Introducing New Fish

This is one area of fishkeeping that people seem  very quickly to become quite carless about. Quite often it is the more experienced fishkeepers who are the worst offenders. Just imagine how the poor fish will feel after being chased around a tank, lifted from the water, put into total darkness, shaken about, and allowed to get cold. It's a wonder that any surviveat all.

As resonsible fishkeepers we should try to minimize any stress at this time, and treat every fish as though you have just paid £100 for it. And not take the attitude oh it's just a few neons. From the begining every effort should be made to treat the fish gently, the fish needs to be caught and there isnt much we can alter about that, but if a shopkeeper dives in and chases the fish until they tire this is a bad start. far better to use stealth and catch a fish that doesn't even realize that it as been caught until it is to late. This is the difference between a good shop and a bad one. Also when tying the bag, it is the top of the bag that should be twisted and not the whole bag spun, finally it should be double bagged inorder to prevent the fish from becoming trapped in the corners Click Here for more details.

It is then up to you to take over. Make sure the fish is in the bag for the least amount of time and kept warm, and not shaken about too much.

When you get home the fish will obviously be quite stressed. So the next few steps are the most important, don't lift the plastic bag containing the fish out into bright light and put it straight into the tank. Keep it in the dark, feed the fish in the tank and wait a few minutes. Then switch off the lights and close the curtains in the room, now, put the the bag and fish into the tank and leave it until the temps in the tank and the bag are the same.

Untie the bag or use scissors to cut the top off, do not push your thumb through to puncture the bag in order to tear it because this creates a sudden high pressure followed by a low pressure which could damage the fishes swim bladder at  worst it could cause the fishes death, or at least it will be extremely painful to the fish.. Once the bag is open allow some tank water to enter the bag and pour some from the bag into the tank, repeat this several times over a few minutes to allow the fish to become accustomed to the water in the tank slowly.

Finaly hold the bag open and put the rim of the bag below the surface and allow the fish to swim out on its own. Don't tip it out patience at this stage will help the fish to settle more quickly with the minnimum of stress. Once in the tank come away and leave the tank in relative darkness until the next day.

Follow these steps and you are unlikely to have have any stress related problems with your new fish.

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