When you picture a quarantine tank for receiving and conditioning marine aquarium fish, images of a scuzzy, bare bones glass tank with salt creep all over probably come to mind first. Indeed, aquarists have treated quarantine tanks as a “necessary medicine” that you should do in order to avoid ich and disease in the primary aquarium.
But we’re here to tell you that quarantine tanks can be a very special place for receiving new fish, a sanctuary where you and your fish can get acquainted and where very unique observations can be made. Contrary to popular opinion, we really enjoy having new fish in quarantine tanks, where the personality and behavior of the fish can be assessed outside of a busy final displays in which the fish are destined to go.
We recently donated our previous 5 year old quarantine tank to a good cause and found ourselves in need of a new one in a hurry to receive the 2014 Fish of the Year, the Rainbow Basslet. It’s great to have a lot of aquarium devices and accessories on hand but we never imagined we’d build a nice small quarantine tank on the fly, which also looked really great sitting right on the kitchen bar.
In addition to being able to condition and quarantine our new beloved reef fish and ensure it was healthy and disease free, the simple quarantine tank turned out to be a fascinating display on its own. In this small attractive quarantine tank we were able to feed our rainbow basslet, to watch its very inquisitive non-basslet-like behavior and to take lots and lots of great pictures and videos.
Stop treating the quarantine aquarium like something you have to do, and start thinking of it as something to enjoy and look forward to. We know you’re excited to get your fish in its final destination but take some time out to enjoy the individual fish on its own for a few weeks, because this is the best way to ensure that you will enjoy it in the main display tank for years.
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