hospital tank

[cichgirl]

Hi all.. My alpha 3.5" electric blue johanni got into a heavy spat and was injured pretty badly. He quickly went from king to prey in one day. I have a 10 gallon tank that I usually use for juvenile quarantine or a holding tank for fry. The water in that tank is always pristine and treated (mostly due to quarantine). It all of a sudden became my emergency hospital tank because I don't have room for my 20 & 29 until I move (soon!!!). Thankfully it was uninhabited at the time. How long can he stand being in there? He definately needs rehabilitation & isolation. He lost quite a lot of his scales on one side and patches on the other. He seems to be relaxing & it may be just me, but tens are so tiny and he looks so big in it. He's got everything he needs, I'm supplying him with stress coat, electrolytes, vitamin supplements and he seems quite happy to be alone. Does anyone think solitary confinement is bad for these guys? Is a ten gallon too small for him until he's healed? Thanks for any advice.

[merlyn2221]

As long as there is only the one fish, it should be fine. I always use this as a sick tank. Beware of the filtration you are using though, if it is inadequate, you must do frequent water changes to be sure ammonia levels don't spike.

Also, maybe add some Melafix to speed the scale/fin healing.

[cichgirl]

He is alone, and that is a cycled tank with an established biological filter, 175 gal/hr penguin biowheel. Crystal clear water.... Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 - I check daily when I introduce fry/juvies/ and now Bruiser. 25% water change weekly. I will medicate as a last resort. He's a tough little guy.

Thank you for your input! I was just worried that the small tank might stress him out and therefore be counter-productive in his healing process. His color has lightened up considerably since I put him in there, but it could be the lighting.

[merlyn2221]

No problem for the advice...that's always free. :)

How's Bruiser doing anyway?

[cichgirl]

He actually LOVES being alone- he's quite happy.. He only fights himself (I gave him a mirror to get his work out and keep his aggression in check). He's healing really quickly, no signs of infection. I'll probably leave him in there for another week (maybe 2) just to be sure. His color is coming back up and he interacts more with me now than he did in his other tank. He acts a lot like my Americans. He may scar, but I'm confident he'll be fine now. Thanks for asking! By the way-- welcome back -- you disappeared for a while! :)

[merlyn2221]

So glad to hear it. I think our fish get spoiled from the individual attention!

And thanks, good to be back!