I have been reading a thread on another forum about netting a new fish out of the shipping bag and directly into your aquarium. In other words skipping the float the bag or drip in a bucket method because it is more stressful. What do ya'll think about this?
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acclimate new fish.
- Thread starter ronv
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- Stoughton, WI
It all depends upon the relative differences between the water in the bag and the water in the tank. My water is mostly pH 6.5 - 6.8, very soft at 100 mS conductivity or less and 0 KH. The stores around here have rock hard water with a high pH. I use the bucket and drip method, and I acclimate for a LONG time. There are are no fish in the tank that the fish are going into I will actually increase the hardness and pH in the tank to where it is much closer to the water in the bag. Then I can acclimate the fish down to the levels I want the tank at over a few weeks of water changes with RO.
The only time that I will do the net and dump method is when the fish are very stressed in the bag. If there are dead or dying fish, or there overly cloudy water or a foul smell, I will get the fish out ASAP, but usually to a bucket of clean water that is close to the same hardness and pH that is in the bag, and a little warmer. It often helps in those situations to have a strong airstone in the bucket too.
IME, the most important factor when considering the net and dump is temperature... followed by pH... then by the general hardness.
The only time that I will do the net and dump method is when the fish are very stressed in the bag. If there are dead or dying fish, or there overly cloudy water or a foul smell, I will get the fish out ASAP, but usually to a bucket of clean water that is close to the same hardness and pH that is in the bag, and a little warmer. It often helps in those situations to have a strong airstone in the bucket too.
IME, the most important factor when considering the net and dump is temperature... followed by pH... then by the general hardness.
The theory, as I understand it is that ammonia/ CO2 increases in a shipping bag. When the bag is opened a sudden increase in PH is caused by CO2 being driven off and since ammonia is more toxic at high PH, the fish are in immediate peril and need to be gotten out at all costs. The temp. change is, maybe not as critical. Afterall, we change temp. quite a bit when trying to stimulate spawning, with no ill effects. The question, I think, may be a sudden change in tds, causing osmodic shock... Anyhow, I'm way above myself here. Just looking for opinions from the experts on the forum..
