Do I really need a hospital tank for my sick fish?

Question

You may have noticed my other questions about the sick fry and the possibility of body fluke parasite. Well i really want to learn how to treat it, but i dont have a hospital tank and i really dont want to buy one (my parents probably wont let me, i dont have enough money). So can i treat my fish with antibiotics in their regular tank? does anyone do this, and does it work? I am worried that if i treat my fry in the normal tank, will it harm the healthy adults with the medicine (or salt if i put some salt in the tank to kill the parasites)? i really like my adult fry, i have a lot of them and i would be really sad if i harmed them by trying to save the fry...

also what is the cheapest/ smallest setup you can get for a hospital tank? if there is one for a really reasonable price which i doubt, then i might, possibly consider it if its the only way...

Why is it necessary to remove the charcol from the filter when adding meds?

Answer 1

It is possible to treat the whole tank for the parasite. Doing so also helps to prevent it from "attacking" other fish in there as well. I treated my 20-gallon tank for ich a while back when only a couple fish had it, but I haven't had to treat it again since then.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

I have used antibiotics in my 29gallon community freshwater tank before. At the time, some of the fish in the tank were sick and some were not...but all were adults. There were no negative effects on the others. Just make sure you remove the charcoal from your filter when you add the meds.

Also, if you are dealing with small fry and need a hospital tank, you can probably use a large bowl with an air pump. With such small fish, filtration becomes less important, as long as you keep the water clean and add an air pump.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Ideally, you should have at least a ten-gallon tank set up as a hospital tank. It can get downright expensive treating a larger tank. Also, some of your fish may not do well with certain meds (Iceni: Salt really shouldn't be used with scaleless fish like tetras, cories, etc.). In addition, certain medications will kill your biological filter. It'd be better for all your fish if you wouldn't have to re-cycle your main tank every time you need to medicate.

You should never treat fry, as they are usually far too sensitive at that point in their lives to tolerate most medications. Aside from that, you don't want to introduce antibiotics especially at such a young age, otherwise you run the risk of the bacteria becoming resistant as they age.

Typically, you can get a ten-gallon tank from Walmart or PetSmart for around $10. All you really need is a sponge filter (I think they're, like, $10 at most) and a heater (as most fish, with the exception of goldfish, will heal better and faster with heat). Don't bother buying a kit - your best bet is to pick up the necessary parts for your aquarium individually as you see them on sale.

Charcoal in filters tends to deactivate and remove most medications (which is why it is recommended you remove it first).

Answer 4

YES!! A sick tank allows you to treat per problem per fish. it doesn't have to be a large tank - mine is a 2.5 gal tank. it's best because you can move a fish if they start to look sick or if you notice parasites then if they die the other fish wont pick on the dead body (gross I know but we all know it happens) and get the parasite or fungus.
Also you don't want to experiment with treatments on a full tank of fish if your don't know what your treating.
You have to remove the charcoal because depending on the treatment it may react and charcoal actually removes a lot of "stuff" from tank water including treatments - in some cases.

Answer 5

It is best to use a hospital / quarantine tank. Depending on how many fish you are going to have in there at one time is going to determine the size of the hospital / quarantine tank. I have an 80 gallon saltwater tank and have a 10 gallon hospital / quarantine tank that is easy to set up in a pinch. There are inexpensive 5 and 10 gallon complete setup at most local fish stores. The purpose is not to dose the healthy fish in the tank.

Good Luck.

Answer 6

well it depends on if all the fish are compatable with the meds. for example some meds state they are not safe for silver scale or scaleless fish or invertabrets ect. but if they are all compatable then it is safe to treat the whole tank ...the benifits of hospital tanks are that they are usually smaller than the main tank-so it is cheaper to treat them, as soon as you see symptoms of illness you can remove the sick fish so not to spred it to the healty fish, also it can keep the sick fish from the possible fin nipping from tank mates ...the cheapest setup kit is the 10 gallon.... wal-mart and pet shops sell them for reasonable or try garage sells...

Answer 7

i would advice u put the sick fish in a different tank cos it might end up infesting the others, n also make sure u treat the tank as well good luck

Answer 8

You can safely add salt to the whole tank without risk of destroying the beneficial bacteria. As far as other medications go, you can simply use a bucket or large vase with an air stone and measure the amount of water you put into it to gauge how much medication you need to add. If you are worried about the temperature of your hospital container, sink it into your regular tank.
Also http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=HG10940
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=LE10515

Answer 9

As I previously stated it is not absolutely necessary, but it is recommended (because if you have only one sick fish there is no reason to run the treatment on the others).

Answer 10

when my mom had her fish, she said if one got sick they would all end up sick so she treated the whole tank. good luck.