Adding more SAPs

[By_a_coo]

Hi all,

After my singleton SAP living by itself for a couple of years, I decided to buy in a different LFS 2 more SAPs.

They are in a QT, hunting for food, normal feces... a little bit pale but doing well SO FAR.

Questions:

1- The 2 SAPs are looking and acting nice, however, how long should they have been in a QT?

2 - The LFS informed me they were feeding bloodworms and brine shrimps. Now my SAPS only accept those food, not showing any interest in shrimp and snails? What should I do? (I have a snail farm for quite some time).

3 - Any best course of action when I introduce the 2 SAPs into the tank where the singleton have lived (it have been a planted tank)?

4 - Will the singleton SAP will overreact with the new saps addition? If so, what do I suppose to do?

Thanks in advance for helping us.

[bertie 83]

Qt for 2 weeks minimum, more is of course better. Try crushing some snails so they realise how tasty they are, or give these as their only food source and they will soon start eating them. Your current puffer has been alone for quite some time, I would introduce the new ones with caution as if he freaks out the only real option is separation in this case. Try putting another tank face to face with the current saps tank, this way he can see them but has safe territory to retreat to if he so wishes. Once he does not seem bothered by them or seems to relish them being there plonk them all together.

[RTR]

1. I QT for a minimum of 4-6 weeks. Maximum of forever.

2. Those foods are inappropriate for SAPs other than as treats. Live brine shrimp are great for co-feeding w/"new" foods as appetizers. Try dropping in pre-crushed live snails with the live brine shrimp. Do this while still in QT.

3. Use a divider at first. Is the tank appropriately sized? Saps are loosely schooling - the are bot Barbs or Rasboras.

4. I add the bulk of the snails for SAPs in the dark cycle, add a few more during the light cycle at a regular time.

HTH

[Pufferpunk]

Try redecorating the tank, before adding the new guys in. That way, the older fella doesn't have established territories.

[By_a_coo]

I thought about redecorating the tank and left the singletone SAP in a bucket during that and when it's done I add the new 2 SAPs before the older one.

what do you think?

[Pufferpunk]

Leave him in there.

[By_a_coo]

Yesterday gave him some crushed snails, and they recognized it as food!

One more thing, I set up the QT tank with a DIY filter and got some media (floss) from the stabilized main tank. I test the water everyday (ammonia/nitrIte = zero), how often shall I do WC?

I hope everything end up fine when the quarantine is done.

I'll keep you all informed about it.

I thank you all for the great advice.

[Pufferpunk]

If you're not feeding the bacteria you moved over with the media with ammonia, it will die.
library/hospital/qtine/

[By_a_coo]

The 2 SAPs are in that QT. Won't they both produce food to feed the bacteria in the filter?

[bertie 83]

Yes they will, it's empty tanks that need feeding. It came across that the qt was set up in preparation, without the fish.