Cichlid Fish Forum banner
Cancel

Quarantining new fish

610 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Teggy, 
Teggy
Hello all, it's been a busy holiday but I'm back into fish mode now :lol: . Got a quick question for you fine folks. I've had set up and cycled for a little while now a 40 gallon tank to use as a quarantine tank. I'm about to get new fish after losing almost all of my stock and have a couple questions about it.

Current relevant stock in tank:
1 Blue Cobalt male (Maylandia callainos)
1 Five Star General male (Hemichromis elongatus)

My plan is to purchase the fish I can right now, including a female Hemichromis elongatus. Once the quarantine is over the Malawi cichlids would be moved to the 135g and the male Hemichromis elongatus would be moved in with the female to live in the 40 gallon together. My question is how many fish would you recommend at most to have in the 40g tank for a month? I can make it very nice as far as lots of hiding places and maximizing space and whatnot, but it is still just a 40g tank, though it is very much overfiltered with a large canister.

The main reason I'm asking is because of my plan to move the Hemichromis elongatus to this 40g tank once the quarantine time is over. Because of that I will most likely have to move the Hemichromis elongatus pair to the large tank if I ever have to quarantine again, which I will if I don't get all my fish at once. Since the death of his mate the Hemichromis elongatus has been very aggressive towards the Blue Cobalt which I don't want to become a problem if that situation comes.

Since it would be relevant here are the fish I'm considering getting to fill my big tank back up:
3 Blue Cobalt females for the male I have currently
1 male 3 female peacocks (not sure which yet, but I like peacocks lol)
1 male 3 female Yellow Labs (miss the ones I had)

I will probably get more at a later time, I would feel uncomfortable putting any more than that in at once, the question though is would the fish I just listed be too many for an overfiltered 40g long tank for a one month stay?

Sorry for the ramble but I think the full story was necessary to understand my situation. Thanks much everyone, I'm really looking forward to having more fish in my tank :)
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
fmueller
Quarantining new fish for a while in a separate tank is useful if you have valuable stock in the main tank that you don't want to jeopardize. With only two fish left in the main tank, I am left to wonder how much sense it makes to keep the new fish separate. Especially if you move the H. elongatus pair right away to the 40G and the rest to the 135G, you are left with only one old fish in each tank.
Reply
Save
Like
Teggy
That's a valid point, I hadn't even ran that through my head. I guess I'm just being extra cautios because these are the last of the wc fish I have, and I made the mistake of not quarantining before and pretty much wiped the tank. That is an excellent point though, if it comes to not having enough room or having too much aggression in the 40g while quarantining I'll have the option of putting fish in the large tank and just scratching quarantine on this round.

I was putting myself into the habit of doing this every time I get fish, but now we were actually considering buying another tank as temporary holding because of how many fish I need, and, well, with what you said that makes me feel pretty silly indeed.

On a side-note I did end up getting some new fish already, that are in quarantine. I got Yellow Labs (1 male 4 females), and 3 Blue Cobalt females. They have been in the tank for a couple days now and they look fantastic. I just put in an order for Sunshine Peacocks (1male 3 female) because my better half just looooves them lol. I will wait on getting the female Five Star until all this is said and done, no need to introduce another potential aggression problem to an already confusing shuffling of fish between tanks.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
fmueller
I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time I asked a question in a forum, and later thought, I could have come up with that by myself :lol:

So please don't feel silly. Glad to hear the new fish seem to be working out well for you. :thumb:
Reply
Save
Like
J
why not move the 'old' fish to the 40g and "qt" the new ones in the big one? if no signs of bad health, swap the two fish to their final homes.
Reply
Save
Like
Teggy
Well at this point I have the Labs and Cobalts I picked up in the qt, after thinking about this thread today I ordered my other fish and should get them next Thursday from the same breeder. At that point I will give those fish a good visual checkup so to speak, and then I will move the whole lot including the Labs/Cobalts to the large tank, moving the Five Stars (ordered the female Five Star as well) to the smaller tank together. I'm gaining confidence in this breeder and I think I'm willing to put a little trust in him to avoid buying a whole other tank and all.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Cichlid Fish Forum
A forum community dedicated to Cichlid Fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Lake Malawi Species Aquarium Setup Lake Tanganyika Species Equipment & Supplies South American Cichlids
Top