Sick Fish? How to Set Up a Hospital Aquarium

Into every aquarium a little disease must fall. At the first site of white spots, bloat, fungal growth, or rotting fins, the aquarium owner needs to act fast. The best thing to do is remove the affected fish to a hospital tank immediately. This not only protects your other aquarium fish from the disease or infection, it can help you administer medication effectively and reduce stress on the sick fish.

But how do you set up a hospital tank?

A hospital tank for sick aquarium fish can be smaller than your regular tank. A two or three gallon tank would work if you have small sized fish. Of course, if you keep large fish such as some cichlids, you will need a larger hospital aquarium for your sick fish. You will only be housing the sick fish in there temporarily. Start with a plain glass or acrylic aquarium with a lighted hood.

The hospital tank will also need a air stone bubbler or other air pump input device. High oxygen levels can help sick fish recover faster. A heater is required if your fish are tropical. The filter should include mechanical filtration only: no activate carbon or other chemical filtration agents. These will reduce the effectiveness of medications.

Can you decorate the hospital fish tank?

For ease of cleaning, aquarium gravel or other substrate should not be used. Just leave the bottom bare glass. This makes vacuuming up waste easier. Since the bacterial colonies that help maintain healthy aquarium water often grow on the gravel, you will not have this help in a hospital tank. However, many medications would kill off this bacteria anyway, so it is not necessary to establish a colony.

Including some aquarium decorations for the comfort of your fish may help healing. Plastic plants should be used rather than live plants that could be damaged by medications. Weight the plastic plants by using aquarium grade sealant to attach them to rocks. Other good decorations for the hospital fish tank include tipped over flower pots and rock caves for the fish to hide in.

Building a hospital aquarium for your sick or diseased fish is a necessary part of being a responsible fish owner. The hospital tank is designed to reduce stress and deliver medications. With correct design, decoration, and use, the hospital fish tank will lead to longer life for your aquarium inhabitants.