Hospital tank do I need a filter?

[Gemma]

I learned on here to isolate the sick fish, rather than treat the whole pond, so tonight I'm going to shop for a Hospital Tank. I know that filtration is important, but since I will have to remove the carbon from filter box when I add meds, and the fish will not stay for long (I hope not) in this tank, do I still need to purchase a filter?
Thank you!

 

[Gemma]

I forgot to ask if it's ok to set up the hospital tank in the house?
The fish in my Avatar is not doing good today, I would like to bring it in the house for the duration of the treatment.
I have not looked at it up close so I'm not sure what to treat it for yet,

 

[bettasngoldfish]

You do not need filtration in a hospital tank but you should use an air stone for aeration. The important thing during treatment is to do water changes. You don't want to stress out an already sick fish by having poor water quality. You can set up a hospital tank in the house if it's easier for you. In fact, It is probably better to have it in the house as you can control the temperature easier that way.

 

[Gemma]

Thank you for your reply!
Say I put in the meds tonight, how much water should I change, and how often?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Thank you for your reply!
Say I put in the meds tonight, how much water should I change, and how often?

In general I would say to do at least a 25% water change daily (just prior to adding new medication) but you may have to change as much as 50%. It really depends on how big the fish is and how big the quarantine/hospital tank is. Remember larger fish create a lot of waste quickly.

 

[DoDad]

I believe you should have filtration on a hospital or Q tank. You may need to keep a fish for a extended period time. The tank can also be used for quarantining new fish.

 

[Gemma]

Thank you

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Something to remember when using medications is that they will many times kill off the healthy biofilter in an established filter (also if using carbon in a filter it should be removed as it will remove medication)

For these reasons I do not feel it necessary to use a filter in a hospital tank when treating a sick fish. In a quarantine tank if keeping a fish in it for a longer period of time for observation a filter would be helpful so as to not have to do frequent water changes.

 

[Tula]

I read something of interest yesterday on a koi site. It said to continue running filters when medicating , as if you don't, what ever the problem ( bacteria, virus, parasite) is, is being kept "safe" so to speak, in your filter....only to return to the water you just treated, once turned on. It said it might knock back your filter some, but there should be enough of the good stuff in the pond and remaining in the filter, to get going quickly.

Thoughts? I have no opinion, just sharing information from a koi expert...I have to admit, it makes sense.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Yes, If you are treating in your main pond or tank then keep running the filter but the poster asked about medicating in a quarantine/hospital tank.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I read something of interest yesterday on a koi site. It said to continue running filters when medicating , as if you don't, what ever was the problem ( bacteria, virus, parasite) is, being kept "safe" so to speak, in your filter....only to return to the water you just treated, once turned on. It said it might knock back your filter some, but there should be enough of the good stuff in the pond and remaining in the filter, to get going quickly.

Thoughts? I have no opinion, just sharing information from a koi expert...I have to admit, it makes sense.

I completely agree with that assessment.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I completely agree with that assessment.

Yes, It does make sense IF you are treating in the pond and not moving the fish to a hospital tank.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

What harm does it do to the fish to use a biofilter on a quarantine tank?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

What harm does it do to the fish to use a biofilter on a quarantine tank?

It doesn't do any harm but the question the original poster asked was is it necessary to use a filter in a hospital tank during treatment of a sick fish for short term treatment (outside of pond). I assume she doesn't have an already established filter she can use on the hospital tank or she would have said so.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Yes, an uncycled filter would offer no advantage, but if a cycled filter is available, it is certainly worth using.