"Gill Passman" wrote in message
NetMax wrote:
"Gill Passman" wrote in message
NetMax wrote:
"Gill Passman" wrote in message
NetMax wrote:
"Altum" wrote in message
Gill Passman wrote:
I bought 12 Neons for my new tank at the beginning of the month
(just over 3 weeks ago).

snip
Seriously, pull the weak and affected, look for some stabilization, add
the other fish, again look for stabilization and pull out any suspects.
You don't want any disease to acquire a host to multiply from. Limit the
contagion concentration, give the fish's immune system time to ramp up,
give them lots of fresh water and a varied diet. Personally, I seek a
point of stabilization that contains as many (or more) of the fish I want
in that tank. Then I leave the tank alone for years. When I want more
fish, I usually set up another tank.

I don't think pulling them out is much of an option - I don't have
anywhere to put them even if I can catch them without moving everything
out of the tank.....and there is an awful lot of water to chase them
across - I have problems netting tetras even in much smaller tanks.
Obviously I'm trying to pull them out as soon as I spot any signs of
illness/death (usually go hand in hand it is so quick).

Use 2 nets, chaser and catcher. Keep the catcher absolutely as still as
possible, until the last moment (if you even need to move it). Move the
chaser slowly corralling them. When they approach the catcher, a quick jerk
can sometimes send them flying into the catcher. Tetras instictively react
first to moving objects (this won't work as well with higher-order cichlids
;~).

Do you mean that you add all the fish that you want in the tank in one go?

Absolutely. If I want 50 fish across 6 species to populate a large tank, I
typically put them (to total about 60) in holding tanks (bare bottom, no
ornaments etc) while I collect them from various sources, pet shops etc.
Once they are all together, they all go into the main tank together.
Behaviorally, this works better than dribbling new additions in every week.
I also move an aged filter over for cycling requirements. My main tank if
the defacto quarantine tank. Now I leave the tank alone (except repairs and
minor things) for about 3 months. Then I typically do a little interior
re-arranging and then leave the tank alone for years except for regular
maintenance. This procedure is fine tuned according to the species. I
might give the smallest and least aggressive fish a 24 hour advantage to
find all the hidey holes, but I'm typically stocking with juveniles, so it's
not a problem in a large tank. While they are all acclimating, I'm feeding
aggressively and in variety, and keeping up water changes. Everytime you
add a new fish, plant, snail etc, it's a vector for diseases, and the object
being added will not always show evidence of disease. Quarantining
procedures often discussed here are a work around, which in my mind should
really be avoided as much as possible.
--
www.NetMax.tk

Gill