Properly introducing new fish

[bosk1]

I drip acclimated my new fish last night before introducing them into the tank. Since they are already in, some of this is after the fact, but I wanted to get people's take on some questions for future reference:

1. Do you "float" your fish while they are being acclimated? I know this was the preferred method years ago, but I was advised that it is not really a good idea. As I understand, it is much more important to acclimate fish to the water conditions, so drip acclimation is key, and you can't really drip acclimate very well while floating the bags because once you open them, they are likely to sink. Also, I was told that the lights can warm the fish too much while they are floating up at the top in their bags. Of course, turning off the light would solve this. Anyway, I dripped, but did not float. Thoughts? (actually, I poured a bit of water every couple of minutes--didn't actually drip, but you all know what I mean...)

2. Do people have sort of a preferred formula for drip acclimation? Do you add a certain amount of water at set intervals? I am not under the impression it is any sort of exact science, but just want to know what others do. I just gently poured in a little tank water every 2-3 minutes, and did this for a little over 20 minutes until the bag was almost 1/2 tank water.

3. What's the best way to net the fish to get them into the tank? The bags I got were relatively small because the fish were small. I didn't think about asking for bigger bags until I got home. Anyway, the net wouldn't fit into the bags. I was told to NEVER pour the fish store water with the new fish into the tank because you never know what's brewing in that water, and that it is perfectly fine to net the fish. So my solution was to pour the water and fish into the net, letting the water be caught in a bucket underneath. Okay, fine...except one of the loaches decided he didn't want to go, and stayed in the bag after the water was all gone. I got him out without hurting him, but it freaked me out a little. Is there a better way?

4. Lights out! I was told it is best to keep the lights off during and after introducting the new fish to minimize their stress. How long afterward? Should the lights stay out for a couple of days, or just a couple of hours?

5. Am I obsessing too much over this?

[DeFeKt]

nah, not obsessing. It's good to see people caring so much for another living creature. human nature is to look out for #1.

1. I do float, to get them used to the temp that I run at.

2. What I do is open the bag and peg it to the side of the tank and every 5 mins or so I take a cup full of water out and replace it slowly with a cup of my "good" water. of course starting with about 1/2 a cup and working my way up.
the "bad" water gets thrown down the drain.

3. admittedly I do pour the whole bag contents into the tank, but by the time I do that the store water is dilluted that much with my water it wouldn't make much difference.

4. lights, personally I don't think it makes a diff. as long as the bag isn't sealed and floating under it and cooking the fish they'll be right.

5. As above.

hope this help.

Matt.

[Lonewolfblue]

1. I've always floated mine til the temps were the same. Then I pour out half the water into a bucket, and every few minutes, add a little tank water, til it's full. Then I repeat the process one more time.

2. I don't really drip acclimate myself, but the process above usually takes me 10-15 minutes for temp, then another 10-15 minutes for acclimation.

3. As for getting the fish out, I place my net across my 5G bucket, and cut the top off the bag and gently pour the fish into the net, making sure I don't knock the net end of the net off the edge of the bucket.

4. I've always left the lights on. When acclimating for the temp, the fish should already be used to the light, so imo, shouldn't be a problem.

5. You aren't obsessed, just have a BIG HEART!!!!

[Jchillin]

I have always floated the bag...depending on the type of fish will determine if it's lights on or off.

Originally Posted by Lonewolfblue

3. As for getting the fish out, I place my net across my 5G bucket, and cut the top off the bag and gently pour the fish into the net, making sure I don't knock the net end of the net off the edge of the bucket.

I do the same thing, albeit I do this over the sink so I don't lose the net. I have never been able to get any sized net into the bag without stressing the fish.

Yes...it is an obsession, but a very good one to have.

[bosk1]

Hmm... As far as the floating for temperature purposes, if you are adding water directly from the tank into the bag for 20 minutes or so, the temperature should be close enough that any difference would be relatively negligible and wouldn't bother the fish, right?

[Lonewolfblue]

I agree there, shouldn't hurt the fish. I just do it for piece of mind.

[bosk1]

Originally Posted by Lonewolfblue

...piece of mind.

Hey, that's an Iron Maiden album!

[Lonewolfblue]

[QTOFFER]

1. Usually I don't float. Personally, I think a slow drip acclimation does a better job of reducing temperature stress than an extended float. The key is preventing the fish from getting chilled on the way home in the first place. During the warmer months, this is not a problem, but if I buy during the winter months, I bring a small styrofoam six-pack cooler with me to keep the bagged fish warm till I get home. Water is pretty good at holding heat, and fish suffer more shock from lower temps than they do from higher temps. Besides, I want to get those fish out of that stagnant, polluted, rapidly deoxygenating water ASAP.

2 I drip acclimate to slowly raise the temp while allowing the fish to acclimate to my water parameters.
First I slice open the bag and empty fish and lfs water into a clean, opaque 5 gal fish-only bucket. I've had bag corners collapse and smother fish during drip acclimation before, so I get rid of the bag.
Second, I start a siphon through a length of airline tubing with a loose knot at one end - it drains about 3 gallons from my holding tank in about 45 minutes. The dripping aerates the water as the fish acclimate, and it's far more convenient than having to pour 1/4 cup into the bucket every 5 minutes.
I have a lid on the bucket to keep it dark, maintain temp, and prevent jumpers.

3 I just use a big net to transfer the fish from bucket to quarrantine tank - it's as easy as shooting fish in a bucket. :P

4 I keep the lights out during the acclimation process and don't turn them back on until the next day. The plants don't mind.

5 Not at all. It sucks to have a bunch of fish die during acclimation.

[bosk1]

Well, the real reason I didn't float them was because of the labels on the bags. I bought them at Petsmart, which I swore I would never do, but both the gourami and loach tanks looked very clean, and the fish all looked very healthy and vigorous, so I did. Okay, I've confessed--I'd like to just get past it now. ...except they've got some very cool small rubberlip plecos that looked good, so I was thinking about going back later...but I'm off track again... Anyway, for pricing, they put a sticker on the bag and then write the UPC code and the price. I didn't think I could easily get the stickers off, and I didn't want soggy sticker or ink in my tank.

[bosk1]

Originally Posted by QTOFFER

...The key is preventing the fish from getting chilled on the way home in the first place. During the warmer months, this is not a problem, but if I buy during the winter months, I bring a small styrofoam six-pack cooler with me to keep the bagged fish warm till I get home.

Yeah, that's what I did (except it's plastic, not styrofoam). I also cranked the heat up in the car on the way home, as it was not likely to get hot enough to significantly (if at all) heat the water, but it was cold enough that I was worried about heat escaping. (the cooler with the fish was on the seat--away from the heater vents!)

Originally Posted by QTOFFER

2 I drip acclimate to slowly raise the temp while allowing the fish to acclimate to my water parameters.
First I slice open the bag and empty fish and lfs water into a clean, opaque 5 gal fish-only bucket. I've had bag corners collapse and smother fish during drip acclimation before, so I get rid of the bag.
Second, I start a siphon through a length of airline tubing with a loose knot at one end - it drains about 3 gallons from my holding tank in about 45 minutes. The dripping aerates the water as the fish acclimate, and it's far more convenient than having to pour 1/4 cup into the bucket every 5 minutes.
I have a lid on the bucket to keep it dark, maintain temp, and prevent jumpers.

Awesome technique! I'm definitely going to borrow that idea from you.

just wanted to add how i do it...

I float the fish but i use the lid to hold the bag from sinking. I add about 1-5 ml every few minutes. I usually acclimate over at least 30 minutes. That way they get used to the water temperature as well as the water quality. If you just drip acclimate without floating, the temperature isn't going to be the same. Then i NET the fish from the bag into the tank. IF i can't get them out with the net i take it to the sink and pour the bag into the net until the fish is in the net.. then i put the fish in the tank. As long as you are careful and gentle you can do this.

Since i started doing it this way i haven't lost any of my new fish!!! Hope this helps!

[bosk1]

AshleyNicole, after reading your post, only one thing comes to mind: I WANT THAT PUPPY!!! It is so cute!

Originally Posted by bosk1

AshleyNicole, after reading your post, only one thing comes to mind: I WANT THAT PUPPY!!! It is so cute!

LOL!!! he's my lil buddy.. his name is Neo. YOU CANT HAVE HIM HE'S MINE
LMAO :P

Originally Posted by bosk1

Hmm... As far as the floating for temperature purposes, if you are adding water directly from the tank into the bag for 20 minutes or so, the temperature should be close enough that any difference would be relatively negligible and wouldn't bother the fish, right?

I think it would be negligible.. but see im kinda OCD.. LOL.. and my house temp is usually a lot coooler than the tank temp.

[Lonewolfblue]

I don't need to worry about the weather here. I live less than 5 minutes from my lfs. So it's like out the door and into my house.

[Lonewolfblue]

Soggy sticker may not be too bad, but ink in the tank is not a good thing.

[Fishyfanatic]

I haven't done the drip method before, always the floating of the bag and adding and removing of water. It won't sink as long as their is an air pocket. I haven't lost a fish yet to this method.

[Lonewolfblue]

I haven't lost any fish yet either and I pretty much do the same as Fishyfantastic. And I don't have to worry about trying to rig up an airline.