Quarantine and meds question...

[Matt in Houston]

I have a 10 gallon quarantine tank and recently purchased some rams from HAW. I know they havent been in the store very long, so I wanted to make sure and keep them in the quarantine tank long enough to make sure they are okay.

My question is, should I also treat for parasites and fungus/bacteria? If so, I would imagine its best to do one at a time with a few days in between instead of treating for both at the same time?

I plan to use Jungle tabs parasite clear and fungus clear. Both seem to work great for me.

Thanks!

-Matt

[nacra99]

I personally don't think that it is necessary to treat if there are no symptoms. Especially rams which are most probably domestics.

But if you really want to, then i would do parasite clear. The Prazi should take care of flukes and tapeworms and the Metronidazole should take care of intestinal parasites & HITH. IMHO I don't think it is necessarily to use fungus clear unless you see fungus.

Good luck!

[Zulaab]

I would NOT medicate fish that dont have any symptoms. Its good to QT fish for a week or two to make sure they are all healthy before adding them to a tank with others...
Just observe them

[Matt in Houston]

I dont want to med them but I believe its better to be safe than sorry...They will be going into an established SA planted tank with no problems at all and the last thing I want is an infection from something I didnt see.

I will just keep a close eye on them for now...One of the gold rams looks like her right pectoral fin is frayed/damaged but that could have been from transport I guess...I offered a tiny bit of flake a few min. ago and they all ate except her.

Again, I will keep a close eye for now.

[Zulaab]

Keep a close eye on the fish that will not eat..
If you want to medicate, give them Melafix. This will give your fish a general anti-bacterial bath for a couple of days. It will also help healing any scars they might have gained. (basically think of this as neosporin for fish)

[CichlidFan]

Sounds like you got your bases coverd Matt.....

Good Luck

CF

[Matt in Houston]

Sounds good....The electric blues are so good looking, and I got one big gold ram he is just...big, and looks stunning with light blue accents on his fins. Its the small female gold ram who doesnt look so hot...I hope she will turn out okay.

I'll take some pics when I get a chance.

[Matt in Houston]

I put in a dose of melafix and pimafix shortly after being acclimated and introduced to their 10g quarantine tank.

Looks like the little female gold ram is doing better, and swimming around a little more now.

Here is a quick pic I snapped of the 4 of them messing around...right after I took the pic my camera batteries died...lol.

[danielp]

Sounds like your doing good job Matt.

I've never run a quarantine tank.

I'm always careful about judging a tank as a whole from both a water/tank and fish quality standpoint before I pick any fish. I've never seen a tank at HAW that I wouldn't take anything from.

That being said once I get them home I typically don't worry about them eating for the 1st day or so till they acclimate to their new home and tank mates.

Don't remember the last time I lost any new tank mates doing it this way.

[Zulaab]

Your doing good.. keep looking at the fish over the next few days.. if they get perfect within a few days of coming home then you should be able to introduce them to their perm home.