How long can pet store fish be kept in the bag?
by Aquaboy on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 | 12 Comments
I bought a 5 gallon aquarium today and 3 ‘mickey mouse platies’. I have the aquarium set up. It came with a water dechlorinator and a filter. The aquarium instructions and the internet both advice to let the filter run 24 hours before putting the fish in. I already have the fish though! Are they better off in the bag they came in, or should I try the tank?
About 2-3 hours.
Well, it’s not good for them to stay in a bag like that. Try to find bowl and empty him into there with some clean water. Make sure it’s a tall bowl so he doesn’t jump out (happened before, not good).
Good Luck. =)
Not long
You don’t need to do that. I have had many aquariums, and as long as the water has no foriegn chemicals in it, the fish will be sine. I SWEAR.
Set the sealed bag the fish are in inside the tank for 30 minutes. The temperature of the water in the bag needs to adjust so the fish are more comfortable. Don’t put the water from the bag into the aquarium. Use a net to relocate the fish from the bag to the aquarium. They should be fine as long as you follow the rest of the directions. You want to get the fish out of the bag because they will run out of oxygen, since there is no moving water. Hope this information is helpful.
Put the bag in the aquarium for about 30 min to an hour to let the temp get the same, then you can put the fish in you dont have to wait. Trust me your fish will be just fine, Ive done it many times.
The fish shouldn’t be kept in the bag any longer than necessary. Let the bag float on top of the water for about 15 minutes. Net out the fish and place in the tank. Temp should be 78-80. Good Luck on your new fish tank.
New tank – don’t be too surprised if they all die right away. You tank needs time to cycle, much more than 24 hours. Go ahead and put your fish in, but keep ahold of your receipt. Most places have a 14 day guarantee on fish, if they die just bring the bodies back in a plastic bag along with the receipt and they’ll give you new ones.
More info on Cycling:
Of primary concern to the aquarist is management of the biological waste produced by an aquarium’s inhabitants. Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which may convert to ammonium, depending on water chemistry) which must then pass through the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentrations.
New aquaria also do not usually have the required populations of bacteria for the handling of nitrogen waste. In a process called cycling, aquarists cultivate these bacteria as fish and other producers of nitrogen waste are gradually added to the tank over the course of several weeks. Aquarists use several different methods to jump start this process, including the use of water additives containing small populations of the bacteria, or “seeding” a new tank with a mature bacterial colony removed from another aquarium (such as can be found on gravel or biological filter media).
Other cycling methods that have gained popularity in recent years are the fishless cycle and the silent cycle. As the name of the former implies, no fish are kept in a tank undergoing a fishless cycle. Instead, small amounts of ammonia are added to the tank to feed the bacteria being cultured. During this process, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The silent cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume the nitrogen products rather than bacteria. According to anecdotal reports of aquarists specializing in planted tanks, the plants can consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that the spikes in ammonia and nitrite levels normally seen in more traditional cycling methods are greatly reduced, if they are detectable at all.
Improperly cycled aquaria can quickly accumulate toxic concentrations of nitrogen waste and kill their inhabitants.
They are far better in the tank than left in the bag. Ideally you should have put in a little fish food, and waited a week. The risk is that you’ll have a built up of ammonia before the bacteria of the biological filter. You should be okay if you do a 30% water change after the 1st week.
They should not be in the bag very long at all. If they must, continue blowing air in the bag as soon as it starts to deplete. Better suggestion is put the fish in a glass bowl or bucket and put your air stone in there while your waiting for your tank to get ready. It is a good idea to let your water sit for 24 hours, but I would put the fish in early if I had no other choice. Their chance of survival is much greater in an early tank than a plastic bag. You are going to need an air pump as well as a filter, if you dont have one already.
ha not to long, it needs some sort of bubbles in there
ahakzzzz’what type a question is it? but for me, that a good try. i have a fighting fish too,when i bought it a year ago,i think it cannot be in a plastik bag for a long time.you should transfer it to a new place like a new aquarium!!!!!!