buyin fish

[littledevil]

hi guys want to buy some electric blue chichlids from my local fish store,the tank they are coming from is a ph of 7.4 my tank is ph 8 how do I do that ? will it efect the fish in any way ??

 

[Guest]

No that wont hurt. Most fish can live in a wide range of PH levels. Just wont bred in it. But yea it'll be fine.

 

[crazyred]

More than likely, if it's the electric blues that I've heard of, they will prefer your higher pH anyway. I think these are African Rift Lake cichlids that come from very hard water with a naturally high pH and your water sounds even more ideal for them. You could even buffer your water up more KH wise with some crushed coral substrate.

Here's a profile: http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/521.htm

Is this the fish?

 

[littledevil]

yes I know but what I mean is transfering the fish from 7.4 to 8 will the difference in ph not put the fish into shock or anything ?????

 

[crazyred]

Not if you use the proper acclimation procedures. Don't just float the bag for 20 minutes and dump the fish in. Drain off a little of the bag water (into a wastewater container.....not your tank) and float the bag, dribble in some of your tank water a little at time every 5 mnutes or so. Drain some more bag water and keep doing this for about an hour to an hour and a half. This will give the fish time to adjust to the changing pH. It sounds like a pain, but it will be worth it in the end. After you're done, net the fish and put him in your tank and turn off the light so he will relax. Try not to get any of the water from the bag into your tank.

 

[DeFeKt]

a) What crazyred said
b) Putting the tank water in your tank won't make any difference. If the fish has been living in the water, it's going to transfer the nasties, into your tank anyway... if any

 

[crazyred]

I don't like getting bag water into my tank simply because I've seen some icky test results when I tested fish store water...sad, but true. Once, the bag water from a fish store I trusted had nitrates that were so high I think they couldn't be measured by my test kit!! 8O I don't know of anyone that needs that in the tank.....even if it would be neglible.

Also, if the fish has been shipped, quite often they use chemicals in the bag water that soothe the fish and that probably doesn't need to go in there either. JMO. Good luck.

 

[goalorientation]

This is definately worth repeating

Drain off a little of the bag water (into a wastewater container.....not your tank) and float the bag, dribble in some of your tank water a little at time every 5 mnutes or so. Drain some more bag water and keep doing this for about an hour to an hour and a half. This will give the fish time to adjust to the changing pH. It sounds like a pain, but it will be worth it in the end. After you're done, net the fish and put him in your tank and turn off the light so he will relax. Try not to get any of the water from the bag into your tank.

In regard to the chemical comment; I work for Petco and your right the breeders use chemicals upon transporting fish to the LFS's before you buy them. However, the only two things I'm aware of are stress coat and medical oxygen. If the waste count is that high, then PLEASE inform a manager, because those tanks are obviously being neglected and in need of maintenance. It's unfortunate but true, that pet stores are becoming a huge corporation and the animals suffer from it! Our responsibility as customers is to make sure the fish we buy are in good shape, and holding the LFS's accountable for their water parameters ought to be our priority.

 

[crazyred]

Yes, I did inform the manager of the fish section. I printed him out the article on old tank syndrome and let him know that he really needed to step up the water change procedures, BIG TIME. This a local mom & pop operation that is managing to give PetSmart a run for the money, but they have probably 30 tanks that range in size from 10-20 gallons each, and each tank has it's own HOB....they don't have the central mass filtration like bigger sotres, so I'm sure doing PWC's on a set-up like that is a nightmare, but hey, that's too bad right? Their fish are reasonably healthy, and nearly every fish in my 29 gallon tank and a a few in my 55 came from there and I have had no problems, but still, they need to do better.

I guess it's just a personal preference of mine to not get tank water from any store into my tank....I've always heard that it's not a good idea. I know that if there is a disease the fish will carry it in just as quick as the water, but why take an extra chance was my feeling.