Acclimating new goldfish - stress to the fish keeper
#1
Hi all,
I posted on here a few weeks ago as my newly acquired goldfish displayed signs of a bacterial infection within a few days of bringing him/her home. Unfortunately he/she passed over night as I was looking on here for some advice. See my post under emergencies.
Rather than using the forum to only seek advice, I thought I would share my most recent experience; which has caused me some concern over the last day, but hopefully my experience can assist someone else in a similar position.
After keeping a reef tank for the last 4 years, I was quite disillusioned with the hobby and it was time for a change. I needed something that would stimulate my interest after having to admit ?defeat? with saltwater. Defeat is being melodramatic, but the time, effort and expense far outweighed the enjoyment, so it was time to draw that experience to an end.
I had thought about discus, which I had kept briefly many years ago, but the memory of seeing a tank of good quality fancy goldfish has stayed with me over many years, so my next set-up was to be fancy goldfish ? oranda?s to be specific. I don?t know why, but I just love the look of them.
After deciding to make fancies my next project, I set about looking for high quality fish. With respect to LFS, finding quality is like finding hen?s teeth. I had two options ? use local LFS or use an on-line specialist. I opted originally to seek out ?nice? fish from the LFS albeit not the highest quality or widest variety.
After my initial disappointment, I decided on using an on-line specialist and I am now the proud ?parent? LOL, of 4 magnificent oranda?s ? Calico red cap; Red; Panda and Tri-colour, but this is not the point of my post.
Given the distance between the dealer and myself, the fish when they arrived, had been in transit for around 16 hours or so; therefore I was prepared for apathy and some settling in, but I didn?t expect what transpired.
I have never had fish travel from the dealer to my tank for more than an hour, so I researched how to acclimate fish after a long journey. Unfortunately, whilst the Internet is a source of excellent information, it is also a haven for so much misinformation ranging from ludicrous to downright dangerous. Deciding what is actually properly researched advice and what is just regurgitated anecdotal information with no solid basis can sometimes be quite challenging.
Based on research and my own experience, I decided to float the bag for 15 minutes and check the PH when I opened the bag; which was around 6.6 and my normal is around 7.4. Some advice is to immediately transfer the fish into the tank and others is to add some tank water.
I have kept many types of fish for many years, but I have never been so stressed acclimating these wee guys. I was really starting to over-think the process simply because I was conscious they had been in a bag for so long.
I checked the PH, and added some tank water slowly over the next 20 minutes. I had read goldfish (perhaps most others as well) accept moving to a higher PH but are less tolerant of moving to a lower PH, but I don?t know the validity of this. I was now in a quandary ? do I add water and check the PH until I get a match ? but over what time period? 20 minutes / 60 minutes? I have acclimated many fish and even quite a few corals, but I was really starting to over-think this whole process, so it was time to add them to the tank.
Something I don?t think I have done before when transferring fish is to use my hands. I have noted on-line, many goldfish suppliers / breeders etc. often handle the fish. This seemed more pragmatic than trying to use the net, and certainly is how I would transfer these guys again if need be. Obviously certain precautions are required to ensure you don?t damage the scales with dry hands or drop the fish.
After 30-minutes of 3 fish sitting on the gravel, I was starting to be concerned. After 60-minutes, I was getting very concerned. Near 2 hours and I was worried. I had one fish moving about the tank pretty much how I would expect, but I had 3 fish that were just sitting there and when they moved, it wasn?t the most graceful. (Swim bladder issues??)
I was starting to second-guess my acclimation process and was concerned after being in a bag with a shallow body of water for so long, the extra pressure of the water depth was having an effect.
My tank is quite deep, so after about 30-minutes I reduced the water level, eventually over a period of time by 50% and whilst I was getting some lethargic movement, it was not filling me with confidence, but there was an improvement.
After 2 hours I phoned the dealer who assured me this was perfectly normal behaviour and not to worry. His advice was simply to ensure the fish have good water and not interfere with them.
After speaking with him, I started to fill the tank back up slowly and for a short period, my temperature started to rise and perhaps it was coincidental, but the fish seemed more alert and started moving more.
After a further 3 hours, I had 3 fish moving about, albeit 2 of them were quite lethargic, but at least there was an improvement. The following morning, I had the 4 fish moving about the tank slowly but this is exactly the type of behaviour I had expected shortly after putting them in the tank. I wasn?t expecting the level of lethargy and sitting on the bottom for extended periods of time.
This is the reason for my post. Goldfish I have come to learn, do behave in many ways differently from tropical / salt water fish and behaviour that I would normally associate with illness / severe stress, is perhaps not as abnormal as first thought.
My advice based on this experience being ? if you are transporting goldfish over an extended period of time, acclimate the way YOU are comfortable. Don?t over-analyse your process. Have a plan and stick to it.
Consider lowering the tank water depth for a period of time to help with any pressure difference associated with the fish being in a shallow body of water for such a long time. Increase the temperature slightly, either with a heater or with the new water being added and add an extra air stone.
My experience may be completely different from others and a number of factors could contribute to the behaviour I experienced and some of the measures I adopted may not be beneficial (not detrimental either) and maybe just a panacea for me to feel I am doing something.
The advice I will leave you with is the same, which the dealer gave me. Don?t worry; this type of behaviour is perfectly normal. Ensure they have good water and leave them alone.
Hope this short experience helps.