I'm about to upsize an overstocked tank for Zebra Danios, but I'm going to leave one of them in his current 5 gallon tank for quarantine. But what I hope to do is clean up the 5 gallon and remove pretty much all of the decorations. In order to do this without causing my little guy too much stress, is it acceptable for me to temporarily place him in a 1 gallon tank while I clean up his 5 gal for quarantine?
Any input on quarantine and decor for that tank are greatly appreciated.
Well, he would be fine for the few minutes it takes to clean... but that size tank (both the 5 and the 1) are not suitable for these fish long term. They are very active swimmers and need a longer tank to give them room to zoom around.
Not yet, and I haven't noticed it in any other fish. I don't think it's even contagious. I've already discussed it with folks in the diseases forum. I just think a quarantine tank is the best option for his health.
ALSO: in the kit I'm about to get, it has a Tetra Whisper filter. This filter doesn't have an adjustable output flow rate. Is that bad for Zebra danios? Can they handle a strong current?
If it is part of a kit it is probably too small for the tank in the first place. Don't buy a kit. It is a bunch of under-sized low quality garbage that you will end up having to replace = waste of money.
Zebra danios like high flow. Even if the filter has a lot of flow that is only right in front of the filter output. At the other end of the tank it is fine.
Any kit has a filter that goes 'up to' the tank size of the kit, making it under-sized since you need to cut that 'up to' in half, at best. Get an AquaClear, they have higher flow and a much higher media capacity.
I would have a filter, a simple sponge is best. And a heater of course unless the ambient room temp is sufficient. Most recommend a bare substrate. Medications that may be used might be difficult to get out otherwise. The sponge of the filter can easily be discarded.
Sometimes some sort of "fake" decor helps to calm the fish. I had a Congo Tetra in QT for a week and he crashed into the tank wall a couple times when I was at the tank, obviously due to the stress of being in a bare tank (only had a sponge filter). Got his lip fungused, so had that to deal with too. I now have one of those gray root structures that will only be in this tank and it can be scrubbed in boiling water.
Here is an article I wrote on quarantine and why it usually causes more harm than good. This can help you avoid the mistakes so common to quarantine tanks. Quarantine
I would not leave it bare, decor is important for many fish in order to reduce stress.
Thank you all so much! I lied about that being my last question.
So I have the new tank all set up. Water's been conditioned, plants planted, filter started. As a result of the old tank being overstocked and overplanted, it's disgusting. And at this point I don't know which is worse: to put them in the new tank so soon or to let them spend a night with crap and whatever else was under the plants in their old tank?
Should I switch them over early or hope they survive their filthy tank for the night?
Thank you all so much! I lied about that being my last question.
So I have the new tank all set up. Water's been conditioned, plants planted, filter started. As a result of the old tank being overstocked and overplanted, it's disgusting. And at this point I don't know which is worse: to put them in the new tank so soon or to let them spend a night with crap and whatever else was under the plants in their old tank?
Should I switch them over early or hope they survive their filthy tank for the night?
This is the first mention of this issue in this thread. If the "new" tank has live plants, depending how many you could move the fish. I'm assuming this involves 4 (of 5) zebra danio, into a 20g planted tank, correct? Do a 50% water change using tap water in the 5g where the fish are now (assuming this tap water is what you used to fill the 20g), let it sit 20-30 minutes, then net over the 4 fish (if temp is same, or it can be warmer in the 20g but not cooler to touch).
If you move them all over at the same time AND move the filter with them then you should instantly cycle the new tank (assuming the old one was cycled). You should still do a few extra water changes this coming week to ensure there are no problems though.
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