[jsrtist]

I realized today at work how many times a day I tell people this and thought maybe I should post it here. Let me start off by saying, I think its very important to quarantine all new fish that you get before introducing them into your main tank. I know not everyone does though and thats where I thought this would come in handy. (I dont quarantine all my tropical fish, just goldfish).

Sure, everyone knows about floating the bag in the water for half an hour or so, but do you realize how important it is to adjust your new fish to the pH in your tank? A lot of customers were telling me they were floating the bag but still losing fish, so I started thinking about pH shock.

What I do when I get a new fish is, take one of my fish buckets (fish only, never had soap/cleaners in them) and pour the water and fish gently into that. Then over the next couple of hours (make sure you have aeration if the fish are large) I slowly pour some small cupfuls of water from my tank into the bucket. That way they will adjust to your temperature, pH and water quality. After awhile of doing this, I then scoop the fish into a net and then place them in my tank. That way you wont worry about getting any pet store water in your main tank.

Hope this helps! ;)

[slipperylittlesucker]

thats a good tip
ill keep it in mind
i also think it is important to quarantine fish
many people lose their fish because they add their
new fish straight with their old ones
i like to leave them in isolation for few days
this hopefully ensure that any harmful
diseases don't spread.

[jsrtist]

Actually you want to quarantine for about a month. :)

[slipperylittlesucker]

when acclimatising the fish
i add water from the pond slowly until its full and then
i put the bag in the pond and after a few minutes the fish
will swim out of the bag
thats a good idea jstist because you allow everything to adjust
not just temperature :)

[koko]

Congrats on the Tip of the Month JS.

could you email me your Addy please so that I can get your bumpersticker out to you hun :D

[Tamianth]

Congrats Js! :D

[barbie]

:D Congratulations, Great Idea, If I ever have room for more fish, I shall use your Idea. I dont like getting sellers' water in my tank anyway! :D

[goldrush_21]

Good idea, i never thought of that before. i mau be getting another fishie in a short time and i will be sure to do that.

[coyote ugly]

great tip :D congratulations!

[technogold]

Congratulations this is a great tip :exactly

Just used it today we got 6 new additions. I asked the person at the lfs what their PH was and they were at 6.6, my tank runs at 7.8. Took three hours and alot of patience but all the new guys are now happily in their new home. :newfish

Thanks for the tip :D