| Nothing is more fun to the owner of a saltwater | | | | temperature and salinity in the acclimation bucket |
| aquarium than picking out a new fish (or several) for | | | | match that of the display aquarium |
| their saltwater aquarium and then getting it home to | | | | Mistake #3 - Using a net to move the fish - |
| add it to their tank. It is so fun and exciting and is | | | | Whenever possible avoid using a net to move the |
| probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of the | | | | fish. And if you do need to use a net, then use one |
| saltwater aquarium hobby. But unfortunately, nothing | | | | with the finest mesh possible, so that it minimizes |
| is more frustrating than going through the whole | | | | abrasion and harm to the fish. Do not get me wrong |
| process of getting that new fish home and adding to | | | | - sometimes you just have to use a net to catch a |
| the tank, only to have it die within a week, or worse, | | | | fish out of a tank. But when it comes time to move |
| a disease outbreak occurs and all your fish get sick. | | | | the fish from the bag into the acclimation bucket or |
| The good news, is that most of the time, these | | | | from the acclimation bucket into the tank, there |
| losses are avoidable. And I am about to show you | | | | really is no need for a net. |
| how. | | | | Solution: When moving a fish, avoid using a net, and |
| Mistake #1 - Adding one fish at a time - When adding | | | | instead use your hands, a plastic bag or small |
| new fish to your saltwater aquarium, it is often | | | | container. |
| problematic to add just one fish at a time. The | | | | Mistake #4 - Putting bag water into your aquarium - |
| reason for this is that the new fish is ganged up on | | | | Most new fish come in a plastic bag, which contains |
| by the resident fish, which is often too much | | | | the water from the fish store or the online retailer or |
| aggression for the new fish to handle. And if you are | | | | wholesaler, or from your friends tank. So why is it |
| adding just one fish, then all that aggression is | | | | really bad to put that bag water into your tank? The |
| focused on one fish. Sometimes it is the new fish | | | | reason is threefold: |
| that is being aggressive, but not usually. Another | | | | - the bag water is often polluted and will likely be high |
| problem with only adding one fish at a time, | | | | in nitrogen (ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates); |
| particularly to a new tank, is that there are not that | | | | - the tank the fish came from at the fish store or |
| many fish in the tank, so they take much longer to | | | | wholesaler may have copper in it, which is used to |
| learn acclimate to their new diet of flakes, pellets, | | | | keep parasites and disease at bay. This copper, if |
| frozen foods, etc.. When you only have a couple of | | | | added to your reef tank, would kill your invertebrates |
| fish in a new tank, they are often stressed out and | | | | (corals, snails, hermit crabs, starfish, etc.); |
| anxious because they do not have the safety in | | | | - the system the fish came from may have parasites |
| numbers benefit of being in a school. | | | | or disease, which, if added to your tank, may cause |
| Solution: Try to avoid adding just one fish at a time. | | | | a disease outbreak; |
| Instead, add new fish in groups. Make sure you do | | | | Solution: Never put the bag water, that the fish came |
| not go overboard with too many fish, but they will | | | | in, into your aquarium. |
| definitely do better when added in groups. Social | | | | Mistake #5 - Taking too long to get your new fish |
| feeding response improves the speed at which new | | | | conditioned to feeding - Too often a new fish will get |
| fish get used to eating the foods you offer. And, by | | | | added to a tank with existing fish, and the feeding |
| adding fish in groups it dilutes any aggression from | | | | routine is not adjusted to account for the new fish. |
| resident fish (dilutes aggression); often adding just | | | | The same old feeding routine mistakenly persists. |
| one or two fish can result in the resident fish picking | | | | The problem with this is that, between the time they |
| on them and stressing them out and even injuring or | | | | are collected and the time they are put into your |
| killing them | | | | tank, newly added fish have been through a lot of |
| Mistake #2 - Not acclimating new fish properly, or not | | | | stress. And when they are stressed, most fish do |
| acclimating them at all - I am often surprised at how | | | | not eat well or they do not eat enough. This is a |
| many different and wrong ways I have heard on | | | | problem, because without proper nutrition, the stress |
| how fish are added to a tank. Some people get | | | | I mentioned can easily result in a disease outbreak. |
| home from the store with a new fish and in they go. | | | | So it is kind of a sprint or rush to get them eating |
| Others will float the fish in the bag, in the tank, to | | | | regularly as quickly as possible. |
| match temperature, but do nothing to match salinity | | | | Solution: Get your new fish eating as quickly as |
| or pH. Depending on where your new fish is coming | | | | possible by offering them small amounts of food |
| from, the acclimation method used may vary slightly, | | | | several times a day for the first two weeks. The |
| but the same basics will always apply. | | | | frequency of feeding is key here. At first, offer |
| Solution: Follow a proven and thorough acclimation | | | | whatever they will eat. In the beginning, do not |
| method | | | | worry about nutritional value. The goal is to just get |
| - turn off lights (make room dark); this minimizes | | | | them eating. One of my favorite food items that |
| stress on the fish being acclimated and it also lessens | | | | almost all fish seem to eat readily, and that stimulates |
| the likelihood of aggression from resident fish | | | | to the social feeding response, is called "Cyclopeeze" |
| - prepare the acclimation bucket with tank water | | | | (frozen copepods). Once they are eating regularly, |
| that has then been adjusted to match the | | | | you can then add more food items with higher |
| temperature, salinity and pH of the water in the bag | | | | nutritional value. Also, be careful to not overfeed. |
| (that the fish was transported in) - and then put the | | | | Make sure there is not any uneaten food on the |
| fish into the acclimation bucket | | | | bottom. This can be a bit tricky when you consider |
| - use an air stone in the acclimation bucket or | | | | the fact that often newly added fish will not eat right |
| container to keep oxygen level up | | | | away and I am telling you to feed as often as 3-5 |
| - using flexible airline tubing, start a siphon from the | | | | times a day. |
| tank to the acclimation bucket, and continue until pH, | | | | |