Having tropical fish as pets for your aquarium can be quite a task if not done properly. Not only are these fish rare and costly, they are really delicate when it comes to their health. Your tropical fish need to be acclimatized to your aquarium water before anything else can be done. Once they have adapted then the real responsibilities start to kick in when you have to constantly take care of them. However, taking good care of aquarium tropical fish is not as big a task as some may think it is.
Why Acclimatize Tropical Fish?
Fish acclimatization is not only important for tropical fish but for all fishes that are being introduced into a new habitat, i.e. your aquarium. If you do not acclimatize the new fish to your aquarium then chances of them dying are quite high. Without acclimatization, the fish are most likely to become severely stressed and this will result in a reduced life expectancy or even instant death.
Acclimatization is a rather simple process and there are a few simple methods on how you could acclimatize your tropical fish with ease. Here are the most common and effective methods: (note – these are just summaries of the methods)
Floating Bag and Bucket Methods
The Floating Bag – this is like the most common method as it really works well. Once you have purchased your tropical fish from the pet store, do not put it in your aquarium straight away. Firstly, you must remove a quarter (25%) of the water from the bag your fish is in and replace it with water from your own aquarium. After this is done you should then float the bag in your tank and bring down the hood opening on the open end of the bag to keep it secure. After every 10 minutes add one measuring cup of your tank water to the bag and repeat this process until an hour has passed. Then you must net the fish into your aquarium because if you pour it straight from the bag you risk exposing diseases and parasites to your tank. A quarantine tank is recommendable for acclimatization of this type.
The Bucket Method – this type of acclimatization process is the same as the floating bag method but instead of a bag you will be using a clean bucket. However, this is a way more advantageous method as you will not need to worry about the water in the bucket leaking as easily as the water in the bags. The same concept of emptying a quarter of the water then filling it up every 10 minutes is applied until an hour has passed.
The Drip Method
Another useful method is the drip method which is mainly focused on acclimatizing invertebrates and saltwater fish. When applying this method you must be sure to have the right tools and equipment. You will need a bucket, a vegetable clip, and a length of air pump tubing. Another handy thing to have would be a suction cup so that you could hold the tube in the tank. Make sure your air pump tubing is long enough to reach your tank from the bucket. Put one end of your air pump tube into the vegetable clip and then place that same clip into the tank so that you can get a siphon going from your bucket to the tank. You should let it drip for every second or two for a whole hour. However, if you are using this method for saltwater fish or invertebrates then you would want to go on for 2-3 hours depending on the fish.
Other Important Factors
The reason acclimatization must be done as carefully as possible is because there are so many factors that need to be considered. Even the most little things like transportation of the fish need to be kept in mind. Some of the things you must have at the back of your mind after purchasing a new fish are water conditions and temperature difference. These are best advised by the pet stores you are purchasing your fish from as different fish meet different needs. Other than that, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Transportation and Movement – once you take your newly purchased pet fish home to your aquarium be sure to keep it as still as possible while it is still in its fish bag. If your journey back home is long then try to open the bag/container at least every 30 minutes to let fresh air in. Do not bother getting a pet fish delivered via courier if it will take over 24 hours to reach your house.
Dark Conditions – notice how the pet stores always wrap old newspapers or something dark around the bag which contains your fish? And why you need only special types of aquarium lightings for aquariums? This is because fish are less likely to stress in darker conditions because if they do start to stress then their immune system will weaken leaving way for illness and death. Try keeping your curtains closed, and only turn your aquarium lights on when you need to see what you are doing.
Conclusion
No matter what type of acclimatization method you use there are so many factors that you must keep in mind like how you transport and handle the fish, the amount of light, water conditions, and the temperature difference. Quarantine plays a vital role as well! So take extra care of your tropical fish and before you purchase any, be sure to ask the pet store everything you need to know about that particular fish you are wanting to purchase.
