REFERENCE
Buying Fish, Transporting Fish and Settling Them In
{short description of image}
{short description of image}
Buying Fish
Transporting Fish
Settling Fish In
{short description of image}
Buying Fish

Before you even venture to the shops, do your homework and decide what kind of fish you are intending to keep. Research the needs of the fish and ensure that you can care for it properly. Some questions to consider are; Will it grow too big for my aquarium? Can I meet its dietary requirements? Will it fit in with my existing fish? Does my water suit the fish? Does the fish have any special needs or characteristics that I must consider?

As an alternative to this, view fish at the shop and return the following week, perhaps with a shopping list, after you have researched the fish. Never buy on impulse at the retailers.

The next question is where should you buy your fish? Whilst most pet shops sell fish, my experience is that the selection is often limited and the staff tend to be less knowledgable about specific information. Recent years have seen the rise of pet superstores. The choice here is almost certainly greater and staff will have undergone some form of training in the care of fish. However, the number of horror stories relating to bad advice and poor aquarium conditions in these pet superstores leads me to recommend that they are either avoided completely or used for equipment purchases only. The best place to purchase fish is at a specialist store.

General advice when choosing a store is to select one that has a good range of quality fish and equipment. The staff should be friendly and be willing to answer all your questions no matter how busy they are, and you should be allowed to browse without any pressure to buy.

Now on to choosing you new fish. Common sense usually applies here so I've selected a short list of "do's" and "don'ts"

  • Don't buy too many fish at once.

With the addition of each new fish, the balance of wastes in the aquarium shifts. Your filters need time to adjust otherwise a build up in ammonia will occur and your fish will die. Add fish slowly. I only add up to six small fish in any six week period, even in my most established aquariums.

  • Don't buy fish that have just arrived in the store.

New arrivals will have experienced great stress from their capture, transportation and relocation. They need time to recover. A good retailer will keep fish reserved for collection at a later date.

  • Don't buy a fish that shows any signs of disease or illness.

Avoid fish with the following symptoms; clamped fins, frayed or torn fins, white dots or cotton wool like growths, rapid breathing, unusual behaviour, wounds or poor colouring. Also avoid fish that rub themselves on stones or on the substrate, hide in a corner or dart about frantically.

  • Don't buy fish from an aquarium with a dead or diseased fish in it.

Even though your chosen fish appears healthy, you may bring bacteria or parasites home in the transport water. Fish may not show signs of illness in the store however, the stress of moving will lower the fish's immune system and make it more susceptible to disease.

  • Don't buy deformed or painted fish.

Deformed species may look perfectly healthy but the long term effects may not be so clear.

  • Don't buy fish from an aquarium with water that appears yellow, green or bright blue.

These colours indicate poor water quality or that medications have been used recently.

  • Do ensure that your aquarium is ready for new arrivals.

Do you have the room for one more fish? Has your aquarium finished cycling? Is it disease free? Is the water of good quality? If the answer is "no" to any of the above, don't buy any fish yet.

  • Do take your time and observe the fish.

There should be no rush to buy. Take your time and observe the fishes behaviour.

  • Do choose individual fish.

Your fish should be perfect, particularly if you are choosing breeding stock. Your dealer should be happy to net any fish that you request. If not, choose another store.

  • Do check the fish once the dealer has netted them.

Ensure that the fish has not been injured during capture and check the dealer has caught the right fish. Take this opportunity for a final inspection of the fish.

  • Do ensure the fish is well fed.

The fish should so no signs of malnourishment. The dealer should be willing to illustrate the fish is eating by feeding a very small portion of food.

  • Do try the Cichlid trick.

Cichlids that are settled and feeding well, will swim towards the top of the tank if you hold your hand over it. Some cichlids will also follow a hand around the tank. It is polite to ask the dealer before trying this as the fish may be a new arrival and be unduly stressed.
{short description of image}
Transporting Fish

Once you have carefully selected your fish, you will need to transport them home. Fish are sensitive to stress and transportation should be as short as possible however, sometimes this is not practical.

Your dealer will usually just package fish in a plastic bag. The bag should be filled 1/3rd full of water and 2/3rds air. The water simply keeps the fish wet and allows the gills to function (see gills), the air keeps the fish breathing and the fish can be contained for up to 12 hours in this condition, depending on the sensitivity of the species. For longer journeys, the bag should be filled with pure oxygen rather than air and in this state the fish can survive up to 24 hours. If fish are to be transported for longer periods, the fish should be re packaged with "new" tank water and fresh oxygen.

For most fish, a strong plastic bag will suffice but for larger fish a bucket may be more practical. If bags are used, either tape the corners to make them round or turn the bag upside down. This prevents fish from becoming trapped in a corner and injuring itself. Double bagging adds security against leaks and should be used for transporting catfish or fish with spines. Do not put too many fish in one bag and separate territorial or aggressive species.

Temperature is another major consideration. Unless extreme temperatures dictate otherwise, short journeys of less than ½ an hour temperature should not be a concern. For longer transportation times, the dealer should provide a polystyrene box, alternatively use a cool box (picnic box).

It is also advisable to keep the fish in darkness during transportation. Wrap the bag in newspaper as flashes of light can shock fish. Finally, to reduce pollution to the transit water, do not feed fish for 24 hours prior to packaging.

{short description of image}
Settling Fish In

Once the fish have arrived safely at home the final stage is to settle them in to the aquarium.

Ideally, the fish should undergo a 6 week quarantine period in a separate tank. This allows time to acclimatise the fish to your water and to observe that it is feeding and shows now signs of illness.

Carefully unpack the polyethylene bag, open it and sit the bag in the aquarium for ½ an hour. This should be sufficient time to gradually bring the transit water up to the same temperature as the aquarium water. This is important as the the fish may experience thermal shock if put immediately into the aquarium. You may need to trap the bag in the lid of the hood or secret it to the tank with a peg to stop it sinking and releasing the fish prematurely.

Some people slowly transfer some of the aquarium water into the transit bag during this period to acclimatise the fish. Personally I don't do this, as fish need considerably more time to acclimatise to new water. This is another good reason for a quarantine tank.

Once the transport water has reached tank temperature, one can release the fish. The best way to do this is to slowly tilt the bag and allow the fish to swim out freely. Try to avoid pouring in too much transit water as this will have become concentrated with excreta.

A new environment is intimidating to a fish therefore, to help settle the fish, turn off the aquarium lighting before introduction. This simulates night and existing tankmates will become less active.

It is also recommended that you do not feed fish for 24 hours after introduction and then begin feeding small quantities of food, building back up to normal feeding portions. This is because the filters will need time to build up sufficient bacteria to cope with the increase in bioload created by the new fish.

If the new addition is a territorial fish and aggressive or territorial fish exist in the tank, it is wise to rearrange the decor. All fish will then have to reestablish their territories and the attention is taken away from bullying the new arrival.

As I mentioned earlier, fish need time to adjust to their new surroundings. Don't expect new fish to be out and about immediately and do not knock tank to attract their attention. Fish are sensitive to vibration and the shock may kill them. Be patient and sit back and enjoy!
{short description of image}
Back {short description of image} Top
{short description of image}
© 1999 - 2002 www.Thatfishshop.com