Can I quarantine 14 fish at the same time????

[reeferk2]

Okay so I know this is not ideal, but I have a new tank set up with a pair of clowns, cleaner shrimp, coral banded shrimps, 20 hermits and 20 snails that were pre quarantined before I got them, my tank is a 5 foot peninsula about 136 display gallons and 45 gallon sump. And it looks completely empty! I need to start getting some fish in there now unfortunately I don’t have a lfs in town and I have to pay for shipping every time I order something and it’s getting costly, I ordered 6 stag horn damsels, 6lined chromis, and 2green clown gobies. They will be here Friday, I have quarantine tank set up and basically insta tanked it from my main tank, already has copipods on glass, I have a big peice of rock I will take it out and swap with plastic bioballs that are in sump once fish go in and I add copper, now the quarantine tank is only a 20 gallon……. I know….. but can’t afford to quarantine set ups or a bigger tank this is what I have to deal with, my plan is to treat with copper and prazi over 3 weeks and get them into display as soon as possible if everything looks okay, I plan on regular checks for ammonia and nitrites daily and 5 gallon water changes pre mixed with copper daily as well, how bad will it be with all those fish in there at one time is my question??????

 

[Spare time]

Just do a couple fish at the time and be patient or buy them pre quarantined

 

[Bpones]

You can quarantine 100 fish with a big enough QT tank

 

[Spare time]

Also when you remove the rock from the QT it will no longer be cycled.

 

[slingfox]

The chromis and clown gobies are small and therefore have low bioload and should not be an issue. I recently quarantined 6 chromis, 2 clown gobies, a 2.5 inch wrasse and 1 inch hogfish in a 10 gallon without any issues other than one of the clown gobies passed away (I don't think it was eating too well but hard to say). Get a Seachem Ammonia Alrert and stay on top of the water changes. Your issue is the 6 damsels on top of the other fish. If you have a Petco nearby you could pick up another 10 or 20 gallon tank to spread the load.

 

[reeferk2]

It depends on how big your tank is.

Quarantine tank I have set up is only a 20 gallon

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

14 fish in a 20 gallon, lol, they will never make it to your display tank. If only 1 gets stressed and disease, they will all get disease, so whats the point? But with 6 damsels there will be war with very few survivors. Just get a couple at a time, or get a bigger tank.

 

[Tub Life]

Not ideal, but you should be fine.
Be sure to throw some pvc in there to provide shelter as well.
All those fish are gonna be small, like 1".
Frequent feedings of small foods to fatten them up, and to help keep aggression at bay.

*quite certain of the LFS he is ordering from and I've seen the fish, the damsels are juveniles, and so are the lined chromis. They will most likely all be <1".

 

[Dbichler]

Honestly this sounds like a disaster in the making. Even if they make it through quarantine the bioload on a new tank with this many fish will most likely cause an ammonia spike and kill all the fish quickly.

 

[mues]

Nothing good in the hobby happens fast... I have a 150 gal that started empty with just a small pair of clowns. Do it slow and you'll be much happier in the long run.

 

[reeferk2]

Nothing good in the hobby happens fast... I have a 150 gal that started empty with just a small pair of clowns. Do it slow and you'll be much happier in the long run.

Ya I know not ideal, display tank is well established 180 gallon system with a pair of clowns and tons of snails and crabs, 57 watt uv, cheato, tons of rock and sand bed, protein skimmer and automatic water changes of 2 gallons a day, just refugiam is definitely my concern

 

[Dbichler]

Ya I know not ideal, display tank is well established 180 gallon system with a pair of clowns and tons of snails and crabs, 57 watt uv, cheato, tons of rock and sand bed, protein skimmer and automatic water changes of 2 gallons a day, just refugiam is definitely my concern

You said your tank looks bare? Now it’s well established which one is it? What are the current inhabitants age of tank? Not trying to be rude just trying to get a full idea of setup can’t tell you anything knowledgeable without specifics. Adding a bunch of fish to a big established tank is different than to a new tank.

 

[reeferk2]

Ya I know not ideal, display tank is well established 180 gallon system with a pair of clowns and tons of snails and crabs, 57 watt uv, cheato, tons of rock and sand bed, protein skimmer and automatic water changes of 2 gallons a day, just refugiam is definitely my concern

Maybe keep damsels in quarantine tank for extra two weeks afterwards let tank catch up

 

[reeferk2]

You said your tank looks bare? Now it’s well established which one is it? What are the current inhabitants age of tank? Not trying to be rude just trying to get a full idea of setup can’t tell you anything knowledgeable without specifics. Adding a bunch of fish to a big established tank is different than to a new tank.

Big established tank been cycled for 4 months with pair of clowns and two shrimp and 20 crabs and 20 snails for a month feeding heavily 3 times a day, old pic with no livestock yet

 

[Spare time]

If your only reason for doing this is because of impatience, then don't do it. Its simply not worth risking