Reducing Stress

[55gal]

How can I reduce the stress of new fish when I first get them. I have heard you should not rip the bag open ad should cut it, is that true? Anything you can tell me to reduce the stress and increase the likelihood of them living I would appreciate.

 

[tetraqueen]

I put the bag into the water to allow them to aclimatise. I ensure the light is of in the tank to allow them peace to settle. I ensure they have a hiding place if they require this.

I do not think ripping the bag helps usually I take the rubber band of and immerse it holding it open until the fish can swim free.

Fish soon settle and I am sure you will enjoy them.

 

[Arimus]

I've got one of the fintro things from maidenhead and find that does a good job - I just cut the top off the bag, pour some of the water from the bag into the fintro, extract the fish with the net and let the fintro do its thing with the light off.

After the fintro has sunk I turn the light on to check the new fish has gone from the fintro then remove it - after shooing my danio's out of the way

 

[vinylman]

When you go for your fish, take some Protozin with you and put a couple of drops into the bag before its tied up. When you get home, put the water and fish from the bag into a bucket adding another couple of drops of Protozin; add a cup of tankwater to the bucket every 5-10 minutes. Do that for an hour or until the bucket is nearly full - take your time. Since I started doing this, new additions have been problem-free. If you don't have a quarantine tank, the Protozin in the bag is the next best thing.