If you are going to set up your first aquarium, we welcome you to the exciting underwater world of the aquarium. On the other hand, if you already have an aquarium but you have had some bad experience introducing new fish into your aquarium, do not be discouraged, this information also can help you!
First of all, keep in mind that you can not buy a new aquarium and the fish that you want to have inside it on the same day. When you set up an aquarium you are creating a small ecosystem where your fish will live. And that is why you must make sure it is the right one for introducing live animals.
The following tips are for both freshwater and saltwater aquariums but remember that to introduce saltwater fish you need to take into account other aspects such as salinity and saltwater fish usually need a longer acclimatization time.
Here we write 6 useful tips before introducing new fish to the aquarium
1.Preparation
Before you even buy the new fish, you must have mounted your aquarium , it is important that you do it in a place away from external sources of cold or heat and the windows, since direct sunlight generates undesirable algae, you can take a look at other tips that we give you when assembling your aquarium.
Before buying the new fish you can also investigate a little about the type of fish you want to have, or ask the store manager when you go to buy your aquarium, as is logical the size of the aquarium that you have will determine the size of the fish that can live inside The type of fish you have must have temperature, hardness requirements, and similar water pH, and if you want to have different species, they should be able to live together.
See this article: Tropical freshwater aquarium fish tank total care guide
Once you have the aquarium in the ideal place, you must have all the necessary equipment to maintain a healthy ecosystem such as filtration, lighting, heating and water chemistry.
When you buy the new fish for your aquarium, they can not spend much time in the bag that you will use to transport it, try to take them to your new home to begin to acclimatize them as soon as possible.
Once you arrive with your new fish, you can not put them directly into the aquarium water: acclimatization takes some time.
2. Acclimatize them to the temperature
Open the bag and place it inside the aquarium, hook the bag to the edge of the aquarium so that it does not fall into the water. In this step, the fish are still inside the bag. We do this so that the new fish gradually get used to the temperature of the aquarium water. Leave the bag floating for about 20 minutes.
3. Acclimatize them to the water in your new home
Then, pour a little water from the aquarium into the bag with the new fish, about a third of the volume of the bag. We do this so that they get used to the water chemistry of their new home, which although we have prepared it to be the one they need, this can be something different from the water inside the bag. We wait about 10 minutes.
Then we repeat the previous step, throwing another third of the volume of the bag and wait another 10 minutes.
For most tropical fish this is enough to acclimatize, but it never hurts to ask at the store if they have some other method or advice that can help you.
4. Water!
Then you can use a net, vessel or another container to finally remove the new fish from the bag and introduce them into their new habitat.
Do not introduce water from the bag into your aquarium. Introducing unknown water into your aquarium can cause diseases to spread.
After introducing new fish to your aquarium.
5. Relaxation and coexistence
To help them relax, turn off the light in the aquarium. If you already had fish in the aquarium, turning off the lights will make them not focus all their attention on the newcomers. We also recommend taking the recommended dose of Fluval Aquaplus back, to reduce the stress of newcomers and those who already lived in the aquarium.
If you are the first inhabitants of the aquarium you can wait for about 24 hours before feeding them, but if you already had fish in your aquarium, feed them as usual.
Continue read this article: 10 Tips how to feed your aquarium fish
6. Investigate and keep in mind the differences
Remember that there are more sensitive species than others, saltwater fish require another kind of attention when introducing them to a new aquarium, as well as discus fish that are extremely sensitive to changes in pH and may need more time to acclimate.
If you like this article, please share with your friends and family!!
