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Your angelfish have been traveling in a pitch dark container. Fish require more time than humans to adjust their eyes to light, a few hours in some cases, so turn off the overhead aquarium lights for the first day after introducing new tank residents and keep the room lights dim during the acclimation procedure. Your angels were raised in water temperatures between 78 and 82 degrees. By the time you receive them, their shipping water will probably be significantly cooler, so they may appear sluggish when you first examine them. Infrequently, one or more may appear to be dead. Acclimate any non-responsive fish as if it were alert and swimming about. It could simply be stuporous from the stress of shipping or cool temperature.
Do NOT "float" the bags containing fish in your aquarium. Floating interferes with the oxygen / carbon dioxide exchange of the special Breathing Bags. They don't float easily after being opened, either. The water temperature difference between bags and tank will be gradually equalized during the acclimation process. Angelfish tolerate rapid warming much better than rapid cooling. Your fish will do well for many days in Kordon's Breathing Bags™, so there is no need to hurry when transferring them into your aquarium. Keep them in a warm place in their shipping box and they'll wait until you have gathered your supplies and have sufficient time to attend to them. The acclimation process takes about an hour.
You will need: A fish-safe plastic bucket or similar container that will hold at least 1 or 2 gallons of water. Fish-safe means it has only been used for fish and it has never contained soap or other products that are dangerous to fish. I like to use gallon sized juice pitchers when I'm acclimating only a few small fish; a 5 gallon bucket serves well for larger fish, as well as for a large number of small fish. A soft fish net of suitable size. 4x6 inches is adequate for angels up to the size of a quarter.
Your fish have been fasted for 48 hours prior to shipping and I have added Amquel Plus or Prime to their bags. These measures reduce the threat of ammonia toxicity. The constant release of CO2 through the walls of the Breathing Bags greatly reduces the likelihood of an ammonia spike which sometimes occurs when opening traditional non-breathing bags. Both Amquel Plus and Prime produce a "rotten egg" odor - this is normal and of no concern. Bag Buddies™ turn the shipping water blue; they provide electrolytes and clove oil, a mild sedative.
Wash your hands well, especially if you have recently handled tobacco products, soaps, or lotions.
A couple of weeks in a quarantine tank is always recommended before introducing fish to the general population in the aquarium. Make sure that the tank has a cycled filter and that the Ammonia and Nitrites measure zero. Angelfish Gardens water is soft, 2-3 dKH, pH 7. Domestic angelfish adjust easily to much harder water and pH as high as 8, if they are acclimated carefully.
Begin by adding 2 or 3 inches of aquarium water to your acclimation container. Handle the Breathing Bags gently; they stretch easily, like a water balloon, and excess stretching could damage a seam, causing leakage. The bags are slippery when wet; I find it easiest to work with the bags directly in the acclimation container. Snip the plastic cable ties with pointed scissors or simply cut the bag open and pour water and fish into the bucket with the aquarium water. After 10 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water from the aquarium. Add another 1/2 cup every ten minutes until the original amount of water in the bucket has doubled. At this point, carefully remove about 1/2 the water from the bucket and repeat the above steps until you have again achieved a 50/50 mixture. Your bucket now contains mostly aquarium water and the temperature is similar to the aquarium temperature. Pour the water and the fish through a soft net, discarding the acclimation water, and gently release the angelfish into the aquarium. You may find it easier to catch the fish in a net directly from the bucket. Keep the aquarium lights off for the remainder of the day.
OK. Now you have completed the required reading; go ahead and open the box and start enjoying your new pet angelfish. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me by email. You may also leave a message on my cell phone, but I check my email more frequently than my phone messages.
Do NOT "float" the bags containing fish in your aquarium. Floating interferes with the oxygen / carbon dioxide exchange of the special Breathing Bags. They don't float easily after being opened, either. The water temperature difference between bags and tank will be gradually equalized during the acclimation process. Angelfish tolerate rapid warming much better than rapid cooling. Your fish will do well for many days in Kordon's Breathing Bags™, so there is no need to hurry when transferring them into your aquarium. Keep them in a warm place in their shipping box and they'll wait until you have gathered your supplies and have sufficient time to attend to them. The acclimation process takes about an hour.
You will need: A fish-safe plastic bucket or similar container that will hold at least 1 or 2 gallons of water. Fish-safe means it has only been used for fish and it has never contained soap or other products that are dangerous to fish. I like to use gallon sized juice pitchers when I'm acclimating only a few small fish; a 5 gallon bucket serves well for larger fish, as well as for a large number of small fish. A soft fish net of suitable size. 4x6 inches is adequate for angels up to the size of a quarter.
Your fish have been fasted for 48 hours prior to shipping and I have added Amquel Plus or Prime to their bags. These measures reduce the threat of ammonia toxicity. The constant release of CO2 through the walls of the Breathing Bags greatly reduces the likelihood of an ammonia spike which sometimes occurs when opening traditional non-breathing bags. Both Amquel Plus and Prime produce a "rotten egg" odor - this is normal and of no concern. Bag Buddies™ turn the shipping water blue; they provide electrolytes and clove oil, a mild sedative.
Wash your hands well, especially if you have recently handled tobacco products, soaps, or lotions.
A couple of weeks in a quarantine tank is always recommended before introducing fish to the general population in the aquarium. Make sure that the tank has a cycled filter and that the Ammonia and Nitrites measure zero. Angelfish Gardens water is soft, 2-3 dKH, pH 7. Domestic angelfish adjust easily to much harder water and pH as high as 8, if they are acclimated carefully.
Begin by adding 2 or 3 inches of aquarium water to your acclimation container. Handle the Breathing Bags gently; they stretch easily, like a water balloon, and excess stretching could damage a seam, causing leakage. The bags are slippery when wet; I find it easiest to work with the bags directly in the acclimation container. Snip the plastic cable ties with pointed scissors or simply cut the bag open and pour water and fish into the bucket with the aquarium water. After 10 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water from the aquarium. Add another 1/2 cup every ten minutes until the original amount of water in the bucket has doubled. At this point, carefully remove about 1/2 the water from the bucket and repeat the above steps until you have again achieved a 50/50 mixture. Your bucket now contains mostly aquarium water and the temperature is similar to the aquarium temperature. Pour the water and the fish through a soft net, discarding the acclimation water, and gently release the angelfish into the aquarium. You may find it easier to catch the fish in a net directly from the bucket. Keep the aquarium lights off for the remainder of the day.
OK. Now you have completed the required reading; go ahead and open the box and start enjoying your new pet angelfish. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me by email. You may also leave a message on my cell phone, but I check my email more frequently than my phone messages.
Acclimation