No Quarantine/Hospital Tank, What To Do?

Andyandsue

I posted a message in fish emergency but didn't get one reply! So here I am.

One of my albino cories had what I thought was an injury to a dorsal fin. I starting using some melafix and was hoping all would be ok. I noticed a few days later that the other dorsal fin is also not looking good and I saw some cotton wool growth. I took him out of the the tank and the cotton wool came off. I didn't know what to do with him in regard to placement, and without a reply in the emergency forum I had to put him back into my tank. I continued with the melafix, added a tiny bit of salt (yes they are scaleless, hence the tiny bit of salt), and raised the temp ever so slightly just in case (wanting to ward off anything else that could rear it's ugly head right now).

I am overstocked, but my water parameters are always perfect (A=0 NI=0 NA<5) and maintenance is never, ever missed. I was going to give my pleco to a friend soon, but now that is on hold until I'm sure there are no issues with my fish.

The good news is this morning, Mr. Cory isn't looking worse. I don't see any more cottony growth, and his behavior seems about normal otherwise, maybe just not buzzing around as much. No clamped fins and he is in a different spot than he was last night. My other cory is unaffected by this as of now.

So is the consensus here that I did the right thing, and if I don't have a hospital tank what else could I have done?

Lupin

You could try placing a sick fish in a spare bucket and operate as much as you can do with a hospital tank.:) Heater, filter, etc.

NeonJulie

Cheap/easy way to put together a QT bin:

Get one of these:

http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.as...familyID=5280&

Then one of these:
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.as...amilyID=14217&

Then one of these from Walmart or the grocer store in a 10g preferably:
http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/store/media/2222_sm.gif


It's best to run the filtration cartridge and some extra media in the main tank. (Or if you're like me, you have a 4 gallon plastic bin with the Penn Plex running all the time with plenty of extra media, and once a week you drop a few drops of ammonia into it.)

EDIT: Can add some clay pots at $1-2 for shelter which can be disposed of if need be, or plastic pvc piping which can be bleached for shelter.

TropicAurora

Also, try walmart or petsmart for a 10 gal setup complete with heater, filter, pump, hood, light, etc. for around $35. I was looking for an inexpensive way to set up a quick fix and got the bins as suggested a few weeks ago, but getting the tank kit ends up being less expensive if you have room for them...without room for more tanks, 2 bin setups can about fit in the space of 1 10gal setup.

fish_4_all

I would agree that an aquarium kit might be the best way to go if you have room. I have never used a bucket just because I like to see their progress and a bucket would make that hard to do.

The ones that come with the Aquaview filter might be a good fix because the filter cartidges come with carbon and can be used to remove the meds once you are done.

Sorry I missed your original post in the emergencies section. I wuold thnk that treating the whole tank might be a good thig though just in case it is a fungus. This will help the imune system of the other fish so they don't get it also.

Andyandsue

At this point I'm pretty sure it's a fungus. I am treating the tank with melafix and every few days I take him out of the tank and the gunk comes off, which I am seeing as a good thing... He's not getting any worse, but I wouldn't say he is doing better either. So far nobody else in the tank is affected.

I saw a little 3 gallon with a drop in filter so cheap today I almost bought it.

My two big issues right now with a hospital tank is space. I can keep it in the basement I guess, but without regular maintenance (which is likely to happen with 2 kids and it being out of sight-out of mind) I'm afraid it will go downhill. I'm also worried about cycling of this hospital tank. I know I can cycle it & I know I can jump start it with gravel and water from my existing tank, but I don't think cycling a tank with a sick fish is the best idea. Any suggestions? If I use nothing but the gravel and water from my tank will this be ok or should I be waiting for an ammonia spike? I am thinking at best a mini-cycle will occur, no?