Differences between Hospital & Quarantine

In most cases, due to fear of error, aquarists paralyze themselves and do not act in time to avoid the death of their fish.

One of the most important good practices is prevention. Therefore, in the initial purchases of an aquarium setup you must include a basic first aid kit to take care of any eventuality. 

Prevention is achieved through quarantine. Quarantine is a drug-free space where a newly admitted fish is acclimatized for days or weeks as required. You can search in the section Library/Videos the CTMS preventive acclimatization method with QM3

No aquarium for sale where there is a turnover of fish in less than 45 days falls into the category of quarantined fish.

It is important that you ask aquariums for key information such as medication used in the transit system, salinity and temperature.

In transit systems (the fish tanks where you see them in stores) disease symptoms are usually not visible, they are "masked" by low doses of medication and other methods used to prevent epidemics.

You can ask the aquarium if they accept payment and collect it after 20 days, or visit the fish for 20 days before purchasing it. If the above is not possible, then you must necessarily quarantine the fish with symptoms or not before introducing it to your final system. Quarantine is a shared obligation for both aquariums and aquarists. The aquarium to avoid economic losses and massive cross-infections and the aquarist to avoid the death of the organism by not having resistance to the new system where it will enter.

However, quarantining a fish is already something very simple to do and with reduced times if you use the CTMS method of Preventive acclimatization with QM3. You will avoid a lot of animal suffering, your own stress and you will save money.

QM3 is a supportive medication for this treatment that aims to reduce cross-contamination in aquariums and the impact on mortality to the fish population already established in particular aquariums. Also remember that in the clinical section you can find Assisted Quarantine tickets so that the first few times you can train yourself little by little.

Well, between quarantine and hospital we are going to find differences in terms of: use, size, type of filtration, residence time

It is very important that you have both options available to assemble them before you have your first fish. You only need to have a couple of buckets stored and maybe a 20 to 30 liter fish tank, air pump, heater and hose. This way, in case of emergencies, you will be able to provide the necessary and timely care in case of illness. Remember that as Kalan guardians it is our responsibility to provide what is necessary for animal well-being.

You can do it in a very economical way, it does not require high-tech equipment, but rather understanding the correct needs for each circumstance.

A common mistake in hospitals is to use huge systems in the belief that this will create greater peace of mind for the fish, and the result is that medicating large amounts of water is expensive and therefore leaves treatments unfinished.

You must use the correct quantities for each case. You should try to find out only "THE RIGHT THING" and not put in the questions "what would be better?" Because there the aquarist's fears tend to interfere with the treatments.

The space of a hospital must allow the fish to be comfortable and have enough water for oxygenation to be correct or abundant, but not exactly for a long swim. Remember that the volume of water is similar to the volume of air that you could have available inside an astronaut helmet. A hospital is a short-stay system where sick fish require shelter, isolation and tranquility. Not feeling watched or invaded all the time.

A dark hospital bucket provides a safe haven that reduces the sick fish's fear and allows it to relax. Imagine as if you could hide in a big cave.

Remember that there are diseases in fish that advance very quickly, so the ideal is to detect symptoms in the initial stages and mainly have preventive habits.

You can find supporting information in the videos "Cubeta Hospital" and "Tips for diagnosis" in the Library/Videos menu

 

Below we leave you a brief support table.

 

 

	Hospital	Quarantine
LITRAGE	40 lt. o Individual Hospital bucket per fish.	40 lt. onwards.
SERVES FOR	Individual treatments or treatments that are not re ef safe.	Isolate and detect latent pathogens in new or weak fish. Prior isolation to vaccinate or develop resistance in new fish before entry into the main system.
SALINITY	1019 to 1022	Same as the final system 1023 - 1026
TEMPERATURE	According to treatment. The greater the severity of the fish, the lower the temperature is used to stop the accelerated cycle of the pathogen and give time for the fish to get stronger 22 -28ºC	Same as the final system 24.5 - 26 ºC
FILTRATION	No filtration. Water changes of 20% every third day, removing remains from the bottom with a siphon. Prevent ammonia spikes with ammonia encapsulators.	Mechanical skimmer only if you have it or replace it with weekly water changes of 20% and adding ammonia encapsulators. Do not insert filters with sponges or socks.
LIGHTNING	Low or no lighting.	Moderate with photoperiod equal to the final system.
Others	VERY abundant oxygenation (power heads with aerator hose or air pumps). No substrate or rocks. Ceramic coffee mug for shelter (insulates noise, does not absorb medicine and can be boiled to sterilize later).	Abundant oxygenation. Without substrate. Optional PVC tubes for shelter, preferably ceramic cups as they can be sterilized and insulate noise. In Vaccine stage and resistance development Stones from the main aquarium.