[Sueet]

I currently have a 29 gallon aquarium running, that I am using to breed aiptasia (gonna try to breed Berghia Nudibranches or maybe Peppermint shrimps, not sure which yet)
... anyway, I was thinking, since I have this tank running, why should I have another seperate quarantine tank running, as long as the fish can't be host to the anemone? Everything I have read leads me to believe that the anemone really only gets transferred across-systems by being on/in rock, coral colonies, etc. Does anyone know for sure if it is possible to transfer aiptasia by transferring a fish? I mean just the fish, btw, not any of the waters. Thanks for any input.

[Ninong]

A quarantine tank is usually a bare tank with no substrate of any kind. The only things that most people put inside a quarantine tank would be PVC elbows or sections of PVC to give the fish something to hide in. The reason for this is because if you notice any parasites or other problems with your quarantine tank's inhabitants, you usually treat them in that tank with either medication or hyposalinity therapy.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by Ninong

A quarantine tank is usually a bare tank with no substrate of any kind. The only things that most people put inside a quarantine tank would be PVC elbows or sections of PVC to give the fish something to hide in. The reason for this is because if you notice any parasites or other problems with your quarantine tank's inhabitants, you usually treat them in that tank with either medication or hyposalinity therapy.

Well, I have a small tank (only 10 gals) that I use as a hospital tank, when necessary..... I don't keep it up and running, I just use tank water if/when it's needed. The reason for the smaller tank for hospital use is because less medication is needed..... I really wouldn't want to quarantine fish in it tho, cuz its just too small for that, which is why I was thinking I could just put them in with the aiptasia.
The aiptasia aren't likely to be hurt or bothered by any disease or parasite the fish may or may not have, and even if it is, theres plenty of aiptasia at one of my lfs that she said I can have, lol. Seems to me that 30 for qt would be more comfortable for the fish than a 10, specially since it has to live there for up to six weeks...I see your point about the visibility issue with what the fish may have, but any parasite/disease the fish could have should be visible at some point in the six weeks ON the fish, shouldn't it? Or at least some symptoms should be visible?

[Ninong]

Yes, a 30-gal tank is a good minimum size for a Q-tank or a hospital tank -- either one. Personally I think a 10-gal tank is too small for either and a 20-gal should be the minimum even considered.

Aiptasia cannot be transferred "on" fish, unless the fish happens to have an uneaten piece of Aiptasia in its mouth that it then spits out AFTER you place it in the new tank, which is an EXTREMELY remote possibility.

The only reason I can think of for keeping Aiptasia would be for the breeding of Berghia verrucicornis. Using such a tank as a quarantine tank is not something I would do.

[Sueet]

Yeah, Berghia is one of the things I was considering.. either Berghia, or peppermint shrimps, tho I am leaning towards the berghia, I am concerned about breeding something that will ultimately starve to death (in the end users tank after the aiptasia are gone) ...

Anyway, if you think it's a bad idea, then I will get another small tank for qt. Or maybe... my 80gal acrylic is off the drawing board now, it decided that 70 gallons was too much water, and burst... c'est la vie... so I am purchasing a used 180 gal (better in the long run anyway)... but maybe I can patch up the 80 acrylic and use it for qt/hospital... I wouldn't have to fill it all the way, right? Thanks for the input Ninong!