A Quarantine Tank is a very useful accessory for those who are serious about their fish-keeping hobby. It is helpful to have a quarantine tank that can be cleaned and stored between uses, then easily set up again whenever needed.

There are three main uses for a Quarantine Tank:

(1) Quarantine for new fish
For newly acquired fish it is advisable not put them in a garden pond until they have been quarantined in a quarantine tank for one month, or longer. The reason for such a long quarantine period is that it may take this long for diseases to be discovered.   If the new fish have parasites or diseases, they can be diagnosed and treated, preventing the introduction of harmful organisms into the pond. It is especially important to quarantine new fish when they are intended for a pond already containing valuable fish, which would be difficult to replace.

During the quarantine period it is important to treat the water with appropriate treatments to prevent and eliminate infections. In addition, the quarantine tank should be equipped with a water pump to provide ample oxygen in the water for the fish.

(2) Medical use
If you notice that one or more of your fish are sick or injured, it is sometimes better to remove them to a quarantine tank and treat them separately. It is more economical to treat sick fish in a quarantine tank, as medication for about a 40-liter tank is less costly than medication for a pond. Also, invertebrates inhabiting your pond may be harmed by the medications used to treat fish.

(3) Breeding
When you want to breed your fish they may need to be separated from the garden pond into a breeding tank, where the fish can be conditioned for breeding and the water conditions can be manipulated to induce spawning.