Transfering fish from LFS bag to home tank

[bghill]

I was wondering what different methods people use to transfer their newly purchased fish from those baggies the LFS uses to their home tanks.
I understand about the acclimation process and all that.
The way I was doing it in the past was to add tank water to the baggie, let sit for a while and then pour off about half the amount added down the drain and repeat. The idea was to dilute the LFS water to minimal amounts. Then I would let the new fish just come out of the bag on their own.
This seemed (in my mind anyway) an easier system than netting them out of the baggie.

 

[DebbyS]

"then pour off about half the amount [of water] added down the drain..." I suggest you pour the water off through a net, in case a fish tries to escape. I further suggest pouring the water through a net and into a bucket so any escapee only gets as far as into the bucket and not into a sink and maybe down the drain. That's what I do -- me who hasn't bought a fish since when it was last warm, in October, and is hoping it gets to a sustained 70 degrees *soon*...!

 

[liv2padl]

the longer fish are in the bag, the more ammonia is building up. during this process, the pH in the bag is decreasing slightly as the nitrogen equillibrium yields nitric acid. the decreasing pH is a not a bad thing, since ammonia is less toxic at lower pH.

when you add water to the bag from your tank or tap, you will very likely be increasing the pH in the bag. this will elevate the pH and result in higher ammonia toxicity. many fish are lost in the acclimation process, having suffered toxic shock syndrome (damaged gill filaments), and die shortly after or within a few days after installing in your tank.

if the bag is lightly packed (one fish per bag for example) and if the transport to your home is short (half hour for example) the change in chemistry is not significant. you can thus simply equillibrate the temperature of the water in bag and tank, net the fish and install them in your tank.

if the transition from store to home is a few hours or longer, chemistry equillibrium becomes more important. in this situation i recommend the use of ammonia resins (ammo-lock for example) to insure the prevention of toxic shock while acclimating the fish.

here's what i do. remove the fish with the water and place in a small bucket. add ammo-lock. gradually add tank water at a volume which represents about 20% (1/5th) of the initial volume. repeat the addition of tank water every 15 minutes until the volume in the bucket is doubled. for you math challenged, this takes an hour (you've already added the first 20 percent). then i pour off half the water in the bucket and refill with tank water. after another 15 minutes i pour ALL the water in the bucket through a net, catching the fish in the process, and then installing them in the tank.

turn off tank lights during the process.

always request only one fish per bag when buying multiple fish at your LFS, regardless of trip length. in addition to the ammonia buildup potential, in the confines of the bag, multiple fish can cause damaged scales and torn fins due to the tight space.

i'm not suggesting that my method is the only correct one. the vast majority of the fish i purchase are shipped to me and spend a minimum of 24 hours (sometimes longer) in the bag. thus my perhaps overly cautious acclimation procedure. if you have another method which has worked for you in the past, by all means continue to use it. if on the other hand you've had problems with acclimation in the past, give my method a try.

 

[J double R]

my preference (after having a couple of unsuccessful rummynose stockings) is to put the fish into a bucket with the lfs water, and set up an airline with a needle valve siphoning at about 2-3 drops per second into the bucket. at 30 minutes i increase to almost 10 drops per second, remove as much as i need to keep from overflowing, and after another 30 minutes i net the fish out of the bucket and to the tank they go. this also gives me a good time to observe the fish before putting them in a tank where they will most likely hide for the rest of the day.

 

[daayda3]

well, i pour the fish and water to my fish bowl (used JUST for fish, lol)
then add some of my tank water about every 5 min...then i net out the fish from the bowl and into the tank

 

[donfenk]

I can never wait long enough and once the temperature is the same i just dump the new fish in my tank.

 

[SmallFishi]

I live about 2 minutes drive from my LFS I usually float the bag for 20 minutes then pour some LFS water out into a bucket and add a cup full of my tank water do the same about 10 or so minutes later then I net the fish out of the bag into the tank never had one go funny yet...
I think my water and the LFS is going to be from the exact same source give or take their parameters of course the temp. would be my major concern.

 

[TML29]

I was wondering what different methods people use to transfer their newly purchased fish from those baggies the LFS uses to their home tanks.
I understand about the acclimation process and all that.
The way I was doing it in the past was to add tank water to the baggie, let sit for a while and then pour off about half the amount added down the drain and repeat. The idea was to dilute the LFS water to minimal amounts. Then I would let the new fish just come out of the bag on their own.
This seemed (in my mind anyway) an easier system than netting them out of the baggie.

Netting them out of the bag or bucket does seem to put some stress on your fish but at least you don't have to introduce water from your LFS into your tank. Who knows what diseases floating in there...

 

[Mgamer20o0]

here's what i do. remove the fish with the water and place in a small bucket. add ammo-lock. gradually add tank water at a volume which represents about 20% (1/5th) of the initial volume. repeat the addition of tank water every 15 minutes until the volume in the bucket is doubled. for you math challenged, this takes an hour (you've already added the first 20 percent). then i pour off half the water in the bucket and refill with tank water. after another 15 minutes i pour ALL the water in the bucket through a net, catching the fish in the process, and then installing them in the tank.

this is basically what i do. some times i take longer depending on the fish. i dont net them though. just toss them in but it is a qt tank though.

 

[Rbishop]

...and I never put them in the tank they end up in...always to a QT tank for 3-4 weeks....