What to do when you receive your fish.
Fish Arrival
When you receive your fish, they will have had an overnight journey after being packed the day before by us. Most of the fish adapt and settle well, normally within a day or so. Others take a little longer so give the fish a chance to settle into their new surroundings. Most of the year the fish will arrive to you cooler than when we first packed them. To help your fish settle in their new environment place the transport bag in your aquarium. Give the fish a good hour floating on the top of the water in the aquarium before letting the fish out. This will help to equalize the temperatures of the water. If possible, it would be advisable not to tip the water the fish have travelled in into your aquarium. If you are not able to float your fish in your aquarium, then leave them in the box beside your aquarium for two hours before letting the fish out. just open the box do not open the bag until you are ready to release the fish. Then carefully net the fish out of the bag and place in the aquarium. To help reduce the stress, I would suggest turning off your aquarium lights for a couple of hours. Your new fish will take a bit of time to get used to their new home and tank mates.
Disease and Quarantine
Most people do not have a separate quarantine tank for new arrivals, but if you do then my advice is to use it. Even with our absolute best efforts and care and quarantine procedures it does not guarantee 100% disease free problems. Please understand that ALL fish will carry a certain amount of natural parasites. Transporting fish can upset the natural levels of parasites your fish carries.
This could be for a few different reasons normally, Stress caused from movement and the overnight journey, Water quality issues within the aquarium to name just a couple of the main reasons. On most occasions if it is just the stress of journey the fish will respond within a few days. Keep a close eye on your fish and give them time to settle.
However after 3-4 days and your fish still do not look right, For example not swimming around or hanging at the surface with fins clamped, Check everything is ok within the aquarium set up and water quality. The most common problem with Fancy Goldfish in regard to parasites is Whitespot, or Ich which can come out if the immunity of the fish is not 100%. This is by far the single biggest parasite problem associated with Fancy Goldfish. Quite easy to fix if caught quickly, but exceedingly difficult to cure if missed. In the early stages this parasite is barely visible to the naked eye, but as the cycle of the parasite progresses you will notice small white dots, like a dusting of Icing Sugar appear on the body, fins or both. It can develop very quickly if not treated correctly.
Every time you introduce new fish into an established set up you run the risk of potential problems. This is unfortunately part of fishkeeping and, although problems can occur, if the correct procedures are followed the chance of any problems become much less.
If you are purchasing new fish for a new aquarium or you are putting them into an establish aquarium, it may be advisable to take an extra precaution of dosing the aquarium with Malachite Green the day after the fish arrive. This is a mild treatment and will not do any harm to Filtration Units and plants. But it will help the fish and keep the Parasites at bay until the fish is back up to strength. Malachite Green is one of the best preventions and cures for White Spot and will also aid keeping other parasites at bay. You can also use pure Malachite, this is stronger than Malachite Green. You can purchase these treatments via our Website.