Introducing Fish To A New Tank
- Thread starter mic8310
- Start date
float the bag in the tank for about 30 minutes.
While it is floating add half a cup of tank water to the bag every 5 minutes.
After the 30minutes or thereabouts, pour the contents of the bag into the tank.
If you have new shrimp you want to introduce then ncrease the time to an hour and use less water (1/4 cup every 5 minutes).
While it is floating add half a cup of tank water to the bag every 5 minutes.
After the 30minutes or thereabouts, pour the contents of the bag into the tank.
If you have new shrimp you want to introduce then ncrease the time to an hour and use less water (1/4 cup every 5 minutes).
LauraFrog
Fish Gatherer
The other option is ideal for fish that have been in transit a long time. Empty the contents of the bag into a clean bucket. Set up a clean airline (not too thick) to siphon water out of your tank. Use a valve so that it comes out two or three drops per second. Put this in the bucket. Let the volume of the water in the bucket double, then pour off half. Do this four times. Then add the fish to your tank.
When you've put the new fish in, don't feed the fish for 24 hours and don't turn on the lights until the next morning.
When you've put the new fish in, don't feed the fish for 24 hours and don't turn on the lights until the next morning.
Hi mic8310 
When you bring home fish from a local lfs, the important things to remember are to adjust the temperature gradually and to avoid contaminating your tank with water from the store.
Whether you float or use the bucket method, always net them out of the water they came in. If you add them, water and all, you risk adding potentially harmful bacteria to your tank as well. In the future you might also want to consider having a small tank that you can use to quarantine new fish in for a few weeks.
When you bring home fish from a local lfs, the important things to remember are to adjust the temperature gradually and to avoid contaminating your tank with water from the store.
Whether you float or use the bucket method, always net them out of the water they came in. If you add them, water and all, you risk adding potentially harmful bacteria to your tank as well. In the future you might also want to consider having a small tank that you can use to quarantine new fish in for a few weeks.
To make sure that the new fishes are introduced in the most gradual way I use a combination of bag floating and dripping. A new product that I found to be very good to use is the acclimation system from Doradon, you can see it at
http
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6lnmtOveU
http
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6lnmtOveU
this, but do not empty the water from the bag in the tank. you could introduce something bad from the LFS water in to your tank
Agreed! I've been told since the first tank that I've owned to NEVER add LFS water to my tanks. Unfortunately not everyone has a QT so we still take some risk be even adding them without waiting a couple weeks.
oh hai 3yr old thread!
I think DiscusFan may well be a spammer for Doradon.....whoever they are!
I think DiscusFan may well be a spammer for Doradon.....whoever they are!
it's my job
Alm0stAwesome
Fish Aficionado
lol there's been a couple of revived threads today
As this thread is active, I'll say here...I see no point in trying to avoid getting LFS water in your tank. You're not going to dry the fish off with a towel before you add them are you? So any parasites/bacteria/infections are going into your tank with the new fish, like it or not.
A QT is the only sure way to avoid introducing 'nasties'; messing about stressing the fish trying to net them out of the bag is a totally futile exercise, IMHO.
A QT is the only sure way to avoid introducing 'nasties'; messing about stressing the fish trying to net them out of the bag is a totally futile exercise, IMHO.
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
As usual, folks want to come up with hard and fast rules for doing things. The thing is when it comes to this hobby there is very little universal about it. How one handles new fish is a perfect example. The first thing to understand is there is a huge difference between bringing home a fish you have just purchased from a local store etc, and having fish be in a bag for extended periods. Fish shipped in will be in bags anywhere from a day to several days.
Aside from the less important temperature concerns, there are basically 3 issues involved with acclimating fish: pH, ammonia and GH/TDS. Each one of these factors must be considered individually. The least important acclimation is in terms of pH. Fish are pretty adaptable in this regard so unless the pH they are in is radically different form the pH they are going into, the worry is minimal. However, pH is a major consideration when fish have spent much more time in bags like when they are shipped. The reason for this has to do with the more dangerous second factor- ammonia.
Lets consider for a moment what happens when fish are shipped - i.e. in bags for extended periods. A good shipper takes steps to minimize the potential for ammonia. They will often starve fish for a day or two in order to minimize the amount of poop produced during shipping. However, fish also make ammonia from their normal breathing process. So there is going to be some amount of ammonia present in the bag water, and this could be more than a little in some cases. Now how many of us try to measure the pH of the bag water? My bet is almost nobody. Why does this matter?
During shipping the odds are two things have happened, the pH of the bag water has dropped and the ammonia levels have risen. The lower the pH, the less toxic ammonia is as it has a lower % in the toxic NH3 form. Now we start to acclimate the fish and if we are doing this with higher pH water, the trouble begins. As the pH of the bag water is raised, the amount of toxic ammonia rises as well. So without realizing it, acclimation may actually be having the opposite effect than is desired. We are actually doing way more harm than good. More new fish suffer and die as a result of our not being aware of what is going on in this respect than almost any other cause i.e from ammonia poisoning. Sometimes doing almost 0 acclimation is better than doing any at all.
But ammonia levels, pH and changing toxicity is not the only potential downside to acclimation. The GH/TDS component can also be an issue. Fish need to be able to osmoregulate successfully:
From http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmoregulation
This is why sw and fw fish will die when put into the other's environment.
There is a limit as to how big a change in the GH/TDS parameters of the water to which fish can adapt before it overwhelms their ability handle the change. Unfortunately, this level can not be overcome by an hour or two of acclimation. The fish simply are unable to adapt that rapidly and the result is death. This is why it is prudent to ask in advance what the gh of the water they are in might be. If it is radically different, then you may not want to get those fish unless you can match their needs and then gradually change the parameters over an extended period. Even the seasonal spawners who are able to handle changes in GH/TDS have their limits. About the only types of fish I can think of that can handle radical changes are those like salmon which migrate between fresh and salt to spawn. But these types of fish are the exceptions, not the rule.
Finally, sometimes fish come in in water that is so nasty, every minute more they spend in it is not good. In such cases it is usually better to get the fish out of nasty water and into nice clean water. This is especially true when there is more than one fish in the bag and some have died.
So as we can see, the way we should acclimate fish should always be what is most suitable for the specific conditions for that bag rather than some sort of universal one-size-fits-all routine.
Aside from the less important temperature concerns, there are basically 3 issues involved with acclimating fish: pH, ammonia and GH/TDS. Each one of these factors must be considered individually. The least important acclimation is in terms of pH. Fish are pretty adaptable in this regard so unless the pH they are in is radically different form the pH they are going into, the worry is minimal. However, pH is a major consideration when fish have spent much more time in bags like when they are shipped. The reason for this has to do with the more dangerous second factor- ammonia.
Lets consider for a moment what happens when fish are shipped - i.e. in bags for extended periods. A good shipper takes steps to minimize the potential for ammonia. They will often starve fish for a day or two in order to minimize the amount of poop produced during shipping. However, fish also make ammonia from their normal breathing process. So there is going to be some amount of ammonia present in the bag water, and this could be more than a little in some cases. Now how many of us try to measure the pH of the bag water? My bet is almost nobody. Why does this matter?
During shipping the odds are two things have happened, the pH of the bag water has dropped and the ammonia levels have risen. The lower the pH, the less toxic ammonia is as it has a lower % in the toxic NH3 form. Now we start to acclimate the fish and if we are doing this with higher pH water, the trouble begins. As the pH of the bag water is raised, the amount of toxic ammonia rises as well. So without realizing it, acclimation may actually be having the opposite effect than is desired. We are actually doing way more harm than good. More new fish suffer and die as a result of our not being aware of what is going on in this respect than almost any other cause i.e from ammonia poisoning. Sometimes doing almost 0 acclimation is better than doing any at all.
But ammonia levels, pH and changing toxicity is not the only potential downside to acclimation. The GH/TDS component can also be an issue. Fish need to be able to osmoregulate successfully:
From http
/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OsmoregulationThis is why sw and fw fish will die when put into the other's environment.
There is a limit as to how big a change in the GH/TDS parameters of the water to which fish can adapt before it overwhelms their ability handle the change. Unfortunately, this level can not be overcome by an hour or two of acclimation. The fish simply are unable to adapt that rapidly and the result is death. This is why it is prudent to ask in advance what the gh of the water they are in might be. If it is radically different, then you may not want to get those fish unless you can match their needs and then gradually change the parameters over an extended period. Even the seasonal spawners who are able to handle changes in GH/TDS have their limits. About the only types of fish I can think of that can handle radical changes are those like salmon which migrate between fresh and salt to spawn. But these types of fish are the exceptions, not the rule.
Finally, sometimes fish come in in water that is so nasty, every minute more they spend in it is not good. In such cases it is usually better to get the fish out of nasty water and into nice clean water. This is especially true when there is more than one fish in the bag and some have died.
So as we can see, the way we should acclimate fish should always be what is most suitable for the specific conditions for that bag rather than some sort of universal one-size-fits-all routine.
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