Floating Fish

[Scrappaman]

Hi guys n gals,

I popped into my nearest Pets at Home branch recently to get some treats for my dog and passed by the fish section. It seemed that all the new fish were being introduced to the tanks. I was concerned that the way in which the fish were being floated might cause health problems, as the tanks were crowded, especially given that the fish in the below pictures were largeish fantails and the tank was only small (25L at a guess).

If people on here can confirm my suspicions that health issues might arise from the floating methods below, I will let the people at the Pets at Home branch know, as they seem even less knowledgeable than me. The person doing the floating didn't actually know what nitrite was when I spoke to them on a previous occasion.

So, can you see any problems that could arise from introducing new fish to tanks like this, or am I just a fishy hypochondriac?

Thanks all,

Matt

 

[*Fishkies*]

Many pet stores do this type of method to introduce fish. They allow the water temperature inside the bag to adjust to the tank temperature so that the fish do not go into shock when they are introduced. Usually then the fish are netted (or should be netted) out of the bag and into the tank. So this is perfectly fine with what they are doing. However that goldfish on the left side of the picture looks like he's on his side or dead? Or is he just swimming that way?

 

[Scrappaman]

Many pet stores do this type of method to introduce fish. They allow the water temperature inside the bag to adjust to the tank temperature so that the fish do not go into shock when they are introduced. Usually then the fish are netted (or should be netted) out of the bag and into the tank. So this is perfectly fine with what they are doing. However that goldfish on the left side of the picture looks like he's on his side or dead? Or is he just swimming that way?

Hi Fishkies, thanks for the reply. Yeah I've used floating myself it's a good way to acclimatise the fish to their new environment, my only worry with the fish in the above pictures is that when I was at the store they were so close together that they couldn't move, and so the fish like the one upside down were literally stuck upside down. I just worried this might cause problems but I guess since no one has mentioned any possible problems I'll just leave it

 

[for_my_fish]

It looks like the bags don't have enought air in them to keep them supported, which is wrong and will trap and stress the fish.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The floating method is fine if you do it properly (it should be done over at least a 30min period of time though, gradually letting water into the bag every 5mins or so), but its the goldfish that are not healthy in that pic- the ones upside down have swimbladder disorders (can be caused by numerous things), and whoever was acclimatising them to the tank shouldn't be acclimatising unhealthy/sick fish to a healthy fish tank.

 

[Yazan]

The floating method is fine if you do it properly (it should be done over at least a 30min period of time though, gradually letting water into the bag every 5mins or so), but its the goldfish that are not healthy in that pic- the ones upside down have swimbladder disorders (can be caused by numerous things), and whoever was acclimatising them to the tank shouldn't be acclimatising unhealthy/sick fish to a healthy fish tank.

The way to know how realy the pet shop cares about there fish is to check if there is any sick fish if there is the tank should have a sign sayin 'tank not for sale'..