How To Introduce A Fish Into Aquarium?

How to introduce new fish into the aquarium: steps to follow.

1. Prepare the aquarium correctly

Before bringing any fish home, the first thing you should do is properly condition their habitat.

To do this, you must purchase the appropriate aquarium, with the corresponding size for the amount of fish you want to have in it and the species. Take into account if you are going to add more in the future when selecting the fish tank.

Once you have it, place it in a flat place, where it cannot fall or there is no risk of children or pets throwing it to the ground. Lighting (no direct sunlight) and being away from drafts is also very important.

Add decorative elements to the aquarium so that the fish can swim among them and hide, but without passing you: they must have space to move freely!

Remember that depending on the type of fish you want, the water temperature can be hotter or colder. You have to control this with the thermometer, monitor the pH and add all those conditioners that allow the life in the water of the fish to be healthy (filters, chemicals …).

Prepare all this a few weeks before introducing the fish.

2. Choose the fish and take them home

When it comes to acquiring fish, advice is very important. Not all fish get along well with each other, so whether it is the first time you are going to introduce a fish in the aquarium, or if you already have some, it is best to consult a professional.

When they have indicated which ones are correct for you, it is ideal that you take them home two by two (if they are the first), adding a new pair per week, until you complete the number of little fish you want to have.

The fish are usually delivered in a transparent bag that can be placed in a very clean box so that the lights do not disturb the animal during transport.

The trip should be as short as possible and without shocks that cause discomfort to the fish.

3. Don’t put them in at once

One of the most important points on how to introduce new fish to the aquarium is acclimatization.

This means that we must not suddenly introduce the fish into the aquarium from the bag, but must carry out a process in which the water in both containers is equal in temperature and other conditions.

How can we do this? Well, following these steps:

Place the bag in the water, hooked so that it does not fall. Make sure the bag is not dirty on the outside.
When about 15-20 minutes have passed in which the bag has been floating, take a glass of water from the fish tank and put it in the bag. In this way they will become even more accustomed to the temperature and chemicals of the water where they will live.
About 10-15 minutes later, the previous step is repeated.
After another 10 minutes, the fish can be caught from the bag with a net and left in the aquarium. Do not put the water from the bag in the tank.
If fish already live in that habitat and you are going to introduce a new one, the ideal is to turn off or dim the light so that the old fish do not notice their new or new companions and a more relaxed atmosphere is created.

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