SimplyDicus.com
SimplyDicus.com
Library > Diseases and Medications > General Information > Here's my quarantine procedure
Here's my quarantine procedure
Al Sabetta July 8, 2002

  1. No matter who the breeder or seller is, I isolate the fish a minimum of six weeks. All equipment is dedicated to the quarantine setup.

  2. When I first receive the fish they are dipped in methylene blue and placed in a tank that has salt at concentration of 1 - 2 tablespoons /10 gallons. This helps them deal with stress.

  3. If there are any signs of bacteria or fungus, they get an increase in the salt to 1 tablespoon/1 gallon water plus Furan 2 until the problem clears.

  4. Dewormed with a tape worm specific medicine (Praziquantel)

Once eating:
  1. Fed medicated gel food containing panacur for one week, longer if I suspect worms.

  2. Fed a medicated food with Metronidazole to deal with internal protozoans

  3. External parasites are dealt with using formalin, Fluke tabs, Clout, or potassium permanganate.

  4. I ALWAYS assume flukes, the gift that keeps on giving. Currently I have found three weeks of treatment with Flubendazole or Prazi to be the most effective and safest treatment.

At the end of six weeks I take a cull from my other tanks and add it to the quarantine tank. This tells me if the new fish are safe to mix with mine, and tells me if mine are safe to mix with them.

I never mix treatments. During the six weeks time course there is plenty of time to go through the list one at a time. A word of caution: some medications don't mix well in discus. Metronidazole and Panacur (Fenbendazole), in my experience, can kill a discus.

I do a 30% water change daily in all my tanks, and usually 50 - 75% on the weekends. The only time this changes is when a treatment recommends something else. For example, flukes -- I do a 50% change daily, and redose every other day with Flubendazole for three weeks.

There are a few mindsets with quarantines. Mine is to try to anticipate likely problems and deal with them before they get into all my tanks. I find a benefit to doing this.


About Us :: Message Board :: Chat
Library :: Photo Gallery :: Links & Resources :: Breeders & Sponsors :: Merchandise
   Website designed by: EthanCote.com © 2001-2004, SimplyDiscus.com. All Rights Reserved.