From
time to time, you will need to be able to keep fish outside of the main pond,
for either quarantine or treatment. What is often overlooked is the simple fact
that this containment must be as "fish friendly" as the pond itself,
if not more so. While an inadequate Q (quarantine) or T (treatment) tank will
protect the fish in the main pond from the fish in the Q or T tank, those
isolated fish stand little chance of survival.
Since the Q and T tanks have so much in common, I'll speak of them as if they
were indeed, one in the same. Point of fact, for many people, these two types of
isolation tanks *will* be one in the same. For now, lets call them by a single
name, the QT tank.
The idea of quarantining new fish before adding them to the main pond should not
be considered as anything less than mandatory. Failure to see it that way puts
your entire collection at risk. It doesn't matter if your fish are "pond
mutts" or high-end, show quality Koi. There is no reason to risk loosing
them all to an "imported" disease. People will tell you that they
never quarantine new fish. About the only thing they have going for them is
pure, dumb luck. And that will not last forever. Sooner or later, they will
learn the hard way.
There is more than one reason to quarantine newly acquired fish. The reason most
people are aware of is to give you time to determine if the fish is healthy and
parasite-free. But consider how your fish came to you.
If
they are imports, they've likely had a rough time of it. The real high-end Koi
don't have it so bad, as they are pampered all the way from the breeder, to your
pond. But the majority of imported Koi will have been stressed beyond belief,
before you get them. They will have been moved a number of times, without being
fed, or allowed to recover from the previous move. And then there's the long
flight in a crowed bag. Once in the country, they may undergo several more moves
before the dealer gets them. A good dealer will allow the fish time to recover
from all that stress, before offering them for sale. A large number of them will
sell them as quickly as possible, however.
Domestic
Koi won't go through quite as much of that, but still enough to place the fish
under a considerable amount of stress. *Any* Koi bought at a Koi show should be
thought of as a "high-risk purchase." This would be due to the obvious
stress involved with the fish being moved and being kept in very crowded
conditions in water of doubtful quality. Then there is always the chance of
cross-contamination with water from the other tanks at the show. This can be as
obvious as children (or child-like adults) putting their hand into every tank
they come to, or something less obvious, such as airborne mist from the
inevitable splashing that occurs.
The Quarantine Period is a *Recovery Period* that lets the fish "rest
up" and get back to "normal." The post-shipment period finds the
fish very stressed out and this stress *will* suppress the immune response. This
shipment stress and it's effect on the fish's ability to fight disease is the
underlying cause of the *myth* that imported Koi are somehow "less
hardy" than domestic Koi. Send a domestic Koi on the same journey and it
will wind up the same way, severely stressed and ready to die with the least
provocation.
Give
these fish an environment that allows them to feel safe, with excellent water
quality, and they *will* recover. Just like a person with "jet lag,"
they need to "rest up and catch up." Their immune systems will begin
to function again and if kept in a facility that is parasite-free, with well
filtered water, and nothing to cause them to go into a "flight or
fight" mode, they will do well. The most important thing they will need
during this phase is *stability*. No changes in *anything.* Change equals stress
and they've had more than enough of that! Your QT system needs to be able to
supply them with that stability for the first week or so with minimal intrusion.
Note: All QT tanks should be netted, to keep frightened fish from jumping out,
as well as to keep predators out and foreign materials from dropping in.
Providing some sort of cover for the fish to hide in will reduce the likelihood
of jumping, as well as making the fish feel more secure. But this cover should
not be something the fish could land on and be stranded, should it decide to
jump anyway.
After that first week (or two,) the more commonly thought of part of quarantine
can begin. This is where you start looking for things that could threaten your
main population of fish, such as on-going disease or the presence of parasites.
Care should be taken to accurately *identify* the specific disease or parasite
that needs attention, so that the *least* intrusive treatment can be given. If
none have been found, then simply *observe* the new fish for several weeks. If
after three or four weeks nothing has been found, good! But don't add them to
the pond, just yet.
With the newly discovered diseases and harder to kill strains of parasites, many
have begun to advocate prophylactic treatments. These are treatments for
parasites not actually observed, but "just in case" they are present
and missed during a microscopic exam. I'm beginning to find myself thinking more
along those lines, myself. But if this is to be done, it should be after a long
Q period that has the fish being fully recovered and better able to withstand
the treatment. *Not* something done during that first two weeks of
"recovery."
(See note)
The
next thing that should be done and often is not, is the introduction of an
expendable "test flyer" (or two) from the main pond, *into* the QT
tank. That's right, move one or two fish *from* the pond, *into* the tank with
the new fish. Why? This will let you find out if the normal
"background" bacteria that are normal to your new fish, will be a
problem for your existing fish. All fish have "resident" bacteria that
they are "used to." Put a child in a new school, and you should not be
surprised to find him/her come home with a cold, or at least a simple case of
the sniffles. In a short period of time, he/she will get over it and will have
adjusted to the new "background bugs." Same with fish!
The fish from the pond will introduce the pond's background bacteria to the new
fish, and they will also have the chance to sample the new fish's background
bacteria. So, you have to watch *all* the fish in the QT tank. If after two
weeks of cohabitation everyone seems fine, start doing partial water changes in
the QT tank, replacing the removed water with water *from* the main pond. Once
satisfied that nothing new is going on with the new fish once the majority of
the water has been changed, then you can move them to the main pond.
One new twist to the equation is the fact that both KHV and SVC (viral diseases)
have temperature "triggers." Things being the way they are these days,
serious consideration should be given to including changing the water
temperature at a controlled rate to avoid thermal shock to the fish, moving the
water temp into the active ranges of both diseases. After the incubation period
has passed and everything still looks good, the temp must then be returned to
match the pond water temp, again, in a controlled manner, avoiding temperature
shock. With any luck at all, your pond will already be within the active range
of one disease, so that you'll only have to worry about the other. (As if one
wasn't enough!)
Doing all this can easily run the Q period well past that oft quoted "3
week" minimum. But the longer, the better. And it should be obvious by now
just *why* the QT tank needs to be so much more than a minimum holding tank. It
must be every bit as good of an environment as the main pond, itself. And it
must be able to keep that high level of quality, for as long as needed.
Now, if this QT tank is being used for treating a fish, or several fish, it
still needs to be a high-quality environment, but not for such an extended
period as when used for quarantining new fish. If you were treating the fish
with injectable antibiotics, the fish would typically be returned to the main
pond in five days, or less. At the end of the injection series, you should be
seeing definite signs of healing. There is no need to keep the fish out of the
main pond after this point. In fact, the fish will heal much quicker when
returned to the main pond.
Many simply catch the fish and inject them, without removing the fish to a
treatment tank. What is not widely known by hobbyist is that a larger percentage
of whatever antibiotic is injected will be passed into the water through
excrement, virtually unchanged. This introduces a low-level of antibiotics into
the water that can expose pathogenic bacteria in the pond, to a sub-lethal dose.
And in smaller ponds where dilution is incomplete, that may be one way that
drug-resistant diseases can come into being.
Another benefit of using a treatment tank for antibiotic treatments is that the
fish will under less stress, as it should be relatively simple to catch them for
the injections. Chasing a single fish around a large pond will not only stress
the fish being sought, but the rest of the population, as well.
Water temperature is critical during antibiotic use! At a temperature of 65*F or
less, antibiotics are practically useless due to the fishes' slow metabolism.
Ideally, you want the water temperature to be in the 74*F to 78*F range. It is
relatively easy and inexpensive to warm up a QT tank, especially when compared
to heating an entire pond. Large aquarium heaters can be used, or stock tank
heaters for larger QT tanks. I've heard of one person that built a QT tank that
incorporated a waterbed heater under the liner! (If you think about that one for
a minute, it won't sound quite so crazy.) Just remember that warmer water will
hold less oxygen than cold water, so aeration is important.
Keeping the fish in a QT tank during treatment also makes it much easier to
observe the fish for changes in condition. This will make it easier to assess
the effectiveness of a treatment and to decide early on, if a change is required
should it not work.
Other treatment protocols are of short duration. Having a QT tank ready is handy
for short-term treatments, such as Chloramine T or Oxolinic Acid. Here, you can
balance the volume of water between two criteria. One, large enough to safely
contain the fish for the duration of the treatment and Two, small enough to keep
the treatment from being cost-prohibitive.
Some
use a QT tank to use one type of treatment on the fish, while doing a much
harsher treatment on the pond, itself. It does little good to treat fish for a
problem, and then return them to the exact same conditions that allowed or
caused the problem, in the first place. Simple concept, but surprisingly *often*
overlooked.
Some
examples of what can be used for QT tanks:
Stock Tanks. These can be Poly Tanks, Rubbermaid tanks, or a similar tank, often
found with the lowest price at farm supply stores. The cone bottom tanks can be
set up to be nearly self-cleaning, very easily.
Show Tanks. These can be a bit more expensive, but are excellent for this use.
Do keep in mind that some treatments may stain the tank. Their advantage is that
they can be folded up when not in use, for storage.
Purpose Built Tanks or Ponds. These could be small ponds of any type, such as a
landscape timber pond, with fish kept in them to keep the biofilter active. But
you must be able to remove the resident fish when you need it! If you aren't
going to keep fish in it, then you should devise a way to cover it, to keep it
empty and clean, while awaiting use.
Improvised Temporary Containment. By this, I mean something as simple as a wire
fence used to support a flexible liner. One company I know of sells these in a
kit form, from quite small, to very large. If you have the room and are into
"self-abuse," you can simply dig a hole and drop a liner in, even a
replacement swimming pool type.
"Kiddy-Pools." I'm not including those shallow wading pools for very
small children, unless you need to quarantine aquatic plants. But the larger
pools with rigid sides *can* be used. If you can find one with high sides that
isn't *too* large, it can be useful. The high sides, combined with a net cover,
reduce the chances of loss through jumping. Much talk has been directed at the
possibility of a chemical added to the vinyl that keeps algae from forming,
which would be a problem for fish. But I've never actually seen a pool that had
such an additive. To be safe, read every printed word on the package, just to
make sure. You might even want to give the manufacturer a call, if a number can
be found.
Maintaining Water Quality
As previously stated, the water quality in a quarantine or treatment tank *must*
be as good as, or *better* than in the main pond. For very short-term, bath-type
treatments, this is no problem. If the volume of water is sufficient, all you
need do is provide aeration. For longer periods, some form of filtration will be
required. Maintaining water quality through water *changes* is not a good idea.
Again, think of "change" as "stress."
Water changes can produce unwanted variations in water temperature, and can make
sustaining specific concentrations of a chemical treatment difficult. (Even
salt.) Unless the change is in the form of a flow-thru system, it guarantees
variations in water *quality*. A flow-thru system would make many chemical
treatments impossible.
One of the easiest ways to filter a QT tank is with a chemical filter. At least
one type of activated carbon filter is sold as a complete "system" for
small ponds. It consists of a submersible pump with a fountainhead (useful for
aeration) and a box containing a carbon pad on the pump's intake. I've used a
modified version of this setup, several times.
The modification consisted of removing the carbon pad and the "solids
filter" pad from the box. A piece of plastic window screen was placed in
the box, and loose carbon granules were poured in. The screen was cut large
enough so that it could be folded over the carbon, holding it in place. I left
just enough space in the box to cover the carbon with a sheet of synthetic air
filter material and was just barely able to put the lid back into place. This
gave me much more carbon in the filter that what comes in that pad. You might be
able to fit more than one pad in the box, if you'd rather not mess with loose
carbon.
The problem with a chemical filter using activated carbon is that it *will*
remove most any type of bath treatment. If you are going to use a bath
treatment, you will have to remove that carbon filter. If you use zeolite
instead of carbon, you can run into the same problem, plus you won't be able to
use an elevated salt level, either. The salt can cause the zeolite to dump
whatever ammonia it has absorbed.
However, if you are going to be using primarily injectable antibiotics and/or
topical treatments, the chemical filter can work well for you. Any chemical
treatment that you would use in a pond, that requires bypassing a biofilter for
a short term, would be available to you in this QT tank. Instead of bypassing
the chemical filter, you would simply remove it from the pump's intake. The pump
would be kept running, to provide circulation and aeration.
Should you decide to use standard biofiltration, all the "rules" that
apply to the pond's system, apply to the QT tank, as well. The filter must be
fully "cycled" *before* fish are added. Trying to establish a
biofilter while quarantining fish is a short cut to disaster!
Biofiltration
You have a number of options. If your QT system will be using a sponge filter,
it can be set up and running in the main pond. Here, it will cycle and add to
the pond's filtration. (Too much filtration is not enough! Sound familiar?)
Likewise, most types of bio-media can be place somewhere in the pond or filter
system where water will flow through it. When needed, it can then be removed
from the pond and placed into the QT' tank's biofilter. Another method would be
to set up a small bead filter on the main pond and move it to the QT tank, when
needed.
A
submersible pump, or an airlift can power the sponge filter. (Making
a home made sponge filter) The simplest form of the latter would be a large,
open cell foam sponge, with a hole in the center, running all the way through
it. A pipe with an end cap is set down into that hole. The part of the pipe that
is inside the sponge should have a number of holes drilled in it. An air stone
is placed in the bottom of the pipe. The pipe should extend from the bottom of
the sponge, to a point just below the surface of the water. Air bubbling up
through the pipe will bring water with it, drawing it in through the sponge.
This makes for a nice biofilter that also helps aerate the water and will
capture solids, at the same time. It requires a depth of about 18 inches to work
really well.
The sponge filter will have to be cleaned, from time to time. I've found the
best way to do that is to put a plastic fish bag around the filter while it's
still submerged. Push the bag against the sponge to remove excess water, without
squeezing the sponge. This makes it easier to lift it from the tank. Once out of
the tank, the sponge can be dunked in a bucket of pond water to remove the
solids. A gentle squeezing may be needed, but be careful not to *over clean* the
filter. You do not want to remove much of the biomass when cleaning the filter.
This type of biofilter should not be confused with a sponge-type of mechanical
prefilter. The sponge will naturally collect solids, but it's primary function
is to provide surface area for biofiltration bacteria, just like the media any
other type of biofilter.
An
oversized sponge also can be used as a prefilter on a submersible pump or just
about any water intake. Care must be taken to see that this prefilter is not
allowed to clog to the point that it impedes the supply of water to the pump.
Starving a pump can greatly reduce it's life expectancy.
Sponge
filters and just about any small biofilter that would be suitable for Q or T
tank purposes, can be "stored" in the main pond to provide additional
biofiltration, while keeping them cycled and ready for use in a Q or T tank
situation. This way, you'll never find yourself short of a cycled filter when
you need one. Also, Doc Johnson has some good information on "rapid
starting" biofilters, on the KoiVet web site. If you don't want to keep
a "spare" biofilter in the main pond, you can use his information to
get the new biofilter up in running in short order.
The
small bead filter, or even a small, high-rate sand filter offers both
mechanical and biological filtration. But just like the main pond's filter,
*any* biofilter will function more efficiently when it is not expected to do
both jobs associated with pond filtration, mechanical and biological.
The
trickle tower is a good type of biofilter for quarantine tank use, as it adds
greatly to the oxygen content of the water. I consider the Low Space Bioreactor
to be a "submerged analog" to the TT, and quite suitable for QT
systems. But neither of these biofilters was designed to provide any mechanical
filtration, at all. *None*. Both must have a good mechanical filter in-line,
ahead of them.
A
quarantine tank of newly purchased Koi would *not* be the proper place to try
out one of the "bugs-in-a-bottle" concoctions to cycle a biofilter,
unless you've used it before and have seen it actually *work.* One bacterial
additive product I *do* like to use in a quarantine situation is LymnoZyme
and double-dosed at that. LymnoZyme will not prevent all your bacterial
problems, but it will greatly reduce them.
If you have a UV that can be used on the QT tank, by all means, use it. I'm not
so sure I'd run out and buy one just for this, however. If you do, consider
getting one at least *twice* the size recommended by the manufacturer, and run
it with only *half* the flow rate that would normally be used with a UV that
size. This way you just might get into the range that would offer some serious
bacteria killing properties.
However, do be aware that many treatments require that the UV be shut off while
the treatment is active in the pond. It may "de-activate" some
treatments, and could cause some chemical compounds to become toxic to the fish.
Aeration
Aeration, or, getting oxygen into the water, can be accomplished in several
ways. The most effective way is by using a spray bar as a water return from the
filter system. A spray bar is nothing more than a capped pipe with a series of
holes drilled into it. Instead of a single column of water gently returning to
the tank, the spray bar gives you a number of small "jets" of water
that impact and disrupt the surface of the water.
A
foaming fountainhead is nothing more than a venturi. These fountainheads add a
lot of aeration to the water. I use one attached to a short length of garden
hose to aerate water from a well, when adding water to a pond.
Adding
air stones is always a good idea, but they do not add as much oxygen to the
water as a spray bar. One additional benefit from placing an air stone in the
bottom of a tank is that the rising column of bubbles will help "turn the
water over." The surface disturbance produced by that column of bubbles can
give the fish a sense of security, in that the disturbed water is hard to see
through. And that surface disturbance is where most of the aeration from an air
stone really takes place.
A submerged venturi placed on the water return can be used. Some water
treatments can be poured into the air intake of the venturi, giving you a good,
fast method of mixing it into the pond water.
Solids
Removal
Most of the time, solids removal in a QT system can be accomplished quite
simply, by putting an over-sized sponge filter on the submersible pump's intake.
This can be cleaned, as often as needed, without regard to removing any
"beneficial bugs," as it's purpose is mechanical filtration, only.
Larger QT systems may require a mechanical filter more along the lines of what
would be found on the main pond. But since the QT system is usually going to be
much smaller than the pond itself, methods of solids removal that might not be
practical on the pond can and should be considered. These methods include
cartridge filters, bag filters, and sand or diatomaceous earth filters.
Solids production should not be as pronounced as in a pond, but solids removal
cannot be ignored. If you are using a biofilter such as a pressurized bead
filter, you may not need to add mechanical filtration, *provided* the bead
filter is sized properly, knowing that it will be performing *two* totally
different functions at the same time. But a bead filter, just like any other
biofilter, will work more efficiently when it is fed mechanically clean water.
This holds true in any application, QT or on the main pond.
Heat
As stated above, water temperature is critical when using antibiotics. They
simply will not get the job done when the water is too cold! You must be able to
keep the water in a QT system within the range of 74*F to 78*F range, for the
best results. Colder than that, it will be almost impossible to beat a bacterial
infection. At higher temps, water simply is not capable of holding much oxygen
and oxygen depletion can easily occur. Remember that some treatments can consume
*large* quantities of oxygen!
In
Summation
Quarantine and treatment tanks should not be considered a "luxury"
item. They need to be thought of as an integral part of good Koi keeping
practice. These systems can be as simple or as elaborate as you care to make
them. But the basic requirements do not change. They must WORK! There are two
different hobbies you can choose from, Koi keeping and "fish fixing."
Ignore the need for proper quarantine and treatment tanks, you'll eventually
find yourself as part of the latter, rather than the former version of the
hobby.
Koi keeping is a *lot* more fun!
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
Quarantine
You
have been told many times, you need to quarantine any new fish that you bring
home. So why don't you do it? Because it is a big hassle and probably you got
away without problems but if you don't quarantine, sooner or later your luck
will run out and it may be months before every thing gets straightened. You
usually lose your best fish, and damage many of the others. As you know when
some thing goes wrong, it is always your best fish that dies, especially if you
named it.
It
is common to get a little extra with every fish, they are parasites. It is not
that the dealer don't try to clean up the fish before they sell them. They do,
but getting rid of parasites is a complex multi-step process and most dealers
have fish coming and going all the time. To be sure that they got rid of the
parasites, they would have to hold the fish for a month or more. Some dealers do
this, but they have to charge extra for the time that the fish are not available
for sale and the effort. So next time you think you’re getting a good deal on
that fish, you might want to ask a few more questions and be prepared to
quarantine.
The
biggest reason given for not quarantining new fish is that you don’t have any
place to put them. The best solution is to buy or borrow one of those blue tanks
that are used for shows. The next problem is, what can be use for a bio-filter
while your fish are in the show tank. It usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks to
cycle a bio-filter and in the mean time your fish are in trouble. Solve this by
keeping a portable home made sponge filter running in your main pond. When
quarantining fish in a show tank, just move the sponge filter to that tank,
presto, instant bio-filter. In addition, stop feeding the fish while they are in
quarantine. This is not easy to do, but they won't starve to death and will
actually keep them healthier. After you have your new fish in the quarantine
tank, raise the salt level in the water to a 0.3% solution over the next 24
hours. You do this by adding one pound of salt for every 100 gallons every 12
hours for 3 treatments or 3 pounds per 100 gallons total. You need to maintain
this 0.3% salt solution for 3 weeks, so if you do a water change, one needs to
replace the portion of salt as well as the water that you removed. A salt meter
is handy at this point to make sure you got it right. The salt will kill all the
protozoan or single cell parasites like Ich, but there is still the very good
chance of also having trematodes or flukes that you can't see with the naked
eye. A microscope would help, but even if you have one and you don't see any
parasites, it doesn't mean you don't have them. Remember that that even if the
fish dealer did his best to kill those parasites before they sold the fish to
you there still may be a few, perhaps only one or two. So when you go to take a
sample of the fish's cuticle (slime coat) to examine under the microscope, your
chances of finding them are slim to none. You have to wait a week or more before
the parasites have multiplied enough that you can find them using a microscope.
Instead of waiting, treat the fish. Superverm is less expensive but is not sfe
for goldfish. Praziquantel cost a little more but is very effective with just
one dose. This product kills all flukes and intestinal parasites so it will kill
more then just flukes, it is safe to use for yourself, your fish, and your
bio-filter. It is a little expensive and so some people might want to wait to
make sure their fish have flukes but treating for internal parasites that you
can not see is worth the effort. The praziquantel treatment is 0.95 grams per
100 gallons of water. The fish have to be in the solution for 7 days, so you
might want to do a water change before this treatment. Now we only have to worry
about the parasites we can see, the crustaceans. They are fish lice (argulus),
anchor worm (lernea), and gill maggots (ergasilus). These can all be killed with
a dimilin like product. Again, dimilin is safe for you, your fish, and your
bio-filter. It will kill a lot of other things like shrimp so you need to be
careful of the way you dispose of the water after the treatment and for this
reason it is usually best to wait to see if my fish have these easy to see
parasites before treating for them. You can get a dimilin product made by Jungle
Laboratories called "Anchors Away". On the bottle it mostly talks
about anchor worm, but this has to do with the way it is licensed and it is
effective against all the crustaceans.
Again,
all these products are safe for everyone involved and for right now, anyone can
buy them. You can get salt wherever water softener supplies are sold. Be sure to
get the salt that is 99.9% pure sodium chloride without additives. You can get
Praziquantel and Anchors Away from the website: www.pondsrx.com.
Here is a nice complete system by AES