Introducing new fish to a tank

[Jess Puff]

I recently purchased some new fish. Their fins were in great shape when I purchased them but when I brought them home and introduced them to the tank, I noticed their fins had split. Some of them split pretty bad. Before I introduced them I added some more bio and I rearranged everything. I floated the bags for about 30 mins putting water from the tank in them. I'm wondering if the reason their fins split is because the water quality isn't very good or if I introduced them too quickly? I know I need to test my water and plan on doing this tonight. I was just wondering if I did something incorrect (other than water quality).

[angel]

Were there more than one fish bagged together? Could they have been fighting in the bag? Could the split have happened after being released into the tank during the ceremonial fight for territory?

[jon carman]

Ammonia could burn fins, but other than that it is nipping. The best thing to do is make more caves and treat with melafix.

[ree123]

I would agree with Jon. My first thought would be ammonia. Jungle makes a product that binds ammonia instantly. Look into that. Ammo Lock I think is the name of it.
But you might want to also invest in some test strips to see if this is the problem.
Might be just fighting.

[Jess Puff]

Thanks guys! I will probably purchase some melafix and ammo-lock and go from there. Don't want to lose any fish due to poor water conditions. They're just too purty. Oh, one more question. Would it be alright to do a 10% water change 24 hours after the introduction of new fish? I'm just worried about stressing them out too much.

[ree123]

I can think of no reason why not. 10% is considered a small change to most folks. Fishies too.
Others may disagree, but I have done that and all fared well.

[jon carman]

If you have a positive ammonia test, I would do at least 25% a day for a few days and then retest. If ammonia, nitrites, are all right then I would do the 10% add some salt and melafix.

[Jess Puff]

Alright so I stopped at Petsmart last night and picked up some melafix and ammo-lock (just in case). I also picked up some more clay pots. When I got home I did the 10% change and removed the carbon filters (as melafix suggested) and added the melafix and ammo-lock. This morning their fins showed improvement. I am going to continue to monitor them closely and add the melafix daily for the next few days. Thanks to all for your help!

[jon carman]

Ammonia lock is a short term substitute for biological filter. If your bio isn't thriving, you. will have the same problem when you stop using it. Test the ammonia and pm me the results. Also once bio is fully functional there is no need to waste money on carbon. Nothing wrong with using it, but it isn't a must. I haven't used it in 7 years other than when I am removing meds. I just cut the foam I use to fit like the carbon pads but foam never has to be replaced.

[jgentry]

If it was an established tank with fish already in it ammonia should not be the issue.

What type of fish are they and what was already in the tank? It is most likely just from the stress of being moved or the other fish if there were any are picking on the new fish to establish a pecking order. As long as it's just a few split fins I would not worry about it. If they are eating and swimming they are fine. Split fins heal quickly.

[Jess Puff]

May 10, 2011 7:51:50 GMT -6 jon carman said:

Ammonia lock is a short term substitute for biological filter. If your bio isn't thriving, you. will have the same problem when you stop using it. Test the ammonia and pm me the results. Also once bio is fully functional there is no need to waste money on carbon. Nothing wrong with using it, but it isn't a must. I haven't used it in 7 years other than when I am removing meds. I just cut the foam I use to fit like the carbon pads but foam never has to be replaced.

I will test the ammonia tonight and get the results to you. I had NO IDEA I didn't need carbon in an established tank. I need to get some of that foam! The filters are such a huge expense. If I can cut those out of my budget that would be great.

[Jess Puff]

May 11, 2011 5:47:01 GMT -6 jgentry said:

If it was an established tank with fish already in it ammonia should not be the issue.

What type of fish are they and what was already in the tank? It is most likely just from the stress of being moved or the other fish if there were any are picking on the new fish to establish a pecking order. As long as it's just a few split fins I would not worry about it. If they are eating and swimming they are fine. Split fins heal quickly.

It is a 75 gallon that has been up and running for about a year. It had two large plecos, a large catfish, a large male livingstonii, and a large male peacock. It used to have more in it but I traded them in a couple months ago.
I just added two large peacocks and two medium peacocks. Their fins looked great when I purchased them and then it was like instantly as soon as I put them in the tank I noticed their fins were split. It may have happened on the trip home though. They are all eating and swimming fine, they just look bad. I worry about them getting bloat because of stress trying to heal their fins. But we'll see. I'm going to test the water params again tonight and take a look at what's going on.

[angel]

Don't worry about the stress of split fins--as long as they're eating they'll be just fine! Bloat is like the one thing that freaks us out, isn't it? Once you get it you watch like a new mother making sure the baby's still breathing while he naps. You're doing great--observation is the number one tool in preventing disaster.

[Jess Puff]

Thanks for the encouragement, Tina. I guess I'm just paranoid.

[angel]

Been there, sista! Still do it! I stare at the hippo tang looking for ich constantly, and the shrimps to make sure they're still ok since phosphates were getting to them