Is there a way to hasten up quarantining?

[bagh]

I got three little orandas four days ago. I've quarantined them in a 15 gallon tank, with water changed everyday. For the past three days, I've been treating the fishies with Acriflavine and 0.1% salt as a precautionary measure against any sort of parasite. Today, I removed the Acriflavine and increased the salt dosage to 0.2%.

 

They are seemingly doing fine, but here temperatures have started rising, and the day time temperatures in the quarantine tank can soar to 90F, if not more. I need to transfer them as soon as possible to the main tank that's cooled. Now I am unsure of it that if I do not observe them for two weeks for signs of illnesses, they might transfer hidden infection to the main tank.

 

But two weeks at 90F would harm them a lot. Isn't it?

 

Should I transfer them tomorrow to the main tank and risk infection?

Or should I keep them in the sweltering heat?

 

Would the benefit outweigh the risks of transferring?

 

I am in a quandary. Please advise.

 

[jmetzger72]

I wouldn't risk infecting my existing stock.  Can you move the QT to a shadier or cooler spot?

[Chai]

You could increase aeration, surfwce agitation, and find a cool spot.

[FishyMandy]

I don't know if this will help, but when I had axolotls I had trouble keeping their tank cool, so I got a small table top fan and fixed it to the edge of the tank, in a way that it would blow across the surface of the water, that dropped the temp quite a bit.

[GoldenSpoiledRotten]

I would not risk moving them. Instead, use one of the methods suggested above to cool their tank. 

[yafashelli]

I agree.  I would be absolutely unwilling to risk my established stock.

[bagh]

Thank you very much, everyone! Adding a desk fan blowing air over the water indeed helps for now. The temps have reduced to 27C! When the humidity rises in mid-March, it'll have trouble, but for now, the temps are stable! Thanks a lot for the advice of not being impatient and risk my existing stock!

 

One week quarantined, one week to go. I hope that'd be enough.

[DieselPlower]

If the fish show no signs or symptoms after 2 weeks, I wouldnt be real concerned. But that's just me. I think lots of us can look at a fish and be pretty confident that it is ok or it isn't after that amount of time.

[shakaho]

My fish don't mind 90F.

 

I will tell you of an old hikers' trick for getting a cool drink at the end of a hot day.  You put your can of beer (or electrolyte drink) in a wet sock that you attach to your belt, backpack or whatever.  Then you keep the sock wet.  Evaporation requires heat, so as the water evaporates from the sock it uses heat from the can.  At the end of the day you have a cold beverage.

 

I was able to put this to use in solving a problem my son had with brewing beer.  The yeast he was using preferred temperatures in the 65-70F range.  The house was 76-80F in the summer, and the water came out of the cold water tap at a similar temperature.  It's not  hard to start fermentation at a lower temperature by adding ice, but adding ice all during the 2 weeks or so of fermentation was neither practical nor good for the yeast.  

 

So I found an oil drain pan and had him put his fermenting bucket in the pan.  I brought  an old bath towel and some safety pins, and we wrapped the bucket so the entire outside was covered with a the towel.  Then I had him fill the pan with water.  The water wets the entire towel by capillary action and evaporates.  It got the temperature of the liquid down to his target range.  All he had to do is refill the pan every day. (The beer was excellent.)

 

It's not as easy to set up evaporative cooling for a fish tank, but it is doable.

[LisaCGold]

This is cool, Sharon!

[bagh]

If the fish show no signs or symptoms after 2 weeks, I wouldnt be real concerned. But that's just me. I think lots of us can look at a fish and be pretty confident that it is ok or it isn't after that amount of time.

Okay, so we'll just take14 days as the upper limit to look for any distress, at this situation.

 

 

My fish don't mind 90F.

 

I will tell you of an old hikers' trick for getting a cool drink at the end of a hot day.  You put your can of beer (or electrolyte drink) in a wet sock that you attach to your belt, backpack or whatever.  Then you keep the sock wet.  Evaporation requires heat, so as the water evaporates from the sock it uses heat from the can.  At the end of the day you have a cold beverage.

 

I was able to put this to use in solving a problem my son had with brewing beer.  The yeast he was using preferred temperatures in the 65-70F range.  The house was 76-80F in the summer, and the water came out of the cold water tap at a similar temperature.  It's not  hard to start fermentation at a lower temperature by adding ice, but adding ice all during the 2 weeks or so of fermentation was neither practical nor good for the yeast.  

 

So I found an oil drain pan and had him put his fermenting bucket in the pan.  I brought  an old bath towel and some safety pins, and we wrapped the bucket so the entire outside was covered with a the towel.  Then I had him fill the pan with water.  The water wets the entire towel by capillary action and evaporates.  It got the temperature of the liquid down to his target range.  All he had to do is refill the pan every day. (The beer was excellent.)

 

It's not as easy to set up evaporative cooling for a fish tank, but it is doable.

Wow! That is really an idea! Capillary action, as you mentioned, would surely do a lot to evaporate the water inside the towel, thereby producing a cooling effect. We'll need to wrap a towel around the tank and clip it to the top. Thank you so much!!

 

By the way, wish I could taste your beer!

[4prettyfish]

In regards to the above comment from Jason/Dieselplower. I say it depends on where you got the fish. If from a local fish store, I'd qt anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks. From a reliable source, probably a lot less. I wouldn't want to risk my healthy fish in my main tank at all. You might have some heartaches/regret down the road.

[bagh]

In regards to the above comment from Jason/Dieselplower. I say it depends on where you got the fish. If from a local fish store, I'd qt anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks. From a reliable source, probably a lot less. I wouldn't want to risk my healthy fish in my main tank at all. You might have some heartaches/regret down the road.

Yup! Thank you. The fishes in there all look happy. I guess they are reliable. 9 days done!