How do you prevent water shock

Hi, how do you prevent "water shock" introducing new fish to a tank? I
followed standard proceedure of adding new fish. Is there something
I've missed? I can't think of what else could have killed my fish.
Details: I have an established 30 gallon aquarium (running 5 years with
3 small cichlids and pleco - so it's not a cycling or new tank problem)
and I added 4 new small african cichlids and 3 rainbow sharks. Iv'e
been checking the water frequently to make sure it was correct before
adding the fish and after (ph 7, gh 20, kh 9, ammonia 0, nitrite 0,
temp. 75). The new fish started dying the day after adding them, and
continued one by one over the next few weeks. They looked perfectly
healthy and were swimming around, grazing then the next morning, dead.
My last shark died yesterday, he looked happy and healthy the night
before, then, dead. The original fish are all unaffected (and I
strongly doubt they have been attacking the new fish, they ignored them
completely). I examined all the bodies and found no sign of disease,
parasites, paleness, physical damage etc, and neither did the local
fish store, they were as puzzled as I. They tested a sample of my tank
water and said it was perfect, and they can't figure out what killed
the fish. Can someone help with what it could be? Was I sold bad stock,
could it be undetectible toxins, could it be water shock? Someone
eventually suggested it could be this, how can I prevent it, and what
is it exactly please?

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, how do you prevent "water shock" introducing new fish to a tank? I
followed standard proceedure of adding new fish. Is there something
I've missed? I can't think of what else could have killed my fish.
Details: I have an established 30 gallon aquarium (running 5 years with
3 small cichlids and pleco - so it's not a cycling or new tank problem)
and I added 4 new small african cichlids and 3 rainbow sharks. Iv'e
been checking the water frequently to make sure it was correct before
adding the fish and after (ph 7, gh 20, kh 9, ammonia 0, nitrite 0,
temp. 75). The new fish started dying the day after adding them, and
continued one by one over the next few weeks. They looked perfectly
healthy and were swimming around, grazing then the next morning, dead.
My last shark died yesterday, he looked happy and healthy the night
before, then, dead. The original fish are all unaffected (and I
strongly doubt they have been attacking the new fish, they ignored them
completely). I examined all the bodies and found no sign of disease,
parasites, paleness, physical damage etc, and neither did the local
fish store, they were as puzzled as I. They tested a sample of my tank
water and said it was perfect, and they can't figure out what killed
the fish. Can someone help with what it could be? Was I sold bad stock,
could it be undetectible toxins, could it be water shock? Someone
eventually suggested it could be this, how can I prevent it, and what
is it exactly please?
==================
First. You did a dangerous thing by not quarantining those new fish. New
fish can bring in any number of diseases to an established tank.

When you bring the fish home you can float them in their bag (dump some
water out to make room) and start adding a small amount of the quarantine
tank water. Add more every 10 to 15 minutes. This should help them adapt
to a difference in water. Don't just dump them from the bag into your tank.
The safest way is to check the quarantine tanks water - then what's in bag.
Check the PH mainly! Sometimes your water and the pet shop's water can be
very, very different. Ask the shop if they salt their tanks. Going from
salted to unsalted can also effect them negatively (I read this and don't
know it for a fact.)
--
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Koi-lo wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

Hi, how do you prevent "water shock" introducing new fish to a tank? I
followed standard proceedure of adding new fish. Is there something
I've missed? I can't think of what else could have killed my fish.
Details: I have an established 30 gallon aquarium (running 5 years with
3 small cichlids and pleco - so it's not a cycling or new tank problem)
and I added 4 new small african cichlids and 3 rainbow sharks. Iv'e
been checking the water frequently to make sure it was correct before
adding the fish and after (ph 7, gh 20, kh 9, ammonia 0, nitrite 0,
temp. 75). The new fish started dying the day after adding them, and
continued one by one over the next few weeks. They looked perfectly
healthy and were swimming around, grazing then the next morning, dead.
My last shark died yesterday, he looked happy and healthy the night
before, then, dead. The original fish are all unaffected (and I
strongly doubt they have been attacking the new fish, they ignored them
completely). I examined all the bodies and found no sign of disease,
parasites, paleness, physical damage etc, and neither did the local
fish store, they were as puzzled as I. They tested a sample of my tank
water and said it was perfect, and they can't figure out what killed
the fish. Can someone help with what it could be? Was I sold bad stock,
could it be undetectible toxins, could it be water shock? Someone
eventually suggested it could be this, how can I prevent it, and what
is it exactly please?

==================
First. You did a dangerous thing by not quarantining those new fish.
New fish can bring in any number of diseases to an established tank.

When you bring the fish home you can float them in their bag (dump some
water out to make room) and start adding a small amount of the
quarantine tank water. Add more every 10 to 15 minutes. This should
help them adapt to a difference in water. Don't just dump them from the
bag into your tank. The safest way is to check the quarantine tanks
water - then what's in bag. Check the PH mainly! Sometimes your water
and the pet shop's water can be very, very different. Ask the shop if
they salt their tanks. Going from salted to unsalted can also effect
them negatively (I read this and don't know it for a fact.)

I have never used a Q tank and neather has anybodie I know. what I do is
poke a few pin holes in the bag then place it in the tank to let the
waters exchange. Any heathy fish you have should not get sick. the new
ones might as they will probably loose their slime coats from the shock
of a new home and diffirent water.

And just what do you do after adding quarantine water to the
bag.........leave them in the bag? Duh? Dump em in the tank? Carol, if
your gonna give advice at least make sure you give the full story and
don;t let those fish in the bag and the folks holding the bag.....you
old blabbering fat assed bimbo that don;t have a clue until she looks
it up first then replies, so with the half assed answer her computer
connection evidently died on her before she copy pasted it all.

Reel McKoi school of idiots!
YOu got the right email.your totally invalid you stupid bimbo


On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 14:30:23 -0600, "Koi-lo"
wrote:

===
wrote in message
oglegroups.com...
=== Hi, how do you prevent "water shock" introducing new fish to a tank? I
=== followed standard proceedure of adding new fish. Is there something
=== I've missed? I can't think of what else could have killed my fish.
=== Details: I have an established 30 gallon aquarium (running 5 years with
=== 3 small cichlids and pleco - so it's not a cycling or new tank problem)
=== and I added 4 new small african cichlids and 3 rainbow sharks. Iv'e
=== been checking the water frequently to make sure it was correct before
=== adding the fish and after (ph 7, gh 20, kh 9, ammonia 0, nitrite 0,
=== temp. 75). The new fish started dying the day after adding them, and
=== continued one by one over the next few weeks. They looked perfectly
=== healthy and were swimming around, grazing then the next morning, dead.
=== My last shark died yesterday, he looked happy and healthy the night
=== before, then, dead. The original fish are all unaffected (and I
=== strongly doubt they have been attacking the new fish, they ignored them
=== completely). I examined all the bodies and found no sign of disease,
=== parasites, paleness, physical damage etc, and neither did the local
=== fish store, they were as puzzled as I. They tested a sample of my tank
=== water and said it was perfect, and they can't figure out what killed
=== the fish. Can someone help with what it could be? Was I sold bad stock,
=== could it be undetectible toxins, could it be water shock? Someone
=== eventually suggested it could be this, how can I prevent it, and what
=== is it exactly please?
=====================
===First. You did a dangerous thing by not quarantining those new fish. New
===fish can bring in any number of diseases to an established tank.
===
===When you bring the fish home you can float them in their bag (dump some
===water out to make room) and start adding a small amount of the quarantine
===tank water. Add more every 10 to 15 minutes. This should help them adapt
===to a difference in water. Don't just dump them from the bag into your tank.
===The safest way is to check the quarantine tanks water - then what's in bag.
===Check the PH mainly! Sometimes your water and the pet shop's water can be
===very, very different. Ask the shop if they salt their tanks. Going from
===salted to unsalted can also effect them negatively (I read this and don't
===know it for a fact.)


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

Okay people, play nice. I like the idea of poking pin holes in the bag
rather than letting the blood drain out of my arms spending an hour
hovering over the tank slowly mixing the bag water and tank water. I
then let them swim out on their own accord. But finding out the pet
store water is adversly different from mine after I got the fish home,
there wouldn't be much more I could do about it at that point. But then
again at least I would know why they died. It's upsetting not having a
clue why they died, I'm afraid to add any more fish.
P.S. I don't know how one could tell how salty one water is over the
other . . .
Anyone know if there are there any further steps I could take, or is it
basically a gamble with little fishy lives? I hate to see them die. Or
could it be something else that killed them? Or bad fish stock, or . .
.. ?

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:41:02 +0000, Justice wrote:

what I do is
poke a few pin holes in the bag then place it in the tank to let the
waters exchange. Any heathy fish you have should not get sick.

Unless of course there was something on that alien fish or in that alien
water that you unceremoniously dumped into the tank. I imagine you are one
of those "ich is present in every aquarium" people.

I don't use a quarantine tank, which I know is bad. I am setting one up
before I get anymore fish (used to run one, but stopped buying fish for a
long time). I definitely do not dump the store water into the tank though.

~Empty

"Justice" wrote in message
news:yJref.112237$y_1.63072@edtnps89...

I have never used a Q tank and neather has anybodie I know. what I do is
poke a few pin holes in the bag then place it in the tank to let the
waters exchange. Any heathy fish you have should not get sick.

$$ Parasites are no respecter of health. They can build up rapidly under
aquarium conditions. They open the fish up to bacterial infections.... and
you know the rest.

the new
ones might as they will probably loose their slime coats from the shock of
a new home and diffirent water.
--
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

wrote in message
oups.com...
Okay people, play nice.
I like the idea of poking pin holes in the bag
rather than letting the blood drain out of my arms spending an hour
hovering over the tank slowly mixing the bag water and tank water.

## I never allow the bag water to enter the quarantine tank. I clip the bag
on to the side of the aquarium and add water every 10 to 15 minutes or so.
By the time the bag's full the the change should be ok. I net the fish from
the bag and turn it lose in the tank - discarding both bag and water.

I
then let them swim out on their own accord. But finding out the pet
store water is adversly different from mine after I got the fish home,
there wouldn't be much more I could do about it at that point.

## It does work to add water from the tank to the bag. You may not get them
exact but it gets pretty darn close. I've already brought fish home from
the store with a PH of 7 in the bag and my tanks are 7.4 to as much as 7.8.
That's too much of a difference in my opinion to just equalize the
temperature and turn them loose.

But then
again at least I would know why they died. It's upsetting not having a
clue why they died, I'm afraid to add any more fish.

## It's so frustrating I know. I've had fish look really great and be dead
in a few hours.

P.S. I don't know how one could tell how salty one water is over the
other . . .

## They can give you a rough estimate as to how much to add per 10 gallons -
ask the store manager. Many are willing to discuss it with customers.
Others are clueless.

Anyone know if there are there any further steps I could take, or is it
basically a gamble with little fishy lives? I hate to see them die. Or
could it be something else that killed them? Or bad fish stock, or . .

## You'll probably never find the answer. PH shock. Stress. Anything. I
had some fantails die several years ago with gill flukes. These are hard to
find without scraping the gill filaments and looking under a microscope.
Dr. Johnson (Koivet.com) was a great help at the time. :-(
--
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

wrote:
Okay people, play nice. I like the idea of poking pin holes in the bag
rather than letting the blood drain out of my arms spending an hour
hovering over the tank slowly mixing the bag water and tank water. I
then let them swim out on their own accord. But finding out the pet
store water is adversly different from mine after I got the fish home,
there wouldn't be much more I could do about it at that point. But then
again at least I would know why they died. It's upsetting not having a
clue why they died, I'm afraid to add any more fish.
P.S. I don't know how one could tell how salty one water is over the
other . . .
Anyone know if there are there any further steps I could take, or is it
basically a gamble with little fishy lives? I hate to see them die. Or
could it be something else that killed them? Or bad fish stock, or . .
. ?

Yep, I like the idea of poking pin holes...never thought of it
before...my only concern is that water flows both ways.....if you ever
buy loaches you can dispense with the pin as they do it for you :-) I
actually don't think there was anything else you could do - a QT tank
would stop a wipe out of your existing stock but not deaths among new
purchases - that is why people quarantine...

Basically, if your fish are dying shortly after going into what you are
certain is good water quality (ie. zero nitrite/ammonia) and you have
not gone against any advise that you probably haven't been given
depending on the LFS (hardness, pH, salinity etc) - then take the dead
fish, take a sample of the water and discuss....if they kick up a fuss
discuss loudly....

I recently got store credit by just producing statistics on the number
of new fish I'd got from them that had died.....they had a small problem
which obviously they won't admit to a customer...now resolved and their
fish are back to the best quality in the area....

If you bought a puppy that was ill or dead within a few days/weeks what
would you do???? I would guess read the riot act to whoever sold you
it...fish are the same and you are buying them as pets and you deserve
to purchase pets that will not die within a few days if you have taken
due care of them - sorry high horse....

Gill

Empty wrote:
On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:41:02 +0000, Justice wrote:


what I do is
poke a few pin holes in the bag then place it in the tank to let the
waters exchange. Any heathy fish you have should not get sick.


Unless of course there was something on that alien fish or in that alien
water that you unceremoniously dumped into the tank. I imagine you are one
of those "ich is present in every aquarium" people.

I don't use a quarantine tank, which I know is bad. I am setting one up
before I get anymore fish (used to run one, but stopped buying fish for a
long time). I definitely do not dump the store water into the tank though.

~Empty

No I am not one of those people once ich is dead it is dead, fungal
probles yes I will agree. I was just reading in an old aqarium mag about
the amune system of fish. and pretty much that most protiens that attack
known pathegens are waht makes up the "stess coat of fish" be ond that
they have tester protiens that try to kill what enters their blood
steem. If i intrerpeded the article wrong i am sorry