Best way to indroduce new fish??

[thecowman]

I was reading in a book I own that, when introducing new fish to an aquarium, it is not neccessary to 'float' the bag in the water for any period of time unless the tank water is colder than the water in the bag. It suggests that the fish just be dumped into the water, stating that keeping them in the bag causes more stress than the temperature difference will. My local LFS and several other people I have talked to, however, suggest that I should float the bag to allow the temperature of the water in the bag to equal the temperature of the tank, then add some tankwater to the bag to slowly make the pH the same as well. I was wondering what everybody's opinion is on what the best way to introduce new fish to an aquarium is?

[goldfish freak]

If the temperature of the water in the tank is the same as the temperature in the bag, or very close to it and the parameters of your water is the same as where the fish came from than you can place them in the tank immediately. If the fish have been in the bag for several hours then adding water from your tank is going to make the ammonia in the bag of water toxic by raising the pH. In this case it would be better to place the fish directly into the water after you have floated the sealed bag in the tank to equalize the temperature.

[ArkyLady]

I always float the bag for about 30 mins, then add some tank water to the bag every 15 mins for about an hour. Then I pour the bag into a bucket, net the fish out and put him in the tank. I never add the fish store water into my tank.

After I killed over $100 worth of fish in my 55 gallon one time when adding a new fish (it was carrying a disease), I also ALWAYS use a quarantine tank now for 6 weeks before adding new fish to my established aquariums.

[yashinfan]

I added the fish store water directly into my tank!!! Do you think this would have an impact on why my fish died??? But the amonia levels showed 0. God, I wish I could just know what killed them so I can make sure not to do it again. :(

[ArkyLady]

yashin it's doubful that's what killed your fish. I just don't like to add thier poopy water to my tanks :D

[goldfish freak]

I agree it is exteremly unlikely that adding the water from the bag to the tank killed you fish. The reason people avoid adding the water from the bag is because there is a chance that it might introduce some illness.

[yashinfan]

I thought that adding water from where the fish came from might help them? Would putting my filter onto his cichlid's tank help my tank if I put it back on Thursday?

[goldfish freak]

When you add water from another source you always run the risk of intoducing illness. Especially from a fish shop. You never know what those fish might be harboring. Even from from a healthy tank there is a risk involved, albeit low.

[yashinfan]

Alright so the filtration exchange is off since our's are not compatable at all. I don't know anyone else with an undergravel system :( I will never again add LFS's water into my tank. I'm so nervous for Thursday now. Grrr. I wish I could not be stressed out, between this and exams I'm going to explode!!!

[goldfish freak]

Try to relax Yashinfan, If you made sure you did everything right than that is all you can do. Maybe it was simply the stress of being moved from one place to another that did them in, they could have just been weak, or it could have been some freak thing. Unfortunately you sometimes you take a risk when you buy animals.

[yashinfan]

It's the fact that they were swimming around, checking everything out, playing, etc.. for 30 minutes before they dropped like flies. It makes me so sad :(

[thecowman]

Yup, Goldfishfreak is right. It's strange how these things work out sometimes. I have had experiences where I did everything possible and my fish still died within days of their arrival. On the other hand, when I was a small child, my family was moving from Toronto to Ottawa (about a 4 hour drive) and all we did was pack up my 10 gallon tank, put all the fish in jars, then when we got to Ottawa we filled up the tank, plugged everything in and dumped the fish in and they survived and thrived for years.

[goldfish freak]

Heh, Heh! look another Canadian!:D It is good to see, we need more of them in this forum:) .

[goldfish freak]

Hey, you know I lost one the first fish I owned. It jumped out of the tank and died. I was heart broken :( . So I know how you feel.

[yashinfan]

So is there nothing else I should do? Just monitor pH and amonia levels until Thursday?

[brianfl]

Yashinfan,

Was your ph pretty close to the ph at the lfs? The only time I have seen a mass die like that after such a short time was introducing fish to a vastly different ph. I would be very surprised if the water from the store had any effect. It sounds kind of anal, but every time I bring fish home from the store, i check the ph in the bag.

[goldfish freak]

Yashinfan, do so research on how to identify how a fish looks and acts when it is unhealthy. That way you will know what to look for when you buy fish. That is if you do not already know this. Here is one website on fish illness to get you started http://www.2cah.com/pandora/Disease.html#Ich

[yashinfan]

These fish did not have any sort of visible disease and were healthy in the tank in the LFS. I asked the woman to check the pH in the tank and she's like, "It's normal." This time I will force her to check my tank and their tank to make sure it is compatible. If it's not, then I won't buy the fish until it is. So the way the fish died is that one of them started spinning, or like giving in to the water current? Then she floated to the top dead. The others soon followed altho one managed to fight it for a couple of minutes. I'm pretty sure it was because of the pH, no other tests showed any other problems. If my tank was 8.0 and the LFS' was something like 7.2 & 7.4 it might explain their deaths.

[goldfish freak]

You know I sincerely doubt that the pH was the case of death . I moved my fancy goldfish(more delicate than a danio) from a pH of 7.2-7.4 to one that was 7.8 and my fish showed no signs of discomfort.

[yashinfan]

Omg, don't say that!! What do you think it was then?!!

[goldfish freak]

Like I said before, I don't know what it could have been. Could have been one of a number of things. Don't worry too much, it might have just been a freak thing.

[yashinfan]

Alright, I need to stop obsessing! EEK. Anyway, I will just have to hope for the best. If everything fails I might do that "fishless cycle" or else I'll just stick to my goldfish. They are so easy to deal with. *sigh* I wanted danios so much tho :(

[ArkyLady]

This thread has officially been hijacked :D

[goldfish freak]

LOL! You are right, partly my fault:D

[thecowman]

Haha! Oh well..I don't mind..I got the answer to my question..and so much more!