| Having a home aquarium is truly rewarding but along | | | | importance of having a quarantine tank. You don't |
| with it is responsibility and time to make sure that | | | | have to purchase an expensive tank for this, a simple |
| our fish stays healthy, happy and active. Before you | | | | one will do. You have to be careful when floating a |
| engage in a hobby like this, make sure you have | | | | bag full of unknown water in your aquarium. After |
| already read the most important information | | | | buying the fish, go home right away to avoid |
| especially when it comes to setting up the aquarium | | | | ammonia build-up in the bag (fish waste). Once you |
| and acclimating the fish to its new home. More often | | | | get home, remove about 25% of the water from |
| than not, when we buy fish from the store, we are | | | | the bag and then replace it with the same amount of |
| instructed to float the bag in the tank for 15 minutes | | | | water from your tank. Float the bag in your tank and |
| and then release the fish. This is wrong because the | | | | bring down the hood opening on the bag's open end |
| only thing you are acclimating your fish into is the | | | | to secure it. Add about 1 cup (less if the bag is |
| temperature. What about the water chemistry in | | | | smaller) of the tank water to the bag every 10 |
| your tank? Ask the fish vendor to test the store's | | | | minutes. Keep on doing this for an hour and after an |
| tank water for you and note the pH level, ammonia, | | | | hour, use a small net to remove the fish from the |
| nitrite and nitrate readings. When you get home with | | | | bag and gently place the fish into your home |
| the fish, test your own water so you'll have an idea | | | | aquarium. |
| how the two tests differ from each other. This will | | | | The logic of the floating bag method is to slowly get |
| provide you with the right insight on how long it will | | | | the fish acclimated to your tank so you should not |
| take to acclimate your fish into its new environment. | | | | just dump the water bag into your tank. If you're |
| There are different methods to acclimate tropical fish | | | | not careful, you are increasing the risk of exposing |
| to home aquarium and one of these is the floating | | | | your aquarium to any parasites or diseases present in |
| bag method. This method is the most common and it | | | | the fish vendor's tank. |
| works really well. A lot of hobbyists fail to realize the | | | | |