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Hi all
I read a while back somewhere that it was good practice to drop in a few drips of Malafix into the fish bag as you are acclimatising new fish to the tank.

So I have been getting my new fish in my handy wittle bucket ( so much easier than bags. Keeps em darker and quieter too). I get em home, add tank water (and a drop of Malafix) slowly to the bucket and once equalised over time I simply net the fish out.
Anyway I was wondering if it were prudent to add the Malafix as soon as I get the fish (ie like once i got them to the car and away from the LFS) so its in there doing its thing on the way home.
Just another way to reduce the odds into my favour.

Question is, if the prolonged exposure to Malafix is over the top.

My 5footer
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Melafix is completely unnecessary. It's addition will not make much of a difference if you buy a healthy fish.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Melafix is completely unnecessary. It's addition will not make much of a difference if you buy a healthy fish.

Rant mode: on

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Melafix is not the panacea people seems to think it is, nor will it make healthy fish healthier. It has a very specific purpose -- using it for anything outside that purpose is, at best, just wasting product. It reminds me of a fad a few years back when thick conditioners like Stress Coat were all the rage and people added them to the tank on a whim. I saw one tank where a guy had so much in solution that if you moved a net through the water, you could see little spirals and strands.

Rant mode: off.

hmm ok maybe its not worth it.
Not being a fish doctor myself, I wouldn't expect to always successfully pick sick from healthy fish, tho I do try. As I mentioned Im simply trying to increase the odds in my/the fishes, favour while in the stressful situation of being transported.

However I am fully aware of the number of "things" sold by LFS or spoken of on the net which are far from necessary or factual. As such Im not surprised ..again.

My 5footer
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I don't add melafix. I float the bag to match water temp of my home tank.
Every 10mins or so I add a little tank water to the bag. Reseal reseal and keep floating.

After adding water about 4 times I let the fish into the tank. I am trying to avoid water pH mismatches distressing the fish more than just the relocation.

My aim is to get a slow match between temps and pH.
I am sure others have their own techniques.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I use Melafix at every water change in the Betta tank because of our very problem water. At the moment it is practically undrinkable even boiled it tastes terrible,

I also always use it when buying new fish the reasons are :- they can be damaged in the handling no mater how careful the LFS are and your are in getting them into your tank. Weather you like it or not fish can get damaged in the handling process.
I also believe it does help to relieve any stress factor.

Weather it is required or not I am using it at the moment with all my fish in a smaller temporary tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Thanks wish-ga your right, there are probably dozens of techniques.
I used to do the bag thing (thought it was the only way I found in my present circumstances the wittle bucket was easier for me. I had terrible trouble undoing the bag and up again without bouncing the fish all over. In one of my tanks the bag wont fit under the cover glass so the cover had to remain removed and thus the chance of my other fish jumping out. I tried to float the "open" bag once. Half an hour later the bag was still floating the new fish were in the tank

So lidded bucket it was. I have a small jug I transfer tank water into the bucket at ever increasing amounts thus slowly matching the water type and temp. When its mostly tank water in the bucket I net the fish out so im not transferring LFS water into the tank.
oh and the Melafix drop cause, hey it cant hurt.

Keith

water. At the moment it is practically undrinkable

maybe try some Melafix tea?

BTW I have read on some posts about Discus, that Melafix and Discus dont miit can kill the Discus). I mention it here simply as a caution. I personally dont know.

My 5footer
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All this stuff about melafix killing fish , youll find when you get to the root of it all, is all about usage of it in low oxygen conditions. Its an oil, not the most viscous oil, but an oil nontheless. It will bind some oxygen by coating gills and thickening surface tension, and it sticks to lots of stuff, look at a discus tank , amazon ranges, low o2, low flow etc, same in betta tanks, and people manage to kill bettas with it too, perhaps moreso. Basically its about not realising how low your o2 has become, which is logical since most disease hit fish with low immune systems in the first place, and many of the usual almost omnipresent bacteria getting out of control are precisely what you use melafix for, its not rocket science.

So yeah, melafix in bags, not generally a good idea then.

I also agree with joe of the stress coat thing too. Take bloke, put in a waltzer fairground ride, hit vigourously with baseball bats.Scare by putting geoffrey dahmer in his lap. Dont think rubbing his naked body with a gloopy aloe vera solution will calm him down much.LOL. Aloe vera is not famed for reducing stress, its a mild contact antibacterial and antifungal, and I mean mild to the point of almost ineffective at average dilutiion rates, maybe slightly soothing to itchy gills or sore wounds, and thats it. Its not like the fish is gonna drink it. If you want a fish not to suffer stress, stop scaring it, get it in the right clean water with plenty of o2, get it some cover or some food to take its mind off things, acclimate it properly.If disease is stressing it, treat it with proper meds. Aloe can help you do precisely none of that.

I think some petstores just put water conditioner in the bag to make sure it throws a reading off if you sneakily wanted to test their water. Remember those guarantees about dead fish requiring water tests? They dont want you saying to them - "looky here my water quality is perfect, yours is loaded with nitrite , now gimme my bloody money back!".

Few basic things are the best, breathable bags, or clean , low nitrate water to begin with. Some fish might experience a nitrite damage reduction on long journeys under circumstances when the water is unavoidably hard and a little aquarium salt is used.

Some importers add antibiotics into bags, especially with marines, and thats not good conduct either, because it wont save the fish from disease, the treatment time wont be long enough, and it only masks symptoms, then of course you have fish like clowns who can actually become more vulnurable to marine ich if given inappropriate antibiotics.

All that ever needs to go in a bag, is clean , mature, oxygenated water, some air, and the fish. The rest is just faffing about, and in some cases, some real business dishonesty going on.

As I have often been called and in past times often called others "longhairedgit" Ill take your precious and wise words to heart
(I originate from Watford)

Seriously, well posted many thanks for the heads up.

BTW I should also add here, in fairness to everyone else and to prove that Im not perfect My wittle bucket system failed the other night, well almost. I was transporting a Clown loach (med-largish) in my bucket with a bunch of Java moss to help him de stress (i do try you see) anyway I was adding some tank water when he decided it was time to slam dunk a basket ball in the top ring. He flew up and out of the bucket and almost flopped himself under the tank cabinet. I managed to recapture and replace but it shows that no system is infallable.
As if to emphasise this....it happend again that night. This time I was removing a large angel fish from another bucket. I was boasting to the wife how easy it was to net within the bucket. Placed the angel in the tank nonchalantly put the net down on the floor whilst observing the angel. A while latermaybe even a minute? The wife goes whats on the net. A dark blob.. ooohh crap one of the juvenile Kribs also in the bucket had attached himself to the net whilst I was getting the angel. It was so small i didnt notice, focused on the angel. I quickly put him back in the bucket. where he remained stunned for a good 5 minutes.. but two days later he is showing no signs of stress and happily swimming about.

Fingers crossed.

My 5footer
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