2 weeks to 2 months. How long should I qt my fish? If they're sick obviously treat them in qt until they get better. But what if they show no signs of sickness in the first two weeks? Do I have to wait longer?

Thanks everyone!

 

Sorry, I know this is getting to be really long, but I have some serious questions and I'm worried I'll mess up and kill my new fish!

The pet store that I go to (It's a pet store entirely devoted to fish) says when you qt your fish you should dose with medication just as a precaution. Even if the fish don't show signs of sickness treat the qt to kill any sickness before it shows up. I think this is kind of weird because medication can stress fish out more. Obviously treat them if they are sick, but I'm still unsure of what do do in this case.

 

I would only premed if you get certain wild caught fish since they usually have something but normal fish I wouldn't since you would have to treat for every disease known to do any good since you would no idea what to treat for. I do bare bottom qt with cycled media and a few cheap plastic plants. I fill it out if my main tank but that's simply because I buy fish before I set up my qt tank and this way the water is proper temp.

 

Thanks for replying so quickly! I will put some spare plants from the display tank into qt for the new fish.

What about the corys? They'll be ok without substrate?
How long should I qt fish for?

 

I'm new at this also but I recently asked about my own quarantine set up because the fish in it looked sad, or bored or something (although they seemed otherwise healthy). My quarantine is bare bottomed and sparsely decorated, because I had read that that was best and/or convenient. It was suggested that I add in some more plants to avoid stressed fish.
I did, and it seems to have helped.

 

The cories should be fine. Mine were. I'm very impatient so I keep telling myself its going to be a month this time but in reality they barely stay qted for 2 weeks.

 

I've heard of people having problems with corys in quarantine without sand. You could scoop out a cup or two of sand from your main tank to create a thin layer which would be easy to clean.

 

I started with bare qt's as well, but it does seem wise to offer new fish some creature comforts. For my freshwater qt, I have had no sand dwellers, so it is bare bottomed and would contain plastic plants that can be sterilized if necessary. I also put in a small clay pot or two, as they are dirt cheap and I would just replace if needed. Terra cotta is porous, so this has the added benefit of hosting a small amount of BB, just as substrate usually would.

For a 5 gallon saltwater qt, I use an Aquaclear and good cycled media, but it processed nitrites slow as molasses, so took a very, very long time to cycle. When finally cycled, I got worried about not having sand for sand dwellers, so I added a cup or two of new sand. That tank has a pvc hide that could also be sterilized or easily replaced. Anyhow, nano salty tanks are notorious for having unstable cycles, but ever since adding sand, the cycle has been perfect. Yeah, being so determined to keep that tiny tank bare bottomed turned out not to be my finest moment, since I gave in eventually and substrate would have only helped the cycle. If you can get sand cheap and easily enough, why not make your cories more comfortable? If no one gets sick and you don't use meds, you could continue to use it for future quarantined fish.

 

Thank you so much for the advice everyone! I'll add a artificial rock formation I have and An upside-down glass candle holder with some spaces to let fish in so it'll be like a cave. I'll add some sand for the corys. Would one pile in a corner be sufficient? Then the rest of the tank could remain bare?

 

Here is my set up qt. I scooped a small cup of sand and dumped it into one corner. It turns out that the fish store was out of stock of corys, but I bought some kuhlI loaches and they need sand too. I also bought 3 honey gouramis. All the fish look healthy, except the loaches are underfed, but will be ok.