Off to a Good Start, Part 1
by Terry Bartelme

Imagine living in paradise where everything is beautiful. The weather is perfect and the food is not only nutritional, it's plentiful. You have a comfortable existence with a nice home and life is as it should be… wonderful. Most of us can only dream of a vacation this good.

Now imagine being imprisoned by some large frightening being. Suddenly you have been swept away from your comfortable existence. In the process, you have been treated roughly, dunked under water, confined into a cramped space and suffered some scratches and bruises. To make matters worse you have been housed with dangerous cellmates that may attack you. The ventilation is horrible and there is no place else to go when nature calls. Soon afterwards the temperature drops about twenty degrees. Do you think that you might begin to suffer from shock and exposure? It has been days now since you have eaten. When you are finally offered something to eat it is not anything that you would recognize as food.

In human terms, I have just described a portion of what wild caught fish are put through when they are captured. This doesn't even consider the possibility that they may have been badly drugged. After such a horrid introduction to mankind, is it any wonder why these fish can be in extremely delicate condition upon arrival at the local pet store or your home?

We cannot do a great deal about how these animals have been handled prior to purchasing them. However, we certainly can do something to help them adjust and recover under our care.

Preparing for your new acquisition

Before you seriously consider purchasing any species, do your homework. What do you know about its diet, natural environment and compatibility? Have you considered the hardiness of this species in general?

Do you have a quarantine tank set up and running with an active biological filter? If not, then select a quiet location where activity and noise will be at a minimum and get your quarantine tank ready before you do anything else. Paint the bottom, back and sides of the quarantine tank and keep the lighting dim. Place plenty of PVC pipes in the tank for places to hide. All of this will reduce the fish's awareness of what is outside of the aquarium and have a calming effect.

You can keep a sponge filter or biowheel in the sump of your display tank that can be placed into the quarantine tank. This will serve as your biological filter. Test all of the water parameters so you can compare them later to those at the local pet store where you will purchase your stock. After you have chosen an animal, go home and adjust the water parameters in the quarantine tank to closely match those in the tank from which your purchase will be taken, provided those parameters are within an acceptable range.

Selecting a specimen

Once you have decided what species of fish you want, it's time to begin some close scrutiny. If you want to have the highest chance of success, choose a specimen that is in the best condition you can find. Look for positive signs such as swimming normally, eating and showing an interest in tankmates and what is going on around them. You should also look for signs that indicate poor condition such as torn fins, disease, abnormal respiration or injury. Fish that have not eaten enough recently will look a little pinched in the stomach area. Fish suffering from long-term or severe starvation will be thin above the lateral line and behind the head. Look for animals with a rounded appearance around the stomach area, and especially above the lateral line and behind the head.

Ask the dealer what they have personally observed the specimen eating. Then ask them to feed the fish so you can see for yourself that it is eating. The fish should be eating more than one food type prior to purchase. If it will only eat one type of food this specimen may prove to be troublesome. Many fish will not eat for several days after being moved. If the one that you have your eye on won't eat, ask the dealer to put it on hold for a few days. Then you can come back and ask to see if the fish is now eating. Buying any fish that isn't eating is a risky proposition.

Bringing them home

One of the largest causes of loss during transport is moving the fish in an insufficient quantity of water. The longer the animal will be in the shipping bag, the more important it is to provide it with a sufficient amount of water during transport. A good rule of thumb is a half-gallon of water for every three inches of fish. Ask the dealer to double bag for added insulation and insurance against leaks. You will need an equal amount of oxygen. If the retailer does not have an oxygen tank, then place an airstone and tubing in the shipping bag before closing it. Use a battery-powered airpump to push air through the airstone. Don't overwhelm the fish in bubbles. All you need is enough for some gas exchange to remove carbon dioxide and supply oxygen. It's best to transport the fish in a dark container, preferably one that is insulated. You want to maintain as stable a temperature as possible. On very cold days, simply carrying the fish bag from store to car can cause a significant temperature drop. Take your transport container into the store to prevent this. Never carry a fish out of a store in just the plastic bag. The sudden bright light (on sunny days) and the completely unrecognizable surroundings, in addition to the movement, will cause extreme stress. At least carry the fish bag inside a brown paper bag so that the fish can't see its surroundings. If it is a really hot day, use the air-conditioning in your car during the move. If it is cold, keep the temperature from falling with the car heater.

Acclimation

You prepared the quarantine tank ahead of time by adjusting the water parameters to closely match those at the local pet store (a few weeks later you will begin to acclimate the animal to the water chemistry of your display aquarium). This makes the transfer less stressful for the fish. Check the water temperature in the shipping bag to see how it compares with the quarantine tank. It is better if the water in the quarantine tank is a couple of degrees warmer than if it is at a couple of degrees cooler. If there is more than a few degrees difference in temperature, float the shipping bag in the water long enough to equalize the temperature. Dim the lights on the quarantine tank. Now place the shipping bag below the aquarium in a bucket. Put a loose knot in some airline tubing and start slowly dripping water from the quarantine tank into the shipping bag. You can control the drip rate by loosening or tightening the knot in the tubing. If there is any significant difference in water parameters, take at least a couple of hours to acclimate your new animal. From time to time partially empty water from the shipping bag.

Do not use a net to catch the fish or transfer it to the quarantine tank. Netting causes a significant number of injuries to the fins, scales and eyes of fish. Lowering the shipping bag into the water and letting the fish swim out without further handling can easily prevent this. Most of the water that the fish came in has been thrown out as the shipping bag was partially emptied a few times during the acclimation process.

Half way home

Now that you have successfully completed the smooth arrival and transport of your new acquisition, the next step is to help your new purchase regain normal homeostasis and return to full health. Part two of this article will cover the step-by-step procedures you can use to do this. The steps include hyposalinity therapy, incorporating a healthy feeding regime, using food additives and maintaining the water quality of the quarantine tank. I will also discuss the importance of observation and how to make the transition into the display as stress-free and uneventful as possible.

Terry Bartelme is a veteran of over thirty years experience with marine aquariums. He has authored more than one-hundred articles for various aquarium magazines including Advanced Aquarists Online, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Tropical Fish Hobbyist and other publications.