Acclimatization and quarantine of newly arrived fish

The topic seems simple, but many times ignored or poorly conducted can initially lead to a very bad condition or even death of fish, but certainly to poor well-being and stress. I want to share some of my own experiences, practical knowledge, but most importantly I want to dispel some myths. Let's start with the last ones……….

Myths.

Myth number 1.

If you buy/get fish from the same breeder, quarantine and longer acclimatization are unnecessary. Quarantine must always be carried out and we acclimatize fish for their and our own safety.

Myth number 2.

Quarantine means treatment. No, it is not treatment, but observation. If it turns out that new guests have infections, then yes, we have to treat, but mainly we observe, accustom them to the conditions we have in the target aquarium. Often at the beginning, fish have "strange" behavior, resulting from the route they have traveled, poor packaging, etc. Remember that travel is stressful for fish and this makes them susceptible to various infections, which is why preparing for quarantine is very important, especially for discus fish.

Myth number 3.

I don't have the space or the ability to set up a quarantine tank, I won't do it, there have never been any problems. I come across this approach many times, I understand it in a way, but it's always the new owner's risk and if we have problems, it's not the seller's fault. It's a difficult matter, I always pay attention to the need for quarantine, but being fully aware of the consequences, I think I'm more concerned than the new buyer's unaware potential problem.

Myth number 4.

In quarantine I will deworm/preventively treat everything. For me, the biggest nonsense, this is a controversial topic, because in Poland we use a lot of medications. We do not listen to specialists but to "experts" from forums, groups, etc. We will not use a microscope because we do not have one and do not want to go to the vet, or look for a fellow aquarist with equipment in the area. But we will diagnose everything on the Internet. And during the treatment we will make "hundreds" of mistakes, but it is not our fault, only the drugs are crap. I am generally an enemy of preventive action, because it immunizes to a given drug, when it is actually needed we have a problem with the action. We can simply poison the fish or, unfortunately, which often happens, lead to damage to organs, sometimes permanent.

Acclimatization.

What is it and why do we do it? For me, in soldier's terms, it is adapting to new living conditions, and it is done to minimize stress during the change of place.

We do it the same way for all fish, because I have a fix for discus and angelfish/altums, I have a slightly different method. I do not soak the bags in the tank and do not equalize the temperature in this way. I use a plastic or styrobox tank for acclimatization, if there are few fish, a larger container, e.g. a bucket. After opening the bags, I transfer the fish to the above container and pour water from the bag, place a small heater, always set the temperature lower than in the target tank by 2 degrees and put in aeration. After unpacking and preparing the container, with a thin hose, I supply water dropwise from the tank in which the fish will be placed. I use the same hose as for aeration, generally available cheap, I throttle the flow with a valve limiting the air flow, also an economical option, and so I slowly start acclimatizing the fish, usually this process takes about 2 hours, if the tank is filling up, I pour out the water. After these 2 hours I mainly check the temperature, it should not differ by more than 1 degree. I will warn you right away that the heater does indeed have lower parameters but we stir the water so it warms up naturally. The last but quite important element is the water pH. Before acclimatization, you should check what the level is in the bags, because we know what the level is in the quarantine tank (right? ?) If the discrepancy is large, then we extend the acclimatization process until we slowly equalize the parameter. We always put only fish into the aquarium, never under any circumstances pour in the water in which we acclimatized them. It is best to catch discus fish flat on your hand and gently place them on the water surface. It can often happen that a fish that has traveled a long way lies on the bottom and does not swim, calmly give it time, there is nothing wrong with that.

Do we add any agents, do we "soak" them in something? Hmmm, that's another topic, there are acclimatization products on the market that are a miraculous agent and if we use them, we'll be in heaven? Yes, you can use them because they are products approved for such procedures. In my long aquarium career, I have used various products, for pennies and for "millions", I haven't used anything for some time, that's what quarantine is for, to observe and act if necessary. Often it is a so-called quarantine substitute, i.e., you use it and you don't have to carry it out, well, nothing can replace quarantine.

Quarantine

After all, after everything I wrote above, this topic is short and simple.

Quarantine of fish is a necessary process for the health and safety of newly purchased/arrived fish. Transporting or transferring them to another aquarium is a stress factor for them. This leads to disturbances in the electrolyte balance, especially sodium, calcium and potassium ions. Sudden changes in physicochemical conditions are unfavorable for the health and fertility of fish. The minimum quarantine time is 2-3 weeks - this is a sufficient period for any diseases to manifest themselves and to be prevented. There are different schools of thought here, one says that 70% of the water should come from our main aquarium, the rest is topped up with fresh water. I always use fresh water, and from the target aquarium I add it to the quarantine tank during the water change. Of course, as in the case of a standard aquarium, partial water changes should be performed. If there is a need for treatment, then the so-called water mixing takes place after the cure.

Well, that's all on this topic, issues related to the size of such a tank, parameters, etc., there is probably no point in describing it because it is obvious and depends on the species of fish.