Mail order fish - How to unbag?

[jarrodaden]

I have fish coming by priority mail. I have never had fish shipped to me before.

Can someone provide me a procedure for climatizing and unbagging the fish?

Thanks.

[Zulaab]

Just open and drop them in the tank.
Has worked for me the best. (as long as the temp is no more than 5 degree difference especially with small fish)

Large fish can handle large temp changes and not have a problem with it.

Small fish, Get a bucket, dump fish and water into the bucket.
Add a bubbler..
Add a glass of water into the bucket every 5 min
Continue until the bucket has at least 75% aquarium water and their water.
Then net out the fish and move them into the tank

[dblondfemme]

main idea... never add their water to your water..... NO BUENO

[Mzungu]

+1 on that. :)

If they look particularly stressed, it's probably best to get a bucket, open the bag they were shipped in, grab a net, and dump contents of bag into net over the bucket. That way you end up with your new fish in the net and the yucky water in the bucket. Then just plop the new fish in their tank.

Try not to add any of the shipping water to your tank.

What kind of fish? Are they going into QT first?

[geoff_tropheus]

Always QT first and foremost.

No telling where or what they may have got into, or what they are used to.

[geoff_tropheus]

Rather simple like Jesper does..but I check pH after I float my bags for atleast 40 minutes for temperature equalization.

As long as pH is within 0.5 its good to go after temperature has equalized.

If its too far off, add a equal amount 1:1 every 20 minutes or so..then net in and release.

And never use the packing water into your own tank, just as everyone said.

[jarrodaden]

How long do you typically quarantine? I have never done this with new fish, but can appreciate why it is a good precaution to take.

These are rainbows coming from someone that I met on here and I trust the person not to send me anything nasty. I am mostly worried about killing the fish during the climitization process.

[geoff_tropheus]

for myself, I always QT for as long as possible, the shortest I ever QT was about 2 weeks

On the flip side, I still had those Ujiji I got from Will "danumber1stunner" a year or more ago..but..that's just laziness lol...

[OrandaMan]

Rainbows seem to me to be ridiculously hardy, and if you're getting them from whom I think you're getting them, I don't think you'll kill them without specifically trying to do so. *edit: and you'd probably have a tough time with that, even.

I have a check sent myself and I can't wait to get these guys.

[Mzungu]

I QT for at least a month for all new fish, regardless of where they came from. From getting wild caught fish to getting fish from the most trusted hobbyist, you just never know. Something that has never shown up in one person's tank can show up "suddenly" when the fish are moved, stressed, etc.

But, for your rainbows, I would use the slow acclimating methods described above. When acclimating to a new tank, I usually take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, periodically taking out the shipping water from the bucket and replacing it with tank water. It's more a matter of how the fish take it. If with every addition of tank water they freak out, start gasping, breathing hard, etc., then I slow down the acclimation process. Not the most scientific advice, I'll give you that, but that's just what I've done in the past. :)

[cichlid1409]

i usually drip acclimate my new arrivals when shipped.

[jarrodaden]

Rainbows seem to me to be ridiculously hardy, and if you're getting them from whom I think you're getting them, I don't think you'll kill them without specifically trying to do so. *edit: and you'd probably have a tough time with that, even.

I have a check sent myself and I can't wait to get these guys.

Oranda - Never question my unbelieveably bad luck when it comes to killing fish. :icon_hang:

Probably the same person. You should have used paypal like me so that you would not have to wait for the check to clear.

I'll be sure to let you know how awesome they are

[daviesri]

1. NEVER ADD BAG WATER TO THE TANK!!!!!!!!
2. Float for about 20 minutes
3. Add about 25% of volume in the bag of tank water.
4. Float 15 minutes.
5. Repeat step 2
6. Float 15 minutes and then net them into the tank.

A quarantine tank is a good idea if you have the tanks and filter. Do not forget to steal gravel from the established tank so you have something to start your cycle.

I have never used a quarantine tank (knock on wood) and have never had problems. Then again, I trust the stores where I buy my fish.