[d3snoopy]

Alright, I have a dilemma. I currently have a 55gal and a 10gal tank running.

At one point the 10 gal was a quarantine tank, but it's currently running with fish that I don't want to move to the 55gal display tank.

The 55gal currently has shrimp and plants in it. It's been this way for approximately a month.

I have some angel fish coming to me early next week from a good breeder. They will be shipped, so I'll have to acclimate.

Ultimately, they'll go in the 55gal. My question is this: should I buy and set up a new tank to serve as a quarantine (I'd get a 20 tall), or since the fish are coming from a good breeder plus I have no fish in their ultimate home, should I acclimate them and add them directly to the display tank? One of my concerns is that I plan to not feed them for at least a day, but in the display tank they're going to find things to eat. Also, as far as the disease side of it goes, I'd probably be more worried about the new fish getting sick from my tank than I would worry about the shrimp getting sick from the new fish.

Cycling the new tank (if I go that route) shouldn't be a problem. I have extra filtration running on both the 10 and the 55gal that can be transferred to a new tank to provide cycled filtration. The bio load will take a pretty good jump no matter where I put them, so I plan to watch parameters and shift filtration/do water changes/use water conditioner around as necessary to keep things under control.

 

[DogFish]

Sounds like you've done a lot of work so far. You've found a good breeder and bought good fish. Is it worth the risk to you? To me NOT running a Q-Tank makes about as much sence as NOT doing water changes. But, I learned my lesson the hard way years ago.:wink:

Is trading out the fish in the 10 for credit at your LFS an option?

 

[wkndracer]

The 55gal currently has shrimp and plants in it. It's been this way for approximately a month.

If opinions are like belly buttons mine is sticking out most of the time LOL

You can buy a plastic tote and piggy back / dip water from the main tank to balance the parameter shift if you weren't provided that information from the breeder in advance (I ask before buying). Keep them in the bare tote and stressed for however long you consider to be needed.
I ship in 2dKH (a neutral pH) to reduce ammonia risks and a mid level of 4-6dGH water.

Or, consider your 55g as a planted quarantine which is what I opt to use anyway, a planted quarantine for over a month.

If the angels are smaller juveniles the shrimp aren't threatened now but will be food sooner or later as you say the angels are ultimately going in the 55g anyway. Every time I set up a new tank it acts as a quarantine starting out and with only shrimp it sounds empty like a new tank.

Any threat in you're water column to the new fish other than a parameter shift will be there on arrival or a week later. I don't feed shipped fish on the first day either but what they pick off the plants and substrate in my QT is minimal. Never have I lost fish based on anything I can attribute to the exposure of a cycled and planted quarantine. I can guarantee the fish drop stress extremely fast upon release into it.
I realize a conventional QT is isolation in pristine and empty conditions but I also recognize in every received delivery of fish that they calm down almost instantly and shed stress immediately being released out of the bags into my planted QT.

I see the greatest threat to new fish being the sewage shipping water turns into and stress. Threats to my established systems being parasitic in nature. Do you consider a tank with only plants and shrimp to be an established system of greater investment value than the fish you just bought? Also,,, If you use seeded filters to filter the new quarantine tank you just exposed the new fish to anything in you're water anyway didn't you,,,,, interesting thought?

I worm all my tanks at least once a year, should be every six months on all of them but I'm not perfect. Here I've received shipments from where ever being domestically raised livestock and used them as introduction groups for 55 and 75g tanks depending on the size of the order and availability of tank space. All my fish are introduced into planted quarantines now with my discovering flubendazole and levaisole hcl.
Once I found plant safe water column dosed wormer's that ended any bare quarantine use in my house.

 

[d3snoopy]

I guess I need to talk to a local vet about flubendazole? Alternatively, do you know of a wormer of some sort that the big box stores would carry that is based on flu? Looks like the stuff is relatively hard to get.

 

[DogFish]

wkndracer - Makes a good point the 55 could be a Q-Tank too. Of course it's more water to treat. Since you have shrimp in there some meds would be out of the question.

Then again the Shrimp aren't going to last long with Angels

 

[wkndracer]

I guess I need to talk to a local vet about flubendazole? Alternatively, do you know of a wormer of some sort that the big box stores would carry that is based on flu? Looks like the stuff is relatively hard to get.

Local vet or look through my quarantine thread for the mixing suggestions and links to Charles sale site. Dosing a 55g isn't anywhere near what I'd call costly or even close when you consider treating sick fish and most other tank situations. Dosing a 55g with flu is only a couple bucks.

The only thing I'm aware of that is threatened by a parasite again is fish, you don't have any stocked in the 55g so where would be the threat to the new fish and what could they threaten going in it? Also the largest majority of 'tank bugs' require a host or food source to survive passing one carrier to another. People have held a tank bare of livestock and starved away bug problems by leaving a tank empty for a few days. AND you have time to figure out your worm treatment options including treated foods. For the pending delivery the 55 (imo) is the best all around answer and skipping 'quick' fix small container risks on the new arrivals. Small container = small water volume and like shipping water it can shift to sewage quickly.

I don't see anything written on how many or how large were being received?

 

[WallaceGrover]

A 55 gallon might make it hard to closely observe the fish when you QT though...

 

[d3snoopy]

Dimes, eight.

Four will stay for good, four will find new homes eventually as they grow up.

 

[Sharkfood]

This is the reason I tear my quarantine tank down between uses. If I leave it running it invariably becomes a permanantly inhabited tank.

 

[wkndracer]

A 55 gallon might make it hard to closely observe the fish when you QT though...

this reply made me curious (don't have a clue LOL) what could you maybe see in a 20gQT you couldn't in a 55gQT?

Dimes, eight.
Four will stay for good, four will find new homes eventually as they grow up.

8 dimes would be crowded beyond a few day to a week kept in a 10g anyway (imo).
To do an introduction quarantine on 8 angels at dime size going in a month later would be big nickles on the other end of it so a 20g Tall would be what I'd use. Crowding and poor water quality really affect young angelfish in a meaningful way.
I'd bet a fair amount even using a 20g if you dropped 8 fish in the 55g and 8 in a 20g after 30 days the ones in the 55 would be slightly larger.

Knowing you will figure it out OP and the fish are going to a good home too because you're worried about what works.